Twitter Launching New Way For Advertisers To Target Emoji Users
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Twitter is rolling out the red carpet to advertisers looking to target those of us who use emojis when we tweet.
Emojis are popping up everywhere, and now brands advertising on Twitter can use them to bolster their campaigns.
"It's tapping into this new language of social and digital," explains local advertising expert Annie Heckinberger, "and its leveraging a consumer's social behavior that already exists and delivering a way for brands to tap into that."
So someone who tweets a taco emoji could end up seeing a twitter ad from a Mexican restaurant for example.
Advertisers can target Twitter users who recently tweeted, "liked" or retweeted posts that feature emojis with the help of six Twitter Official Partners: 4C, AdParlor, Amobee Brand Intelligence, HYFN, Perion and SocialCode.
"Businesses like Taco Bell, all of the pizza chains, even sneaker manufactures - Under Armour, Nike, Adidas," says Heckinberger. "Targeting that sneaker emoji could unlock entirely new audiences for them."
She also believes this could help Twitter's bottom line. The social network has been struggling with profitability.
"I would guess that this is the first of several announcements coming and I would not be surprised if we saw Twitter and other platforms developing new ways to incorporate emojis and the way that consumers and brands interact with them on platforms."
In a blog post, Twitter Ads API Product Manager Neil Shah says "Emojis have become a ubiquitous way for people, publishers and brands to express their feelings. And, over 110 billion emojis have been tweeted since 2014."
World Emoji Day is on July 17th.