"Why should my business/products be available online?"

That's a simple question, with a simple answer: because your clients, prospects, fans and critics are already there, ready for you to find and interact with them. After taking a look at the white paper titled, “IT Consumers Transform the Enterprise: Are You Ready?”, shared by Paula Klein in this post, I thought about writing this post, giving a little overview on Promoted tools available in Twitter, that can help your business connecting with your stakeholders in this network.

But why should I promote my business/products?

Twitter recently launched its promoted content model, which is evolving as the network grows and more brands include Twitter within their digital strategies. In addition to offering brands a “Verified Account” and in-depth analytics, promotions on Twitter can align with engagement efforts already in place by a brand. Below you'll find some of the key functions and best practices of Twitter’s paid advertising platform.

1.       Promoted Tweet

A promoted tweet is simply a tweet that is promoted as an advertisement to a “wider group of users,” according to Twitter. Essentially, a brand bids on keywords or hashtags relevant to the tweet they are promoting in a model similar to Google Keyword bidding. When a Twitter user searches for those keywords or hashtag, or clicks on a Twitter hashtag, the user will see a “Promoted” tweet at the top of their search results. In terms of pricing, a brand is only charged when a user actually engages with a promoted tweet by clicking on it, retweeting it or @replying the brand directly from that tweet.

2.       Promoted Account

On their homepage, Twitter recommends users to follow based on their friends and extended network. A brand can promote its account to users that follow other accounts based on interests. Charges involved in this type of promotion are based on followers gained during the duration of the program. Twitter uses this example of an Edelman client, Microsoft Xbox. “A lot of people who follow several gaming-related accounts also follow @Xbox. If someone follows gaming-related accounts, but not @Xbox, Twitter may recommend @Xbox to that user.” Success can be found in campaigns targeting the followers of relevant lifestyle Twitter accounts.

3.       Promoted Trend

A promoted trend on Twitter allows a brand to appear at the top of the trends section on Twitter.com once a user logs in. To promote a trend, a brand pays a fixed cost for 24 hours of visibility. Trending topics appear on Twitter’s homepage due to organic volumes of conversation relevant to a geographic location. A promoted trend appears directly above organic trends and is clearly identified as promoted with a yellow box titled, “Promoted.”

4.       When is it best to use promoted content on Twitter?

Using promoted content on Twitter can address a brand’s tactical goals (i.e., growing a following) but should be tied to a strategic objective (i.e., building quality relationships with stakeholders). Launching a product, creating buzz around a campaign, or growing a conversation can be achieved through promoted content on Twitter. However, it is increasingly important for these brands to have sustained conversation after the program on Twitter in order to be successful.

5.       Best Practices in Promoted Twitter Content

Multiple creative options are available for promoted content on Twitter, depending on the goals and the budget for a campaign. Key tenets of successful social media campaigns exist - no matter the size of the budget or the brand. Some of these include relevant targeting and content, interesting information and two-way dialogue. Brands should consider their audience, create content to tweet that is relevant, and promote it through demographic and psychographic targeting. Twitter emphasizes that programs are more successful when they include an online call to action, whether driving traffic, RTs or @replies and recommends the use of URLs in the tweets for video, photo or web content.