Updated: We’ve added a new chart at the bottom of the post.
Last month, Twitter started promoting ad keywords in its “trending topics” list. With this system, users are brought to a search results page, where the page is topped by a promoted Tweet. But does it work is the question.
The answer seems to be yes. Today the National Basketball Association purchased “LeBron James” as a trending topic. Discussion on Mr. James has increased markedly since then. Since the topic has been purchased it has gone from 500 Tweets per hour to 3,000 and rising.
Below you’ll see a chart tracking mentions on Twitter of the terms NBA and LeBron James, before and after the ad placement went into effect. The chart comes from Seattle startup Rowfeeder. Rowfeeder’s Adam Schoenfeld posted it on Twitter this afternoon.
Knowing whether the purchase was a wise one will require time. If the purchased topic keeps trending, it may indicate a safe bet for future advertisers.
