• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, August 17, 2022

Twitter is launching three new or improved ad tools in time for what could be an inflation-challenged holiday for marketers.

Twitter Pixel, Conversion API and App Purchase Optimization tools are available to all of the social platform’s advertisers.

The updated Twitter Pixel is designed to enable performance advertisers to measure return on ad spend by tracking conversion activities including views, clicks and other engagement with Twitter ads.

Pixel now allows advertisers to measure more actions, including when consumers add an item to their digital shopping carts.

Twitter says it has also simplified the set-up/event creation process for measurement solutions, and introduced updates to the Pixel Helper Chrome extension to help advertisers better understand the impact of their web campaigns and provide clearer support when checking to see if the Pixel is implemented properly.

The new Conversion API (CAPI) measurement solution lets advertisers connect to Twitter’s API endpoint and send conversion events to Twitter from their servers without using third-party cookies. Twitter says that this is part of its efforts to reduce its reliance on cookies to improve ad performance while maintaining its user privacy and security commitments.

CAPI (diagram above) can also help improve optimization and ad targeting without the need for a Twitter Pixel, according to the company. This marks the first time advertisers can connect data to see conversions without placing a tag on their sites. Multiple data signals with Conversion API (CAPI) can be used — including Twitter Click ID or email addresses — to send conversion events to the API endpoint for more accessible conversion metrics/insights.

App Purchase Optimization is designed to enhance Twitter’s ability to drive purchases and other lower-funnel performance campaign outcomes.

App Purchase Optimization uses machine learning to identify audiences more likely to take an action, to help deliver ads to people most likely to install an app or make a purchase.

Twitter reports that, in early tests comparing campaigns optimizing for purchases versus ones optimizing for installs, 89% of advertisers saw a reduction in cost-per-purchase compared to Install Optimization. The median reduction when using Click Billing was 30.4%, and the median decrease when using Impressions Billing was 12.8%.

App Purchase Optimization is now available via Android for all advertisers, with an iOS launch to follow sometime in the future. 

Twitter also reports that it is in the process of developing three more ad performance-enhancing launches.

A new Collection Ads format will let brands display a primary hero image with smaller thumbnail visuals below. Each image will  drive consumers to a different website or product landing page, to support various advertising objectives. 

New Dyanmic Product Ads “will dynamically deliver relevant products to the right person, at the right time, based on their activity both on and off Twitter” to help drive sales or conversions, Twitter says. 

The platform is also promising that a rebuild of Twitter’s Website Conversions optimization model will help improve reach to consumers more likely to purchase, add an item to a cart, or engage in other lower-funnel activities.