Twitter amplifies ad offering

SAN FRANCISCO — Placing ads in tweets just got easier and more precise for retailers.

It will probably not have the same impact on social commerce as Twitter’s recent introduction of a Buy Now button, but the social platform is opening its Amplify ad program. In a beta offering, Twitter is letting advertisers select content categories and audiences they want to target with preroll video ads.



Twitter automatically and dynamically places the ads into embedded videos tweeted by publishers, with the publisher receiving most of the ad revenue through an automated revenue-sharing arrangement. The main difference from the traditional Amplify format is that advertisers no longer have to partner with a specific publisher to get their preroll ad placed.



Twitter plans to expand the new, more open Amplify out of beta both in the U.S. and globally. For retailers, this is a chance to target their ads more precisely based on video content and additional audience targeting, rather than by general audience demographics of a specific publisher.



More granular targeting should lead to more customer engagement and ultimately more sales, especially with the new Buy Now button that lets consumers make purchases without having to leave Twitter.