If you’re a fan of the official Twitter for iPhone app, get ready for ads. As an app that remains in the App Store’s top 10 list for social networking, Twitter for iPhone is used by millions of people. Twitter is monetizing those eyeballs with “Promoted Tweets,” “Promoted Trends,” and “Promoted Accounts.”
Starting really soon, you’ll start seeing promoted tweets from brands you follow in your timeline.
Twitter Promotions have been around for about two years, but this is the first time the ads will be visibly displayed in the timeline of the official iOS and Android client. The mobile web version of Twitter.com has been displaying Promoted Tweets for some time, and they’ve shown up in searches on the iPhone and Android app already. Twitter clarifies today’s changes:
- Promoted Tweets will appear in your timeline like any other Tweet, and like regular Tweets, they will appear in your timeline just once; as you scroll, the Promoted Tweet will flow with the rest of the Tweets in your timeline.
- As with Promoted Tweets in search, we will only display Promoted Tweets in the timeline when they are relevant. If you see a Promoted Tweet that isn’t relevant to you, you can easily dismiss it from your timeline with a single swipe.
- Promoted Accounts appear in your list of Who to Follow recommendations.
Twitter says it strives to “create products that put users first, and continue to enrich your Twitter experience.” The ads are staring to rollout to Twitter for iPhone and Android users right now.
The iPad version of Twitter’s iOS app won’t be getting ads initially, and most likely won’t until it’s updated in the App Store. There’s also been no indication that third-party apps will have to include Twitter’s ad platform. For an ad-free experience, you’ll have to cough up a few bucks for an app like Tweetbot or Twitterrific.
