Twitter's new ad format incentivizes users to tweet about brands

Dive Brief:

First introduced in January, Twitter is building on its conversational ads by launching a new “Instant Unlock Card” feature worldwide, the company wrote in a blog post.
The cards let marketers share images or video with call-to-action buttons and customizable hashtags to encourage engagement from Twitter users. The cards incentivize users to tweet by offering them access to exclusive content that they can unlock through tweeting.
Along with the new ad format, Twitter is also offering new measurement tools to track metrics around the cards. Adweek reports that Twitter’s internal testing found brands saw a 34% earned media rate from the format (in other words: for every 100 paid impressions, the cards generated 34 organic shares).

Now Available! Engage w/ customers using Conversational Ads & the new Instant Unlock Card. https://t.co/NoRREule5Z pic.twitter.com/aFlMvgtbh8
— Twitter Advertising (@TwitterAds) August 4, 2016

Dive Insight:

The new "Unlock" cards could help Twitter appeal to advertisers looking to reach users in a more organic way than traditional formats. But while Twitter reported impressive results from internal testing, incentivizing users to tweet brand content could have the unintended consequence of diluting the quality of Twitter feeds. If users are only tweeting about brands as a means to an end, what value does that serve to the brand?

Twitter may not care much if it helps boost its standing with advertisers. Twitter has seen mixed results over the last year as it struggles to reposition its business for the future. While stagnant user growth and weak ad revenues continue to plague the platform, CEO Jack Dorsey has focused on innovating the core product to attract new users and advertisers.

The biggest new features may be its live streaming video capabilities: Twitter has been inking deals left and right with sports organizations and other content providers for the exclusive rights to live stream content. Its deal to stream 10 NFL Thursday Night Football games this season is a huge win for the platform, and could help revitalize its business.

Even through these ups and downs, Twitter has been active in offering new ad formats to boost its flagging ad revenue. Twitter also recently launched a new ad campaign, called “See what’s happening,” after research uncovered that Twitter had 90% brand recognition worldwide, but many still do not understand what it means to actually use Twitter.