Twitter Fleet Ads: Pilot Testing Begins Today

Twitter Introduces Advertising to Fleets

Ads are now being integrated into Twitter’s Stories feature, known as Fleets. The company has announced the commencement of pilot testing for Fleet ads within the United States.

First Full-Screen Vertical Ads

This marks the first instance of full-screen, vertical format ads appearing on Twitter. It allows the platform to more effectively compete with similar ad formats found on other social media networks.

These competing platforms include Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok, among others.

Ad Format and Features

The new Fleet ads will be displayed between Fleets posted by accounts users follow. They will support both image and video content in a 9:16 aspect ratio.

Video ads can be up to 30 seconds in length. Brands will also have the option to incorporate a “swipe up” call-to-action within their advertisements.

Ad Length Comparison

While shorter than Instagram’s maximum video ad length (120 seconds) and TikTok’s (60 seconds), this duration aligns with industry best practices.

Shorter ads are often considered more effective at capturing and maintaining audience attention.

Ad Frequency and Metrics

Twitter has not specified the frequency with which users will encounter Fleet ads. The company intends to “innovate, test and continue to adapt” based on user engagement.

Advertisers will receive standard Twitter ad metrics, including impressions, profile visits, clicks, and website visits.

For video ads, reporting will encompass video views, 6-second video views, starts, completions, and quartile reporting.

Pilot Program Details

The initial pilot program is limited to 10 advertisers in the U.S. These advertisers represent sectors such as technology, retail, dining, and consumer packaged goods (CPG).

This pilot will provide valuable insights into the performance of these ads on Twitter.

Future Ad Implementations

The findings will inform future optimization of Fleet ads and potentially guide the implementation of full-screen ads in other areas of the platform.

Understanding user sentiment and engagement with full-screen ads is also a key objective of this test.

The Introduction of Fleets

Twitter first began experimenting with Fleets in the spring of 2020. The goal was to offer a Stories-like experience for sharing ephemeral content.

Fleets were designed to encourage participation from users who might be hesitant to post more permanent content.

Fleets' Unique Characteristics

Content posted to Fleets disappears after 24 hours, reducing the pressure for performance. They also do not circulate through retweets or appear in Twitter Search or Moments.

The feature was rolled out to all global users in November 2020.

Initial Criticism and Current Usage

Fleets initially faced criticism from some users who perceived them as contributing to the homogenization of social media apps.

Despite this, Fleets have become an integral part of the Twitter user experience.

Fleets Functionality

Users currently utilize Fleets to reference other tweets or share personal updates, photos, and commentary.

However, compared to Stories on platforms like Snapchat or Instagram, Fleets offer a relatively limited set of creator tools.

Options include changing the background color and adding stickers or text.

Fleet Adoption Rates

Twitter has not disclosed the exact number or percentage of active users who have adopted Fleets.

However, the company reports that 73% of users who post Fleets also actively browse content shared by others.

Future Development

Twitter intends to continue investing in Fleets and plans to introduce new updates and features in the future.

Fleet ads are launching today in the U.S. on both iOS and Android devices.