Twitter Shuts Out Political Advertisers, For Now

Even if Twitter does accept political ad dollars, a lack of targeting could prevent campaigns from flocking to Twitter ads.

harryreid-twitter

Many political candidates and their campaigns have embraced Twitter, but when they’ve come calling about advertising there, Twitter has not reciprocated. Twitter has only recently begun rolling out its paid products for advertisers, gradually opening services like Promoted Tweets and Promoted Trends to big brands including Starbucks, Disney, and American Express.

But despite the growing emphasis on Twitter for driving fundraising efforts and pushing out campaign messages, political advertisers aren’t exactly welcome – at least during this heated midterm election season. Even if Twitter does begin accepting political ad dollars, a lack of targeting capabilities could prevent campaigns from flocking to Twitter ads.

“Twitter is not accepting political advertisers right now,” said Eric Frenchman, chief Internet strategist at Republican consulting firm Connell Donatelli. He said when he inquired about buying Promoted Tweets on behalf of a current candidate’s campaign, a Twitter ad salesperson told him, “that could change any minute, any day.”

Twitter spokesperson Sean Garett indicated that the company won’t open the door to political advertisers this cycle. “It’s a moot point for this political cycle because…we only have a limited group of brands currently using and testing the platform,” he told ClickZ News.

Garett would not address whether Twitter will allow political advertisers to buy its paid products. “Twitter is currently working with a limited number of advertisers during the initial rollout of our Promoted Tweets advertising platform,” he said. “We are testing carefully with this select group before rolling the platform out more broadly. During this time there all sorts of companies, organizations and categories that aren’t yet able to advertise on Twitter.”

Still, as media outlets and social media researchers keep a close watch on candidates’ Twitter followings, campaigns have a growing need to attract as many followers as possible. Frenchman, for instance, was looking into Promoted Tweets as a possible way to build his client’s Twitter following. A large follower base is considered by some observers to indicate strong support or momentum, and it helps propel fundraising efforts as well.

Many political advertisers may not be interested in Twitter’s current ad offerings, even if they’re allowed to join the party, for one specific reason: the lack of geo-targeting.

“Right now, they told me they couldn’t target to the country level, so in politics, I don’t think that would be useful,” said Frenchman. “I think that eliminates a lot of advertisers.”

Garrett confirmed in an e-mail, “We don’t currently geo-target Promoted Tweets (or any other promoted product), but further refining our location-based capabilities is important to Twitter.”

Meanwhile, Facebook has become the latest online darling of political campaigns, more and more of which have been buying ads targeted geographically and based on interests on the platform to build up likes for candidate pages.

Digitalpolcamps101-footerFollow ClickZPolitics on Twitter at @ClickZPolitics

 

Download ClickZ’s free
Digital Political Campaigns 101
resource today!

Subscribe to get your daily business insights

Whitepapers

US Mobile Streaming Behavior
Whitepaper | Mobile

US Mobile Streaming Behavior

5y

US Mobile Streaming Behavior

Streaming has become a staple of US media-viewing habits. Streaming video, however, still comes with a variety of pesky frustrations that viewers are ...

View resource
Winning the Data Game: Digital Analytics Tactics for Media Groups
Whitepaper | Analyzing Customer Data

Winning the Data Game: Digital Analytics Tactics for Media Groups

5y

Winning the Data Game: Digital Analytics Tactics f...

Data is the lifeblood of so many companies today. You need more of it, all of which at higher quality, and all the meanwhile being compliant with data...

View resource
Learning to win the talent war: how digital marketing can develop its people
Whitepaper | Digital Marketing

Learning to win the talent war: how digital marketing can develop its peopl...

2y

Learning to win the talent war: how digital market...

This report documents the findings of a Fireside chat held by ClickZ in the first quarter of 2022. It provides expert insight on how companies can ret...

View resource
Engagement To Empowerment - Winning in Today's Experience Economy
Report | Digital Transformation

Engagement To Empowerment - Winning in Today's Experience Economy

1m

Engagement To Empowerment - Winning in Today's Exp...

Customers decide fast, influenced by only 2.5 touchpoints – globally! Make sure your brand shines in those critical moments. Read More...

View resource