Have you considered using Twitter to find more MCA Leads? Twitter has 328 million active users, making it one of the biggest social media networks out there. But what separates it from platforms like Pinterest or Instagram is the fact that it works as a great way for small and medium sized businesses (SMB) to get discovered. Almost half of all Twitter users follow brands or companies. 66% of Twitter users have discovered a new small business on Twitter, and 94% plan to purchase from those SMBs they follow. 

As an ISO, you are a small business – your target audience also being small businesses. That makes Twitter a great place for you to actively post and reach out to potential merchants. But as with any social media network today, organic posting and interacting simply isn’t enough. In order to take your Twitter efforts to the next level you need to pay to play. Twitter, like Facebook and LinkedIn, offers many different options when it comes to advertising and some are more useful than others for the unique needs of an ISO.

Below, we will discuss our top picks for ISO businesses when advertising on Twitter.

What Types Of Ads Can You Run On Twitter?

Brand Awareness

If your goal is to increase awareness of your ISO business, you need to get as many merchants and SMB owners as you can to see your tweets. With the Brand Awareness promotion option, you set a bid amount you’re willing to pay per 1,000 impressions (CPM). Instead of paying for follows, clicks, or retweets, you will pay for impressions. Keep in mind that follows, clicks, and retweets will surely be side effects of the ad as long as your ad copy is engaging enough.

Tweet Engagement

With Tweet Engagement campaigns, you are able to put your own branded content in front of your desired merchant target audience and boost overall engagement. You have the choice to either promote existing tweets that you already published organically or create specific tweets exclusive to your ad campaign. You’ll pay when people from your target audience engage with your content by liking, retweeting, or replying.

Followers

This goal will help build an engaged following, both on and off the Twitter platform. With a Follower campaign your account will be promoted across the the Twitter platform – timelines, in the “who to follow” listings, and in search results. Your account will be marked with a “promoted” tagging to let users to know it is an ad and you will pay for any follow received from your target audience.

*Customer Insight Study. Twitter + Research Now 2016

Website Clicks

By promoting your website on Twitter, you can drive merchants to take actions on your site like reading a specific blog article or filling out a contact form. Website clicks or conversions campaigns are optimized to generate more conversions on your site from tweets that are directed towards a specific audience of your choosing (like a tailored merchant leads list or an audience based on demographics). You will also be able to feature your website using Website Cards – a format that shows a preview of your site through an image and clear call to action.

*based on Twitter data

How to Start Advertising on Twitter

What Is Your Objective?

Now that you understand the different ads you can create on Twitter, let’s get started with creating your first ad. First, head over to the Twitter Ads Manager and choose your campaign objective. Are you looking to create awareness of your ISO business, gain followers, promote your videos, drive website conversions, or boost engagement? Once you decide this, you’ll be ready to set up your audience.

Who Is Your Audience?

Using the targeting features available to you on the Twitter Audiences Manager, think about who your ideal audience will be. If you’re looking to advertise to existing followers, you will choose that option in targeting. If you’re hoping to gain new merchant leads out of your advertising, you have two options. One is to target based on geographical areas, interests, or other demographic triggers. The other is to utilize Tailored Audiences, where you are able to create your own list based on your existing merchant leads list, website visitors, or email subscription list.

How Do You Want to Bid?

Twitter ads works using a bidding system, like an auction. You will need to decide how much you’re willing to pay for each desired interaction (like clicks onto your website, or new follower) before you start your campaign. The other option is to use the automatic bidding feature, which will automatically determine what the best cost of bid should be based on what your goals are and the size of your target audience. Our only recommendation is if you do wish to go with the manual bid, you will need to be sure to keep an eye on the ads performance and adjust as necessary to keep cost down and get the best use of your budget.

What is Your Budget? What Kind of Creative Will You Be Using? Also think about who your audience will be. Do you want to target based on geographical areas, interests, or other demographic triggers? Or do you want to use a tailored list (we recommend this for ISOs who have an existing merchant leads list or email subscriber list).