Twitter advertising opportunities planned for the UK

Advertisers will soon be able to make the most of Twitter's promoted tweets and trends. The social networking site has revealed its intentions to allow advertising to take place on Twitter in the UK from October. Twitter has already started to experiment with advertising opportunities by enabling companies to stream adverts to those already following their brand. This next step will allow advertisers to direct promotional activities to Twitter users based their known preferences and interests.

The news follows months of speculation about the commercial intentions of Twitter executives. While investors no doubt welcome the news and potential profits that are likely to follow, there has been concern that in a bid to become more commercial, Twitter may lose its mass appeal. However, experience across the pond has rebuked these claims.

In a recent survey examining the impact of paid advertising on Twitter, only 10.9% of US based Twitter users said the promoted tweets and trends annoyed them. Instead, far more found the promotional tweets relevant, had taken up discounts and offers, and retweeted promotional tweets to other followers.

Recent links to the London riots, and reports that Twitter helps to circulate over 3.5 million viruses and spam content a day seems to have little negative impact on its brand, or standing with potential advertisers. Sony, O2 and Sky are all brands said to be in negotiation to secure a six figure advertising deal which will allow them to tailor their advertising to users.

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