Ever
since its launch in 2004, Twitter has been an awesome platform to
help merchants grow their
online
store
.
With just 140 characters to play with, this unique social site
encourages us to get to the point – and fast.
But
as Twitter grew - so did its users – and with 288 million people to
contend with, it's pretty challenging to get your tweet seen, let
alone retweeted.
So
that's why Twitter ads can be so valuable for your ecommerce store, and
why we're about to teach you how to use them...
Creating
your campaign
Clearly
your overall goal is to grow your Ecommerce store any which way you
can, but Twitter gives you specific options depending on what you
want to achieve....
1.
Grow your Twitter followers
Growing
your following on Twitter is a smart move. Not only will it help you
connect to your audience, but it can also convince people that you
are the go-to person in what you sell.
Promote
your account
If
you did choose this option then you'll be paying to promote your
account. When you go to set up the campaign, you can assign your
product as a category to target the people who will be interested in
following you. You'll then be asked to create a tweet, so make sure
you give valuable reasons as to why they should follow you.
And
once you're ready, Twitter will ask you where you would like your
tweet to appear, either on a users timeline, or on the 'who to
follow' pages.
2.
Drive website clicks or conversions
This
is the one that probably stands out as the most attractive – after
all – conversions are what dreams are made of! Twitter lets you do
this very easily by setting up a 'website card' so you can track your
campaign...
What
is a website card?
A
website card will let you include your web content within a tweet.
This is great for highlighting your products to help drive
conversions. Make sure you include an image, your website URL and
your call-to-action to ensure that it is correctly optimized.
The
website card will then appear on the home timeline of the people you
are targeting.
3. Increase
tweet engagement
There's
nothing more frustrating than putting together an awesome social
strategy of content, only for you to get no engagement back in
return. By running this type of campaign you can encourage users to
engage with your content.
It
works in the same way as encouraging people to follow your account.
You'll set aside a budget to promote the tweet, and because it's a
native
ad
,
it'll appear nicely in a users feed.
Check
out our example below. We've targeted the user with the problem they
might be facing, included our URL and a link to download the content.
4.
Drive app downloads
If
you've got an app for your online store then great! You can now
officially use Twitter ads to help drive installs.
To
put this into action you need to buy an 'App Card' that lets users
check out an image of your app, see what other people have rated it
and a call-to-action. It'll appear in the timeline feed, but only if
the user is viewing Twitter on their mobile phone.
5.
Find leads
Twitter
is the perfect to place to find leads, and by using Twitter ads, you
can really drill down and find the people who are genuinely
interested in your product. To do this, you'll need to opt for a
'Lead Generation Card'.
Built
within the tweet, users will be able to include their email address
so you can encourage them to sign up to an account, your emails, or
whatever it is you want to offer them.
As
with the other tweets, make sure you include an attractive image of
what you are offering and a strong call-to-action.
Setting
your budget
When
it comes to your ad spends, you can spend as much or as little as you
like. It's similar to Pay-Per-Click (PPC) in that you pay for how
many clicks you see...
- Promoting
your account
:
You will only pay if a person clicks to follow you.
- Driving
conversions:
You will only pay if a person clicks through to your site
- Tweet
engagement:
You
will only pay if a person replies, retweets, favorites, expands, or
follows you.
- App
downloads:
You
will only pay when someone clicks on your app card.
- Finding
leads:
You will only pay when someone fills out contact information.
When
considering budget, think about how much you can afford and be sure
to keep testing the right amount for your campaigns.
Defining
your audience
When it comes to creating
your campaigns, you'll be asked to assign the type of people that you
want to target.
If
you haven’t already, make sure you create a
buyer
persona
so you know exactly who you are targeting. You can then optimize your
campaigns to target people by user interests, keywords, specific
followers, locations and even by mobile device.
So long as you target the
people who have a genuine interest in your product, you'll be well on
your way to running a successful ad campaign.
Closing thoughts
Investing in Twitter ads
is definitely worth doing so if you want to grow your business. The
advertising platform is built right into your account, it's really
easy to use and offers plenty of tips on how you can run a successful
campaign. Remember to monitor your campaigns and choose the budget
that is right for you!
Let
us know your thoughts in the comments below. If you need any help with
selling in person or selling online, please let us know!