Twitter: Transitioning from Tweets to Transactions

Look out, Google, there's a new* player in the online advertising space. In a press release last week, the company's, Product Marketing Manager, Eric Farcas, announced some changes that Twitter is unveiling in its Twitter Audience Platform. (*Twitter isn't actually too new to the advertising space, many companies, like Macy's and Harman, have already seen positive results from using Twitter's advertising solutions.)

However, the big takeaways from this announcement include a focus to drive tweet and video views as well as offer advertisers more creative formats for their ads.

1. Driving tweet and video views

Advertisers now have the opportunity to integrating many of the targeting options available via Twitter (username, keywords, and interests), directly within the Twitter Audience Platform.

2. Connecting through creative ad formats

Additionally, Twitter is offering advertisers opportunities to better engage with Twitter users by allowing them to interact directly with Twitter Audience Platform ads. Twitter has also included customizable call-to-actions on bother interstitial and native ads in hopes of more efficient conversions.

Twitter creative ad formats created by Twitter Audience Platform - courtesy of Twitter.com

This announcement, published only a month or so after, Facebook announces its Pages e-commerce initiative, only highlights the opportunities these social networks have identified to become more profitable, as well as powerful tools for both businesses and consumers.

And who can argue with these numbers? Check out Fast Company's statistics about social media and e-commerce.