In a new push to get more people to start thinking about advertising on Twitter, the company is prominently displaying its new ad button right atop some mobile users’ profiles, according to TechCrunch. These so-called “Twitter ads” are part of the social media giant’s latest attempt to monetize its service and get more people excited about marketing on the platform.
The button now appears on iOS and Android versions of the app, if you have already established a Twitter ad campaign. Sitting beside the “Edit profile” button, the account switcher, and also the Settings icon, it’s easy to confuse it as a shortcut to Twitter analytics. Its placement could be rethought in future iterations, as this is the beta test that’s underway. The hope is that users will now manage their ad campaigns when they’re out and about, not just on the desktop.
Ohh a new shiny button! Twitter Ads have gone fully mobile. #smsports pic.twitter.com/yPqXV0dOjV
— Eric DeSalvo (@EricDeSalvo) July 1, 2015
However, because it feels like monetization that’s pushed on users instead of allowing them to opt in, some are already griping about this new feature. Essentially, its useless to those who aren’t already running a Twitter ad campaign since it fails to allow users to start their very first ad campaign from the mobile app itself. Compared to what Facebook did early this year – launching its then-new Facebook Ads Manager app that let users create ads right from their smartphones – this Twitter attempt falls short. Any way you cut it, it would be a smart move to permit people to actually create ad campaigns directly from their phones. With this new button, Twitter’s taking up far too much of a smartphone’s screen to raise revenue for it to fail to give people this additional, convenient option.
Having a “Twitter Ads” button above Lists and Drafts not only seems desperate but disregards the user experience. pic.twitter.com/sDTrakPftc
— James Gobert (@MrGobert) June 24, 2015
While this new feature could use some work, this is not the first time the company has experimented with Twitter Ads being a more significant part of the user experience. According to TechCrunch, this ad button previously appeared in the list that pops up when users tap on the Settings selection. During that time, it made appearances on top of the Lists, Drafts, and Help options as well.
