Report: Twitter Now Generating The Majority Of Ad Revenue From Mobile

Twitter’s recently launched mobile ads have been more than just successful, they’ve been essential revenue drivers.  The WSJ reported that “on most days” mobile Twitter ads now generate more than  the web-based Twitter.com version.

Twitter mobile ads have only been around for all advertisers since April, yet have been making a mobile splash that Facebook and Google+ are still working towards.  Twitter users are highly mobile – with 60% of its 140 million users accessing Twitter via mobile devices.

An example of a P.F. Chang’s Lunar Twitter promotion showed just how effective a Twitter ad promotion can be.  P.F. Chang spent $25,000 on a time-sensitive promotion garnering 1 million interactions, responses or ad clicks.  Of the million users interacting with the ad, 70% came from mobile devices.

Facebook has been diving headfirst into mobile features, yet many analysts are still concerned with their mobile future. Bank of America/Merrill Lynch analysist Justin Post recently stated the following about Facebook:

The company is in the midst of a mobile usage transition, and we are cautious on Facebook’s revenue trends until new mobile ad revenue models start driving the top line.

This year Google is on pace to bring in $2.5 billion in ad revenue, however none of that total is derived from social initiatives.

Twitter did not release its full ad revenue, but analysts like eMarketer expect Twitter to produce $259.9 million, up from $139.5 million in 2011.  These projections are not segmented by device type.  

One thing is certain, with mobile being the main revenue driver after only 3 months, Twitter has a bright future in the mobile space. Oh, and as marketers, we can’t afford to overlook the power of Twitter’s mobile offerings.

For more information see the full WSJ article.

About The Author

Greg Finn

Greg Finn is the Director of Marketing for Cypress North, a company that provides world-class social media and search marketing services and web & application development. He has been in the Internet marketing industry for 10+ years and specializes in Digital Marketing. You can also find Greg on Twitter (@gregfinn) or LinkedIn.