Twitter may be offering new geo-targeted ad options by end of year, allowing advertisers to post tweets to users who are within a certain range of a location

Kendall Sinclair

June 24, 2013 (Watblog.com ) – AdAge reports (http://adage.com/article/digital/twitter-developing-geo-targeted-ads-retailers/242725/) that Twitter may be offering ads based on designated latitudes and longitudes, possibly as early as the end of this year.

Using the new geo-targeted ad options, brands could drive more in-store traffic by posting tweets to users who are within close range of a specific location via their Twitter mobile app. An end of the year launch could mean new ad possibilities for retailers wanting to push foot-traffic during the holiday shopping season. According to the report on AdAge, Twitter declined to comment on the availability of the geo-targeted ads.

Unlike Facebook which has allowed advertisers to target their ads by zip codes since 2011, Twitter currently only offers location-based ads targeted to metro areas.

At the moment, Twitter already offers ads (http://marketingland.com/report-twitter-will-near-1-billion-in-ad-revenue-in-2014-37808) targeting by gender, device, keywords, as well as TV shows,

I think this sort of specific geo-targeting could be a very important new tool for advertisers. Retailers could keep track of users as they pass certain stores and restaurants. Users could be informed regarding any sales, deals, or special offers available at certain stores via promoted tweets. And marketers could reduce "waste" in advertising by only targeting a very specific geographic area with their promoted products.

Last week, Twitterbought (http://www.watblog.com/2013/06/20/twitter-buys-social-discovery-app-spindle/)the social discovery app Spindle. It also opened (http://www.watblog.com/2013/06/14/twitter-opens-up-analytics-for-everyone/) up its profile analytics tool Analytics for the general public.

For Twitter users, yes, it's more highly-targeted ads. But when you think about it, promoted tweets containing offers or deals that pop up in your stream when you're nearby could be looked at as a feature, not just as advertising.

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