Growth Tactics: Why Website Cards Are the Right Choice for DR Twitter Creative
Published: February 5, 2020
Author: Seth Debaca
When you’re looking to drive efficient conversions through social channels, Twitter is probably not the first channel you propose to your B2C clients. Most likely, the channel you go to first is Facebook, and with good reason. However, if used correctly, Twitter can provide value. In this blog, we will discuss best practices for using Twitter as a mechanism for reaching new customers during high-traffic times, specifically for direct response (DR) campaigns.
Timing Is Critical
Because Twitter doesn’t easily show conversion efficiency in DR campaigns, I recommend testing Twitter only when you need to extend your reach during times in which purchase propensity may be elevated. Below are a few examples of when this could potentially be a good strategy for your clients:
- If you are selling tickets for a sports team, a good time to test out Twitter would be during the playoffs or before key matchups.
- If you are working for an ecommerce client, a good time to test out Twitter would be during Black Friday/Cyber Monday or during the Holidays.
- If you are securing leads for a College or a University, a good time to test out Twitter would be during a high-enrollment period.
After you make the decision to launch ads on Twitter, you want to make sure you are setting up your campaigns for optimal success by choosing the right type of ad to display.
Cards vs. Tweets
When building out your ads, you will have the option to create a Promoted Tweet or a Website Card:
In my experience, specifically with DR campaigns, website cards drive better performance, both in terms of clicks and conversions. According to Twitter, “Image and Video Website Cards enable your brand to share image or video creative that seamlessly drives your audience to a landing page of your choice.” Moreover, it is a much cleaner way to add a link to a Promoted Tweet (users are sent to the landing page if they click anywhere on the image or the headline), and it also gives you more real estate, as you can add a Headline to the Image or Video.
On the other hand, when using a Promoted Tweet rather then a Website card, the link must be added to the tweet, which is not as tidy and decreases the number of characters you can use to get your message across. You can add an image to a Promoted Tweet, but there is no option to add a headline, and the image is not clickable.
Below are instructions on how to create the Website Card and add it to a Promoted Tweet:
- In the top-left corner of the interface, navigate to “Cards” within the “Creatives” drop-down menu:
- Once you’re in the Cards Library, click the “Create Card” drop-down, and select either “Website Card” or “Video Website Card”:
- Once you are in the “Create Website Card” tab, upload your Media, Headline (70-character limit), and Website URL. Then name your card according to your team’s naming conventions:
- The next step is to create the Promoted Tweet using the newly created Website Card. In the top-left corner, bring down the “Creatives” drop-down menu and select “Tweets”:
- Once in the “Tweets” page, click on “New Tweet” in the top-right corner:
- Once on the “Compose Mode Page,” you can enter your Tweet (280-character limit) and attach your website card by clicking on this icon:
- Once your tweet is complete, you can add it to the proper campaigns and ad sets!
Of course, success on Twitter, like on any social channel, relies heavily on compelling creative. Make sure you have a bunch of image/video and headline options, and make sure to set your testing rotation before you start spending.
Good luck!
