Brands must become more creative in the way they use Twitter if they want to get the best from the platform, its vice president of Asia Pacific has warned.
Speaking to B&T this morning Shailesh Rao said the appointment of Google’s Karen Stocks as country manager was “a strong commitment to the market”, adding: “We’re excited as it’s an important country and market for us in the world.”
The social media platform officially opened its first Aussie office this morning, and is looking to monetize more of the brand engagement on the site with services like promoted tweets and trends.
Whilst refusing to reveal how many employees were on the ground locally he said there would be scope for more hires in the future.
Rao said whilst brands in Australia have been using the platform to engage with audiences for some time, the new tools would allow them to amplify messages to new audiences, but would have to be creative to maximize impact.
“We think creative ideation is very important, it’s not just a display idea, it has to come across as a conversation with a human, the way a brand presents the message has to work for them,” he said. “That takes a different approach.”
“Our focus is pretty simple, to make sure the content presented to users is relevant and users will have the chance to be exposed to as much diverse and quality content as possible, to get the most out of the platform.
“We encourage brands to strive equally to deliver good content. If there is great content being offered and connected to the right audiences it means good things for the brands and the audiences.”
He also refused to be drawn on the potential threat of TV second screen apps, a play by the major networks to allow them to keep more revenues as budgets constrict, but said he was pleased more TV stations are engaging with the platform to amplify their shows.
He pointed to Vodafone’s activity with them around The Voice as a good example of brands using main media opportunities to amplify their share of voice in the market.
