Yesterday Twitter announced the basics of the first Phase of Promoted Tweets

Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Although our services extend beyond the Web, Twitter ranks as one of the most popular sites on the Internet. Over the years, we’ve resisted introducing a traditional Web advertising model because we wanted to optimize for value before profit. The open exchange of information creates opportunities for individuals, organizations, and businesses alike. We recognized value in this exchange and planned to amplify it in a meaningful and relevant manner.

Stubborn insistence on a slow and thoughtful approach to monetization—one which puts users first, amplifies existing value, and generates profit has frustrated some Twitter watchers. Believe me, when your name is Biz and you’re a co-founder of Twitter, it also means putting yourself at the mercy of folks like Stephen Colbert who hit home runs with lines like, “So, I assume that ‘Biz’ in ‘Biz Stone’ does not stand for ‘Business Model’.”

We hope you’ll share in our enthusiasm as today we unveil a simple service we’re calling Promoted Tweets. It’s non-traditional, it’s easy, and it makes a ton of sense for Twitter. Our COO Dick Costolo will be talking about this much anticipated offering in detail today at the AdAge Digital conference. Tomorrow at Chirp, both Dick and our fearless leader Evan Williams will further discuss this program and what it means for the Twitter ecosystem.

This announcement is a long time coming and we’re thrilled to finally be able to share it with you. As this project matures, there will be more to talk about. We will learn a lot as the program grows. In the meantime, if you have questions about Promoted Tweets, please read through this Q&A provided by the small but incredibly hard-working team behind Promoted Tweets. Hopefully, you’ll get a good idea of what we’re working to achieve.

In its latest move to expand its performance advertising program, Facebook is offering what it tells us is “thousands” of new cities in its self-serve advertising tool, meaning advertisers can more narrowly target users across the United States and around the world. From social game developers to the various large and small businesses already using the service, the information could help them boost their returns on investment.

Facebook isn’t giving a full list of which cities have been added, but you can check out the cities in your area here for yourself.

Some of the Sacramento area cities that have been added (plus the ones that were already there): Antelope, Auburn, Cameron Park, Carmichael, Citrus Heights, Colfax, Davis. Dixon, El Dorado Hills, Elk Grove, Fair Oaks, Fairfield, Folsom, Galt, Granite Bay, Grass Valley, Lincoln, Lodi, Loomis, Marysville, North Highland, Orangevale, Pine Grove, Placerville, Plymouth, Pollock Pines, Rancho Cordova, Rocklin, Roseville, Sacramento, Sutter, Sutter Creek, West Sacramento, Woodland and Yuba City. If you’d like help in designing a strategy to help you reach these communities, please call Julie Gallaher at 916-265-2521.

And while you’re here, download a free copy of my Facebook Advertising Success Stories report.

Old Media – Newpaper Decline

ATTN: I am working on my next edition of the Facebook Advertising series – Facebook Advertising Local Focus. If you have great results you would like to share, please contact me at Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter, email me at julie@getonthemap.us or call 916-265-2521. Our first report has been downloaded over 7,500 times and was re-published by Facebook and Business Week. All contributing authors received full credit.

From B2B, like telecommunication services and software to B2C like Western Clothing and Physician Marketing, I think you’ll find something in this report that interests you.

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Contributors – Indi Avila, Susan Barry, Bob Bentz, Michelle Cantrell, Sarah Doheny, Jen Dwyer, Sam Goldfarb, Erik Hagborg, Adrienne Janzen, Rhondalynn Korolak, Brian Laesch, Lisa Making, Ted McLaghlan, Tricia Meyer, Freddy J. Nager, Marc Newberger, Francesca Roth, Lisa ECStewart, Donna and John Taylor, Zaki Usman, Peter VanRysdam, Lori Jo Vest, Jochem Vroom, Guido Weber, and a special feature on Facebook Fan Pages by Mari Smith.

The results of an update to the comScore highly publicized “Natural Born Clickers” research, conducted two years ago with Starcom USA and Tacoda, indicate that the number of people who click on display ads in a month has fallen from 32% of Internet users in July 2007 to only 16% in March 2009, with an even smaller core of people (representing 8% of the Internet user base) accounting for 85% of all clicks.