It’s taken some time, but Twitter has finally launched its new Ads Transparency center, which will enable users to view all the ads being run by any Twitter profile at any given time.
The process of utilizing the Ads Transparency Center is pretty simple - as explained by Twitter:
“Similar to the search experience on Twitter, to view ads from any advertiser you will be able to simply search for a specific handle and see the creative for all ad campaigns that have run within the last 7 days from that handle.”
The ad search option will be available to everyone, even non-Twitter users (no login or Twitter account will be required), which will give third parties the capability to double-check potentially concerning ads – particularly in relation to political content on the platform.
And that’s the key driver here. Following questions around how the platform may have been used to influence voters in the lead-up to the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election, Twitter has added a range of new policies for political advertisers in order to improve transparency. Last month, Twitter also added new badges for political candidate profiles, making it easier to see who’s running.
Through the Ads Transparency Center, users will be able to access more data about political advertisers, including billing information, ad spend, and demographic targeting options used.
The additional insights are currently only available for U.S. based candidates, but Twitter is looking to expand the option to more regions in future.
As noted, Twitter’s Ads Transparency Center has been a long time coming. The platform first announced the tool eight months ago, back in October last year - it’s been so long coming, in fact, that many had questioned whether it would ever arrive. But Twitter has now come good on its pledge, adding another tool to help address concerns.
And the new option could also come in particularly handy for social media marketers. Now, you have the capacity to view all the Twitter ads being run by any account, at any time, which is a great research tool for your own Twitter ads, and for scoping out your competition.
By checking out what other brands are doing, you might find new inspiration for your own Twitter approach, or you might get a better understanding of the angles brands are taking to maximize appeal with the Twitter audience.
If nothing else, it’s an interesting research option – the main aim is obviously to improve awareness of who’s paying for political and issue-based ads, but there’s a range of ways in which it can be used for varying purpose.
You can check out the new Twitter Ads Transparency Center yourself at this link.
