Mashable’s New Twitter Sponsorship Module Fuses Social with Display

Mashable says its new sponsorship module can help brands grow their social media presence.

Today, 360i met with Adam Hirsch, Chief Operations Officer of Mashable, to discuss the site’s newest social media branded advertising initiatives. Mashable, which dubs itself as the Social Media Guide, is known for delivering fresh news on movers and shakers in the Web 2.0 world. To date, the site garners 5 million page views per month – not to mention it has a larger Twitter following than 50Cent (closing in on 500,000 followers).

Adam spoke with 360i about Mashable’s new Twitter brand sponsorship module, which integrates a social component with conventional online display advertising. Using a plug-in, brands can link their Twitter updates to a dynamic ad or widget displayed on Mashable.com. Adam said he’s confident these ads will do better than conventional display ads because Mashable commands an audience already dominated by social media enthusiasts.

According to Adam, advertising like this can strengthen a brand’s social media campaign, and is a great way to gain social media clout. He also explained that social media advertising is an affordable way to amplify participation and engagement on Twitter and other social networks.

Mashable’s new initiative demonstrates the importance brands are placing on their social media campaigns. By allocating dollars toward display ads that they hope will increase Twitter followers or other forms of network engagement, brands are revealing just how important social media is to their complete marketing mix.