Twitter begins testing off-platform advertising
Twitter has begun testing off-platform advertising integration in timelines featured within third-party iOS and Android apps as part of its monetisation expansion beyond its own domain. With more than 1bn monthly unique visitors to pages that feature Twitter timelines, the social media company is aiming to offer broader reach for companies and increase its own revenue. This will see an integration between its MoPub and Twitter Kit. This move is an indication that Twitter aims to compete against Facebook's Audience Network. In addition to being able to display sponsored tweets, developers will be able to serve ads featuring native videos. 

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Twitter has begun testing an integration that pairs its MoPub marketing offering with its Twitter Kit. Developers can now display tweet ads right in timelines featured within third-party iOS and Android apps. With this move, the company has initiated steps to generate revenue from the more than 1 billion people who aren’t on Twitter’s platform and has likely raised optimism among shareholders.

Developers have always been able to incorporate MoPub ads into their apps, but Twitter said that until now there wasn’t a way to merge them with timelines to create one seamless experience. The company added that the ads displayed will follow the aesthetic themes and styles set forth by the developer within Twitter Kit, a developer offering that brings real-time tweets right into mobile apps.

This inclusion marks one of the first steps the service has taken to fully monetize efforts beyond its own platform. It is also an indication that Twitter is moving full-steam ahead on a course to better compete against Facebook’s Audience Network (as well as against other companies looking to dominate the mobile advertising space). Not only will developers be able to display sponsored tweets, they’ll likely be able to serve ads featuring native videos, which were announced at the Flight conference.

While Twitter is doing all it can to grow the number of users on its platform, it’s also seeking ways to bring in money from those who consume its content from outside its domain. In its 2016 first quarter earnings, the company stated that there are more than 1 billion monthly unique visitors to pages that feature Twitter timelines. This is certainly an enticing audience for anyone to go after.

With the service positioning itself as a destination for live events and real-time conversations, it makes sense to pursue ways for marketers and brands to capitalize on discussions taking place beyond Twitter’s properties. This could be beneficial in terms of expanded reach for companies and also in the form of increased revenue for the platform.

In order to get started with this integration, Twitter suggests setting up a native ad unit within MoPub. Then paste the ID into Twitter Kit and let the service handle the rest.