Twitter Advertising API Could Signal More Ads on the Horizon

Who's ready for more ads on Twitter? Today Twitter officially launched an "Ads API," which it says it's been testing with partners since January.
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Twitter logo is displayed at the entrance of Twitter headquarters in San Francisco on March 11, 2011 in California. A US judge on Friday ordered Twitter to hand over data of three users in contact with the controversial website WikiLeaks, rejecting arguments the move violated freedom of speech and privacy. President Barack Obama's administration obtained a court order last year seeking information from the Twitter accounts as it considers action against WikiLeaks, which has released a flood of secret diplomatic documents. AFP Photo / Kimihiro HOSHINO (Photo credit should read KIMIHIRO HOSHINO/AFP/Getty Images)
Twitter logo is displayed at the entrance of Twitter headquarters in San Francisco on March 11, 2011 in California. A US judge on Friday ordered Twitter to hand over data of three users in contact with the controversial website WikiLeaks, rejecting arguments the move violated freedom of speech and privacy. President Barack Obama's administration obtained a court order last year seeking information from the Twitter accounts as it considers action against WikiLeaks, which has released a flood of secret diplomatic documents. AFP Photo / Kimihiro HOSHINO (Photo credit should read KIMIHIRO HOSHINO/AFP/Getty Images)

Who's ready for more ads on Twitter?

Today Twitter officially launched an "Ads API," which it says it's been testing with partners since January.

Launch partners for the API include Adobe, HootSuite, Salesforce, SHIFT and TBG Digital, and Twitter encourages additional marketers who would like to join the program to apply here.

What does this even mean? TechCrunch reports that the API allows brands "to run ad campaigns through the company’s API partners, rather than having to buy them through Twitter itself." AdWeek adds that the change means advertisers will be able to buy more ads on Twitter, run them more quickly and run more targeted campaigns.

The API allows partners to integrate Twitter advertising into their products, allowing brands to more easily "deliver the right message, to the right audience" according to Twitter Product Manager April Underwood.

The announcement follows an AdWeek piece just nine days ago headlined "Twitter Prepping Bigger Ad Play." AdWeek's Tim Peterson wrote that the introduction of an ad API "would enable brands to run ads on the social network as easily as they do on Facebook," but as Twitter gets more aggressive on advertising, it could also upset users. TechCrunch's Ingrid Lunden reported in January that an ad API would be released sometime in the first quarter of 2013.

One of the initial partners, Adobe, wrote in a blog post that it has been testing the API with Twitter for weeks and early results have shown "strong performance."

It remains to be seen how users will respond to the likely greater infusion of advertising into the social network. Even if the frequency of ads a given user sees doesn't immediately change, if the API and new campaigns are successful, it wouldn't be surprising to see Twitter get more aggressive with advertising.

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