Twitter unlocks basic advertising option in 167 more countries

[SAN FRANCISCO] Twitter Inc is opening a large potential advertiser base by making it possible to pay to promote content in 167 more countries and territories.

It marks a milestone for the San Francisco-based company, which has long said international expansion was a priority, but until Wednesday had self-service advertising available only in 33 countries, Twitter said in a statement. Those types of advertisements allow people to pay to show their tweets to more people who aren't following them.

The move could boost Twitter's revenue. A vast majority of the social-media company's users are overseas, but the US accounted for 63 per cent of its US$452 million second-quarter revenue. Adam Bain, the company's revenue chief, has said he's especially interested in expanding Twitter's presence in markets with high smartphone use, such as Indonesia and Brazil.

The company now offers ads in 15 languages and said it has 100,000 active advertisers, including small businesses that use the self-serve product. For comparison, Facebook Inc in February said it had 2 million advertisers.

BLOOMBERG