Chasing That Dollar: Twitter To Introduce 15 Additional Ad Types This Year

Twitter's job over the course of the next six months is to figure out how to inject 15 new ad types into its microblogging service without turning users away. Reportedly that's the plan, as Twitter finds itself under increased pressure to prove to investors that it can leverage a successful ad platform and become a profitable company.

The social network also must convince businesses and mobile game developers that Twitter is a viable vehicle for advertising goods. That chance will come soon, as the first batch of ads will be released in just a few weeks, The Wall Street Journal reports. Those initial ads will focus on encouraging users to download apps through Twitter.

Twitter

It's an interesting time for Twitter, which more than doubled its advertising revenue in the fourth quarter to $219.6 million compared to the same quarter a year prior. However, the company hasn't yet posted a profit. It also has a $26.9 billion valuation to live up to, and a falling stock price to contend with.

The path Twitter is about to embark on is a proven one in the social networking space. Facebook launched its own mobile app installation ad unit towards the end of 2012, and last quarter it made up more than half of the company's revenue, WSJ says. That doesn't guarantee Twitter will see the same kind of success, but it's certainly an encouraging sign.