Tweet Carousels Are Coming! What You Need to Know about Twitter’s New Ad Format

If you’re in the paid social media space, you probably know that Facebook and Instagram have had a Carousel ad unit on the market since 2015. For those who don’t know, a Carousel unit consists of several images/videos and captions put together in a certain order that a user can scroll through on desktop or mobile devices. Not only are Carousel ads engaging and creative, but they also entice users to further explore the ads.

Introducing Twitter Carousels

In 2016, Twitter followed suit and rolled out Tweet Carousels as a beta. Soon it will be making this format available to all advertisers. Here’s what you need to know before it becomes available, and why you may consider utilizing this ad format:

• Tweet Carousels are a great way to push a visual story to audiences. Twitter allows multiple images/Tweets, so advertisers have more opportunities to visually engage the viewer. It’s compelling, and packs more punch into a single unit by relaying multiple messages.
• Twitter has put its own special twist on Carousels. Tweet Carousels can include both a brand’s own Tweets and Tweets about their brands. So, if there is a lot of positive buzz around your brand you can showcase it using this ad format. Note that you will, however, need permission from Twitter users before using their Tweets.
• Expert Tip: If you use Tweet cards as units within the Carousel, they can help engage your audience, as well as drive them to click directly to the site. Then you can track purchases, if that’s a KPI for your brand. The standard Carousel Tweet unit is considered a Tweet engagement objective and does not have the option to include a destination URL, but the Tweet Card format allows you to do so.

Tweet Carousels in Action

We’re excited for Tweet Carousels to officially launch because our clients have already seen great results with this ad format. For example, we partnered with one client to use a Tweet Carousel to promote a major product launch. It exceeded engagement benchmarks, driving an engagement rate almost twice as high as past standard promoted Tweets’ average engagement rate. Compared to the brand’s top performing standalone image Tweet campaign, the Tweet Carousel campaign still had a higher engagement rate. It also had a cost per engagement that was 85% less than the campaign that featured standalone image Tweets.

Are you ready to hit the ground running with Twitter’s Carousel? Contact Catalyst at info@catalystdigital.com to learn more!