In view of its debut on the market, Twitter is hoping for an active role, as a "dealer", in American TV. Since the television networks have cranked up their "marketing machines" to save many shows from falling ratings, Twitter would like to reap the benefits, and therefore dollars, from its ability to create real-time buzz.
Hashtags, now trendy among young and old, have already become common marketing tools on TV, but the networks have not always paid for their benefits so far, often exploiting the power of Twitter as a free promotion tool.
Getting to pay for advertising on Twitter is essential to convert the social network, in competition with Facebook, into a real business model.
In recent months, Twitter has been courted by television networks and advertisers. New partnerships could likely arrive this week, as a meeting between social network executives and the media industry is expected.
One of the key products launched by the network is called Amplify and will allow Twitter to sell ads alongside TV and other media. With Amplify on the net you will be able to send short video replays in near real time and the video will be sponsored by a brand, a brand. Here the network and Twitter will be able to obtain income from advertising.
“Now we're able to talk simultaneously about getting money and sponsoring something at the same time, an interesting approach to two schemes of things,” said Glenn Brown, the Twitter executive. Heavy tweeting about shows doesn't always translate into viewership. Still, US channel Syfy sees Twitter as an important tool for connecting with audiences.
“We will pay for the 'trend' and we will pay for the insights that analytics give us,” said Michael Engleman, executive vice president of marketing, digital and global strategy at Syfy. Twitter advertising is growing rapidly, but it's still a small part of the advertising pie. Ad spend on Twitter grew 81% in August from August 2012.
Twitter, therefore, could become a great companion for TV schedules and programming, for the moment in America. But the future bodes well.
