Twitter to Syndicate Promoted Tweets, Will Soon Introduce Instant Timeline

It seems new and exciting changes are coming to the world of Twitter. While the company has been trying lots of different tactics to generate revenue from what is essentially a free-for-all in terms of what it costs and how it functions, Twitter will soon introduce the syndication of promoted Tweets across different platforms, as well as an “Instant Timeline” feature for new users. Is this finally the year Twitter will become profitable?

First, the syndication news: Twitter announced today that it has partnered up with Flipboard and Yahoo! Japan in an effort to spread promoted Tweets across new platforms. The partnership means that if a brand wants to start a Twitter campaign, it will now have tools at its disposal to move that campaign to partnered platforms. Essentially, it’s the equivalent of running a commercial on television during a particular block of shows that appeal to a certain demographic, and then sending that same commercial to various websites that correspond with that target demo.

Says Twitter:

“For example, let’s say Nissan is running a Promoted Tweet campaign on Twitter, but also trying to reach similar audience on a mobile application like Flipboard. Through this new partnership, Nissan could run a Promoted Tweet campaign on Twitter, with specific creative and targeting, and simultaneously run the campaign off Twitter, with the same targeting and creative in the Flipboard app. Best of all, because Flipboard already integrates organic Tweets into the app, the Promoted Tweet will have the same look and feel that is native to the Flipboard experience.”

While it’s not monumental news, the syndication of promoted Tweets does show Twitter’s commitment to turn its free service into a way of generating profit – something it has yet to figure out.

Then there’s the forthcoming introduction of the “Instant Timeline,” which is described by the New York Times as a way for Twitter to help ease new users into the service’s unique language and customs. Rather than showing you Tweets just from people you have decided to follow, the Instant Timeline analyzes the contacts you authorize it to look at (like, say, your smartphone contacts that also have Twitter accounts) and then shows you Tweets related to what it thinks might be both your interests and the interests of your friends.

Will the Instant Timeline bring in more users and increase the chance of Twitter finding profitability? Maybe. Then again, maybe it’s only a matter of time before the very profitable Facebook pulls out its checkbook and simply buys its biggest social network rival.

Hey, it could happen…

[Sources: New York Times, Twitter]