Knowing which social posts have been promoted is a tough draw. I’ve tried a few times to filter boosted posts out from the rest with no luck.
Last week my luck finally changed as I dug into the Twitter source analysis I talked about on Wednesday. To my nerdy delight, tweets posted from the Twitter Ads platform directly are labeled as such. It doesn’t catch tweets posted from another platform and then later promoted as is nor does it indicate how much paid promotion it received, but it’s a start.
So, who is promoting tweets and what are they promoting? I’m glad you axed.
The Resorts
So far at least these resorts (remember, if they tweet first and promote later I won’t see it) have experimented with promoted tweets:
Was happy (and a bit surprised) to see some smaller areas testing things out.
Stats
Again, keep in mind this only counts tweets posted directly from the Twitter Ads platform, but as such here are a few stats.
Total Tweets
1,124
Average / Resort (Median)
45 (10)
*note that two resorts account for 73% of all promoted tweets, hence the gap between average and median
“Testers” (Resorts with 1 Promoted Tweet)
7 (28% of total)
YOY Promoted Tweets
2013: 13
2014: 315
2015: 597
2016: 199
Top Tweets
Again, we don’t know how much budget was put toward any given tweet, but assuming engagement is somewhat constant between these tweets we can use favorites and retweets as an indicated.
Here are the top promoted tweets from each resorts based on engagement to show not just what’s being promoted, but how much it’s been promoted as well as a vague look into the results.
Badger Pass Ski Area Daily Snow Report: http://t.co/wdwkzVwTQA #Yosemite #California
— Badger Pass Ski Area (@SkiBadgerPass) December 18, 2014
The Bear Mountain/Snow Summit Anytime Season Pass is on sale for the lowest price of the season! Don't wait for HDHR https://t.co/QkRBo70GNB
— Bear Mountain (@Bear_Mountain) April 6, 2015
Snow gods haven't been too kind to us lately. Here's our attempt to change that. http://t.co/uXXg3Bb0ZB @ski_vermont @skitheeast @saminfo
— Bolton Valley (@BoltonValley) January 16, 2014
Our new lower plaza is nearly complete – come check it out @ our Summer Grand Opening June 20! http://t.co/ylb5yRSpvB pic.twitter.com/ubbFmNoKKY
— Brundage Mountain (@BrundageMtn) June 12, 2015
The Buck Hill Snow Tubing Area opens for the season on Friday November 28th! Open 10am-10pm all weekend! #minnesota pic.twitter.com/LP9eAqz06v
— Buck Hill (@buckhillmn) November 25, 2014
The guns are on! #MyCamelback pic.twitter.com/HhFy6Qf4yB
— Camelback Mountain (@skicamelback) December 19, 2015
Incredible views of the snow covered mountains along Ruby Road! Photo by @scottclarksoncb #onlyincrestedbutte pic.twitter.com/OLeG1ZvuNR
— Crested Butte (@skicrestedbutte) December 28, 2015
The #bike park at Granby Ranch got some good ink in Sports Guide Mag! #Colorado http://t.co/qbAnDfVP3o
— Granby Ranch (@GranbyRanch) October 4, 2014
We're opening up Way Out and the Zephyr Express this morning! #thankasnowmaker https://t.co/TEGpLCPB77 pic.twitter.com/mHLiKzRTJO
— HunterMtn (@huntermtn) January 7, 2016
Don't miss a second of California's best snow. Come spend your holidays at Mammoth Mountain. https://t.co/RFE8nF0QmC
— MammothMountain (@MammothMountain) December 6, 2014
It's sunrise Sunday – here's one of the best sunrises from the past week. pic.twitter.com/n2BqaqPfew
— Monarch Mountain (@MonarchMountain) December 13, 2015
Only a few days left to save!
2015/16 Season passes as low as $90 until June 19thhttp://t.co/QQnjmZF3i2 pic.twitter.com/CrEi6VroWP— Mount Norquay (@MtNorquay) June 15, 2015
Join us 8/31 for our Season Pass Party! We're giving out over $10k in prizes and party exclusive benefits! #mthigh pic.twitter.com/emgKZcVq4u
— Mountain High (@mthigh) August 22, 2013
Holy moley here comes the snowy! #Excited for the upcoming #snow!
Take your time while #driving so we can see you soon! #WeJustLoveYouGuys— Nordic Mountain (@NordicMountain) November 24, 2014
Stay + Play FREE from $75 per person, per night. Book today! http://t.co/VtcR5WSzgO pic.twitter.com/ydG4ZJhY1h
— Northstar California (@SkiNorthstar) May 28, 2013
NOTICE: The Ogden Canyon will be closed today, tomorrow & Wed 12/16 from 9am – 4pm. Please plan other routes to access Snowbasin Resort!
— Snowbasin Resort (@snowbasinresort) December 14, 2015
Half a foot of snow on Rabbit Ears Pass marks return of plow season. #SteamboatResort #COwx pic.twitter.com/8RYm9FcWS1
— #SteamboatResort (@skisteamboat) October 23, 2015
Seek your Sun Valley escape this summer. https://t.co/KTDEKNDLuJ
— Sun Valley Resort (@sunvalley) April 30, 2014
Want to ski the new snow for free tomorrow? Check back at 8:30am, we'll tell you where we are, the first 10 to find us get free day passes!
— Sundance Resort (@SundanceResort) January 30, 2014
Skiing is a dance, and the mountain always leads.
— Sunshine Village (@SunshineVillage) November 28, 2015
40 days until bike park opens- Season passes just $99 plus tax.
Buy now: https://t.co/50pBSz2PFg#tamfam #downhill pic.twitter.com/MECW7om9KH— Tamarack Resort (@Ski_Tamarack) May 15, 2016
DYK: New York has more ski areas than any other state? 43 of 'em! @ISkiNY @I_LOVE_NY #TriviaTuesday pic.twitter.com/UDHgyI9Amn
— Titus Mountain (@SkiTitusMt) July 14, 2015
What better way to spend a Saturday than making fresh turns with a good friend. pic.twitter.com/1BDMl0TEDD
— Vail (@vailmtn) March 29, 2014
20 days! #wawawinter pic.twitter.com/npWTcGZiGj
— Wachusett Mountain (@Wachusett) November 2, 2014
The #Canadian National #BBQChamps are happening @Dustys_Whistler August 2-4! #Whistler #YVR http://t.co/NBwSPEUEev
— Whistler Blackcomb (@WhistlerBlckcmb) July 24, 2013
So a couple resorts going all in, a dozen or so using promoted tweets semi regularly, another dozen just testing the waters with tweets about everything from offers and discounts to snow reports and road closures.
I’ve played around with the platform a bit myself and, while I wish it were a little easier to use (like Facebook’s 2-3 click flow to boost any), the results were about what I expected. Nothing special on CPC, decent for gaining new reach, and best used to drive awareness within your own community.
About Gregg & SlopeFillers
I've had more first-time visitors lately, so adding a quick "about" section. I started SlopeFillers in 2010
with the simple goal of sharing great resort marketing strategies. Today I run marketing for resort ecommerce and CRM provider
Inntopia,
my home mountain is the lovely Nordic Valley,
and my favorite marketing campaign remains the Ski Utah TV show that sold me on skiing as a kid in the 90s.
New stories, ideas, and jobs delivered to your inbox every Friday morning.