These companies will be able to develop software on top of the
Twitter ads platform. The software will allow brands and agencies
to test campaign-performance factors, such as which ad creative
works best, for which audiences and at what time of day. Marketers
have been able to use those tactics to optimize campaigns on
Facebook since its ads API opened in private beta in late
2009.
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Many Facebook Ads API partners have incorporated Twitter ad
buying into their offerings, but don't have access to Twitter's
full API to optimize campaigns. Twitter's selectivity in choosing a
launch group of just five signals the user experience-obsessed
company's caution in ceding any control over how its ads are
presented.
Up until now, brands had been obliged to either use Twitter's
self-serve tool or go through its direct-sales team. Now the
process of buying and measuring a campaign on the platform will be
simpler, according to Twitter's chief revenue officer Adam Bain.
Marketers will be able to manage their Twitter campaigns
side-by-side with campaigns they're running on other platforms, he
said.
"If they spend less time on the intricacies of management, they
will have more time to focus on great content," he said.
Twitter had been relatively tardy in opening up an ads API and
lagged Facebook as well as LinkedIn, which opened up its own in November.
EMarketer projects Twitter's ad revenue will climb to $807.5
million in 2014, up from $545.2 million this year.
