Patricio Robles says, “In an apparent effort to encourage its users to engage with its platform more freely, Twitter last week announced that it is removing the 140 character limit on Direct Messages.  In a post on the Twitter Developers blog, Twitter product manager Sachin Agarwal explained: We’ve done a lot to improve Direct Messages over the past year and have much more exciting work on the horizon. One change coming in July that we want to make you aware of now (and first!) is the removal of the 140 character limit in Direct Messages“. Twitter removes 140 character limit for... [...]

Martin Beck says, “Twitter today introduced an advertising tool that enables targeting people based on the categories of apps they have installed on their phones. The company said the new targeting feature will allow app advertisers to reach people more likely to be interested in their companies’ apps. The feature also allows targeting of users in app categories related to those they have installed and combine with other Twitter ad targeting. Twitter product manager Deepak Rao explained in a blog post: With installed app category targeting, you can identify new audiences of high-quality... [...]

Patricio Robles says, “In an effort to help advertisers make the most of its service, Twitter has unveiled a new analytics tool called audience insights. Using audience insights, advertisers can more easily visualise information about the people who are interacting with their brands on Twitter. The audience data available through audience insights includes demographics, interests and lifestyle. Advertisers are also able to access information about purchasing and television viewing behaviour. According to Twitter, audience insights can help advertisers identify new segments and better target... [...]

Martin Beck says, “Twitter today launched an upgrade to its analytics tool, offering marketers more information about audiences on the social communications network. Called “Audience insights,” the new feature drills into demographics, interests, lifestyle, consumer purchasing behavior, television-viewing preferences and mobile carrier and device usage. Twitter matches its data with consumer information from its Marketing Platform Partners, including Datalogix. That information, aggregated to protect user privacy, is currently only available for U.S. Twitter users. Twitter said it plans... [...]

Baer says, “Twitter is popular among social media marketers. Twitter advertising is decidedly less so. Overall enthusiasm for Twitter remains high, and social media pros plan to use it even more than they already do. 66% of social media marketers plan to increase their Twitter marketing in the near future, according to the 2015 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, released by Social Media Examiner. 66% of social media marketers plan to increase their Twitter marketing in the near future1 (highlight to tweet) Interest in learning more about Twitter is almost equally strong, with 58% of... [...]

Kurt Wagner says, “Twitter’s Q1 earnings call was a bit of a nightmare. The company missed revenue expectations and lowered its 2015 guidance, and as a result, the stock tanked. And it all came back to one specific reason: The company’s new direct response ads, which are now available to all of Twitter’s advertisers after nearly 10 months in beta. Twitter CFO Anthony Noto blamed the financial woes on this new ad unit, which Twitter has been testing since last fall. Direct response ads aren’t the only kind of ad Twitter sells, but they are a new offering where marketers are only charged... [...]

Mitch Meyerson says, “Twitter is the fastest growing of the top-tier social networks. But from a business standpoint, it’s the most undervalued, misunderstood, and underutilized of all the major social media sites. Many marketers just don’t understand or know how to harness its power. Can I make a guess? At least half of you reading this either hate, loathe, or reluctantly tolerate Twitter. But you’ll start loving Twitter when you realize it’s not a place to talk but a place to listen and really communicate. If you’re ready to make a serious commitment to harnessing... [...]

Martin Beck says, “The Twitter-Google deal to bring more tweets into Google Search went live today, displaying more tweets in a new and more prominent way on mobile devices. Below, how the new implementation looks for a variety of examples. Up To The Second: Eurovision 2015 In a great test of the real-time bonafides of the new product, searching for “Eurovision 2015,” the giant European singing competition, produced tweets that were up to the second in the first hour of the show’s telecast. Also notable: many of the tweets displayed were from users with low follower counts“. 14... [...]

Emma Snider says, “To many salespeople, “social selling” equates to “LinkedIn.” According to a survey conducted by PeopleLinx, 76% of reps understand LinkedIn’s potential for sales, but a scant 16% see the value in Twitter for social selling. This gap is understandable. While it’s fairly simple to identify a good fit prospect on LinkedIn based on social activity and profile information, spotting a lead on Twitter isn’t so easy. But in the barrage of tweets that flood your Twitter stream each day, what are the signs that someone is looking to... [...]

Baer says, “Is Twitter trying to be the most important customer service channel? Twitter has announced the rollout of the long-rumored feature of being able to send people private messages via its direct messages capability, without them following one another. As you probably know, historically in order to send somebody a direct message in private on Twitter both parties had to follow one another. Now, however, Twitter is saying that if you set your account accordingly to be able to accept direct messages from people who you do not follow, you can get those messages. If you set your account... [...]