Twitter mulls traditional advertising with former Apple exec [STRATEGY]

This is Twitter's big year: if it can post sufficient growth, the social media company will be well-positioned for a 2013 IPO. And, it will be able to take some market share away from Facebook, to which Twitter has always been considered a distant #2. Twitter's latest move is bold.

The company has reached out to Allison Johnson, formerly VP of global marketing communications at AAPL)" href="http://www.insideipo.com/tag/apple">Apple. The goal is to find new ways to market its social media platform to consumers. According to AdAge, Twitter isn't commenting. What is interesting, however, is that AdAge was able to learn that Twitter has been ‘quietly discussing plans to launch an advertising campaign with the help of Ms. Johnson's new firm, which was formed last year with the help of funding from Twitter co-founder and chairman Jack Dorsey.

And, the plot thickens: all this is taking place while ‘Twitter has no chief marketer in place.' After a few months with the company, Twitter lost its first VP of consumer marketing, former eTrade executive Pam Kramer, AdAge reports.

So, why would Twitter advertise through traditional channels – or through any channels aside from its own? My guess is that the company is trying to reach new potential users who aren't closely connected with people already signed on to the platform. With its current approach, it looks like Twitter benefits most from referrals from existing Twitter users and discovery through sharing on other platforms, such as GOOG)" href="http://www.insideipo.com/tag/google">Google (via search) or Facebook.

With Twitter ending the real-time search agreement it had with Google, the company has been vocal about the implications for Twitter content showing up in search results, which could affect new user acquisition. To gain ground in the social media race fast, it needs to get aggressive in new channels.

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Source: Adage

Photo: Rosaura Ochoa via Flickr