Twitter is a place where people look for and share information, it is where people connect with what’s happening, and conversations are raw and unfiltered. It provides brands and companies with an advantage of connecting with audiences and real-time events to build relevance and successfully launch new products.

During the event Twitter showcased its growing connected audiences, revealing a 38% year-on-year increase in tweet engagement. Additionally, video continues to gain strength with a 34% year-on-year increase in watch time, 71% of sessions in 2020 held involved video.

A recent Twitter Meta-Analysis revealed a 10% increase in conversation can increase brand sales revenue by up by 3%. When it comes to product launches, 91% of respondents to the survey are looking for new brand launches on the platform. As a result, brands are twice as likely to hit their KPIs if they launch a campaign on Twitter. Launching on Twitter also leads to an average 83% lift in ad recall, a 18% lift in brand awareness and a 15% lift in message association.

When it comes to a content approach, Twitter advised brands to use multiple formats. A Nielsen Brand Effect study found how 3+ ad formats increase the probability of campaign success. From #FinanceTwitter to #MusicTwitter, #GamingTwitter to #BeautyTwitter, these passionate, real-time conversations also enable brands to understand, engage, and drive action around what their audiences care about right now.

A great example came from Etihad Airways, who maximized reach, engagement, and brand sentiment on Twitter during this year's Euros tournament. With COVID-19 restrictions eased, Etihad wanted to build excitement around travel again, and run a promotion with free flights. They connected with the Euros to and took part in real-time conversations surrounding the event, this while running a reach campaign on Twitter and using various targeting tools to target a wider audience with their promotion. By using a variety of creative ad formats, including image ads, video ads and conversation buttons, they drove greater engagement. During the campaign, they were the only brand trending on Twitter during the final of The Euros and were number two on Twitter Trends list in the UK and UAE during the final game. The ad campaign generated a reach of 46 million.

Twitter’s Gameplan also featured recent success stories from agency partners, with Fahdah AlArifi, Chief Executive Offices of Nawafth Rihyad and Sari Kazma, Managing Director of Dice Marketing and Advertising taking to the stage to reveal how they have successfully used Twitter for client advertising campaigns.

Since 70% of Saudis are currently on Twitter, Fahdah AlArifi often advises clients to engage with platform audiences, “Recently we worked with a partner agency to develop a creative campaign focused on building awareness and driving investment. We launched a Twitter Video Card featuring a strong call to action, which drove audiences to the client’s website. Through the campaign we attracted 7,000 new investor registrations, resulting in 32 new POs totaling 52 million riyals for SMEs.”

Sari Kazma, Managing Director at Dice Marketing and Advertising, shared his own experience, “Our client specialized in connecting financial lenders with borrowers looking to grow their businesses. Using Twitter’s targeting features such as follower look-a-likes and interest targeting, we were able to drive connections with audiences that were interested in banking services. The campaign was a resounding success with a 24.14% click-through rate and a cost per result that was 20 times lower than benchmarked cost per clicks.”

When it comes to launching campaigns, or diving into conversations, #TwitterGameplan left its audience with a few key takeaways:

1. Remember that connecting with the conversation is not only about diving into a new topic because everybody else is. Do your research and join it naturally once you and your brand are comfortable with the topic.

2. Set your campaign objectives in advance, as they will become your guide to selecting ad formats and content creation.

3. Make sure to test every aspect of the campaign to find a sweet spot before running it, and optimize the campaign with the performance campaign ABCs:

• Audience: Larger audiences allow more scale and efficient auctions.
• Bids: These are the most effective lever to scale or reduce campaign impact.
• Creatives: There are endless possibilities for creative testing, including ad formats, copy and visuals.

There is a large opportunity for brands to connect with their audiences on Twitter with tailored and dynamic campaign strategies that drive results. full content sessions from #TwitterGameplan can be watched on Twitter Business. 

Twitter’s superpower has always been its active, leaned-in audience. Brands can scale the impact of their campaigns through a variety of creative ad formats, including Image Ads, Video Ads and conversation buttons to better connect with the receptive audience on the platform. Instead of being on the sidelines, brands can become part of the conversation.