Auto Brands Swear Twitter Ads Work

“Twitter’s ad products have proven to be a good platform for Kia, especially when attempting to maximize ‘in the now’ moments,” said George Haynes, social and digital media manager at Kia. “It provides real-time opportunities to engage with people as conversations and events are happening.”

Kia first used Twitter’s ad products for its “A Dream Car for Real Life” campaign during the Super Bowl. Currently, Kia is still using Twitter’s ad products, and Haynes said that as the platform advances, Kia expects “to take on [additional] carefully evaluated opportunities.”

The minimum buy for a promoted product is between $10,000 and $15,000, and Twitter charges 50 cents per follower gained as a result of promoted accounts. Promoted tweets charge 10 cents per engagement (click-throughs, favorites, retweets and @replies).

In January, Porsche rolled out a promoted trend and tweet campaign to drive awareness of the 2012 Porsche 911. The promoted tweets consisted of photos and videos that highlighted the history of the 911 car.

Eight out of 10 people who saw this promoted trend engaged with the associated hashtag. Porsche also drove an 87 percent engagement rate for the promoted tweet associated with the promoted trend. On the day of the promoted trend, @Porsche gained 1,743 new followers. On the day of the promoted trend, Porsche saw an increase in positive brand sentiment over the prior week that was 300 percent above the category norm. Porsche also saw a significant increase in tweets expressing the desire to buy the Porsche 911.

Nissan uses the ad products to defend important search terms at key points in time, like when the car maker is unveiling a new vehicle that’s spiking search volume or hosting a Twitter chat, directing people to a specific hashtag.

“Promoted tweets are also a great way to join the online conversation about a major event or TV show, without having an official relationship or spending a ton on commercials,” said Erich Marx, social media chief at Nissan. “Nissan did this with great success during the last Super Bowl, for example.”