Twitter is piloting full-screen ads on its new feature Fleets, as the company strives to grow its suite of advertising tools and increase ad revenue, according to a company blog post by Senior Product Manager Justin Hoang and Global Product Marketing Manager Austin Evers on Tuesday (June 1).
Fleet ads, which are described as “full-screen billboards,” will launch as a pilot with a selected group of advertisers. The ads will initially be visible to a limited group of users in the U.S.
“We know from research that more than 75 percent of people say they like ads in this format, and among those that are using Fleets, 73 percent of people say they browse what other people are sharing,” according to the post. “We also believe that ads should be non-intrusive and bring value to people, so we’re focused on learning more about how people feel about and engage with this new placement.”
Brands using Fleet ads can also incorporate a swipe-up feature that directs a user to a designated website, like the company’s eCommerce site, or another call to action. The ads support images and video in 9:16 aspect ratio, and videos can be up to 30 seconds long, per the post.
Fleets — Twitter’s answer to Instagram’s Stories — was introduced in November 2020. The feature is intended for sharing momentary thoughts that stay up on the site for 24 hours.
Twitter’s first-quarter results showed that ad revenue grew 32 percent year over year in the first quarter to reach $899 million, with total ad engagement up 11 percent over the same period.
The monetization of social media is an area that is being developed by all platforms as the pandemic has drawn more users than ever. Aside from Fleet ads, Twitter acquired the newsletter platform Revue as another way to diversify its revenue streams. The company is also exploring eCommerce options that would enable users to purchase something directly from a tweet.
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