How Much Does It Cost To Advertise On Twitter

Here's a million-dollar question - how much does it cost to advertise on Twitter? Are you better off on another social media advertising platform like Facebook? We'll find out in this article.

Twitter is a social media platform that lets its users post short, 280-character updates popularly known as tweets. Tweets can include pictures, videos, links, and hashtags (#).

As of January 2020, there are 340 million active Twitter users.

Also, there are over 500 million unregistered monthly visitors. These numbers suggest that Twitter ads can be worthwhile.

Twitter ads cost depend on the ad type, which includes:

• Promoted Tweets - This type of Twitter ad cost $0.50 to $2.00 for each action.
• Promoted Accounts - You need to spend $2 to $4 for each follow for this type of twitter ad.
• Promoted Trends - This type of Twitter ad costs $200,000 per day.

The average cost of advertising on Twitter is $0.38, but generally, how much you pay in your campaigns is set by you.

Now that we are kind of familiar with the ballpark numbers, first, I want to talk about the different factors that impact Twitter ad costs.

Essential Factors That Affect Twitter Ads

Before we jump into these factors, keep in mind that the most important Twitter ad score variable that significantly impacts your cost is Quality Score.

To understand your ad score, here's a simple formula:

By getting familiar with Resonance, Relevance, and Recency, you will have a better understanding of what Quality Score is.

Now, six essential factors impact your Twitter ads:

• Your ad objective tells Twitter what your goal is.
• Your bidding strategy depends on your chosen objective.
• The quality of your ad creatives and videos can lower your cost and boost your ad's performance.
• Your ad format - I will discuss the main types of Twitter ad formats and how much each format costs in the next part of this article.
• Your target audience based on behavior, device, location, interest, age, etc.
• Your competition you'll be bidding against.

You will meet these factors as you create your Twitter ad campaign, and it's convenient if you already know them beforehand.

Now, let's dive into the different types of Twitter ad formats and their costs.

Types Of Twitter Ad Formats And How Much Each Cost

There are three main Twitter ad formats - Promoted Tweets, Promoted Accounts, and Promoted Trends.

The cost of a Twitter ad depends on the ad format you will choose.

Let's discuss each format further.

1. Promoted Tweets

Promoted Tweets are tweets sponsored content that has already been posted. They are for advertisers who want to reach a bigger group of Twitter users or create engagement from their existing followers.

All Promoted Tweets are labeled as "Promoted" when you pay for ad placements on Twitter. They are just like regular Tweets that can be retweeted, replied to, liked, and more.

How much will it cost for you to promote a tweet?

The cost to promote a tweet is between $0.50 to $2.00 for each first action. The average falls around $1.35 each time a Twitter user clicks, replies, or retweets your tweet.

This makes Promoted Tweets a perfect match for brands who want to capitalize on high performing tweets.

2. Promoted Accounts

Promoted Accounts are paid ads that promote an account as a whole to gain new followers and boost brand awareness. It pushes an account to a wide variety of users that don’t currently follow and may find the account interesting.

You can target a particular audience to reach users interested in your brand when you run your ad campaign.

Promoted Accounts are also labeled as "Promoted" to distinguish it from other suggested accounts.

Promoted Accounts operate on a bidding system like Promoted Tweets. You set the bid amount based on how much you are willing to spend for each new follower.

Promoted Accounts are shown in several key locations across the Twitter ecosystem, including timeline, "Who to follow" section, and search result.

So how much do you need to spend to promote your account?

The usual cost of running a Promoted Accounts Twitter ad campaign is between $2.00 and $4.00 per follower.

3. Promoted Trends

The "Trends" section on the right-hand corner of the Twitter page shows Promoted Trends. You will see current trending hashtags and topics based on your interests, who you follow, and your location.

Promoted Trends are located at the top of the trending list with the tag "Promoted".

You must place a specific bid to appear on the promoted trends list like the other Twitter ad formats. The most significant difference between Promoted Trends and the other forms is the ad cost.

So how much do you need to spend to promote a trend on Twitter?

Promoted Trends cost $200,000 a day, which makes it ideal for large enterprises. If you own a small or medium-sized business, you are better off with Promoted Tweets or Promoted Accounts.

It should not be a surprise that there will be extra costs when running a Twitter advertising campaign. You will incur additional advertising costs depending upon who runs your campaign.

• In-house Team - The cost of a regular employee. You know salary plus benefits.
• Social Media Freelancer - Depending on experience, hiring a freelancer will cost you anywhere from $15 to $120 per hour.
• Social Media Marketing Agency - Generally, brands spend $4000 to $7000 per month for expert social media management. The price of hiring a social media advertising agency varies based on each company and the number of social network tasks you need to accomplish. 

If you choose to hire a freelancer or an agency, you need to hire the right one because your advertising budget is on the line. Remember that.

Bonus Twitter Advertising Tips

Now that you figured out how much you need to spend for clicks and impressions on Twitter, you are probably looking for practical tips on how you can get away with paying less.

Well, today is your lucky day because, in this section, I listed bonus Twitter advertising tips that will work well with your budget.

Here we go.

1. Set A Manual Bid

Twitter will help you win ad auctions if you choose automatic bidding, but at a higher ad cost than you'd like to pay.

2. Set A Daily Budget

You enter the amount you want to pay each day on your ads, and you will never spend more than this amount each day of your Twitter campaign.

3. Set A Total Budget

This bidding option lets you choose if you don't want to go over a set amount.

Twitter will stop showing your ads automatically once you reach your ad budget limit.

4. Start With $30 A Day

If you don't know what amount you should start, consider starting with at least $30 per day, which is the amount that Twitter suggests. This amount can help you to reach Twitter users throughout the day consistently.

And that's how much it costs to advertise on Twitter!

I put together below a list of helpful online resources to help you start a Twitter advertising campaign. Feel free to drop us a message today if you want our expert guidance on how to do it.

Recommended Twitter Advertising Resources

• How to Advertise on Twitter: A 7-Step Guide to Using Twitter Ads
• Twitter Ads: What Changes in 2019 – The Complete Guide For Advertisers
• Do Twitter Ads Work? Comparing Ad Performance on the World's Largest Social Networks

So what do you think about this article? Are you ready to launch a Twitter ad campaign?

Leave a comment below and let's discuss.

As always, it will be a huge honor if you think this article is worth the SHARE. Stay safe and healthy!

Header image courtesy of JumpStory.

About the Author Tim Fitzpatrick

Tim Fitzpatrick is the President of Rialto Marketing. At Rialto Marketing, we help small businesses & entrepreneurs eliminate the confusion of marketing by focusing on the fundamentals. As a marketing partner, we help clients put in place and manage a simple marketing plan so they can grow. Marketing your business shouldn't be a challenge. All you need is a plan.