Twitter’s next move in monetisation? Video ads in promoted tweets

It’s no secret that Twitter is looking into new ways to monetise its (free) service — in 2011, it rolled out promoted posts, and since then it has been experimenting with everything from potential income from shopping deals to the mysterious upcoming music app. But it seems Twitter has yet another plan: making money from ads, which are, um, placed in ads.

Citing a tweet from a US broadcaster as an example, an All Things D report suggests Twitter is quietly piloting YouTube-style pre-roll advertising options for videos uploaded by a small number of media organisations. These ads are included in videos shared by companies that can then pay to promote the tweet, with Twitter and the content owner sharing the ad revenue. It’s an ad within an ad.

While broadcasters can of course just upload or share a link to a video without Twitter’s input, the service is reportedly negotiating with broadcasters like NBCUniversal and Viacom consider the option because of another potential value add: social analytics. Twitter acquired social TV analytics company Bluefin Labs earlier this year, and is apparently planning to use the startup’s technology to identify new audiences who may be interested in watching the video. So by partnering with Twitter, a broadcaster could potentially share a video with its current viewers, as well as promote the tweet to reach scores of new ones.

It’s no secret that Twitter has become a popular companion for audiences settling down in front of the TV. A recent Nielsen report suggests that a third of active Twitter users have posted about a TV show, and the two companies have partnered to measure the reach of conversations about television on the social network.