Twitter is going to start putting a daily video advert at the top of the timeline
Marketers will be able to own the top slot for a 24-hour period. It's a premium placement, with the opportunity to reach a high number of users. Twitter doesn't reveal its daily active user number, but it has more than 320 million monthly active users.
First View is rolling out initially in the US to its "managed clients" - big advertisers that work directly with Twitter's sales team, rather than using its self-serve ad buying platform. The product will expand to international advertisers "in the coming months."
In a blog post on the Twitter website, 20th Century Fox president of domestic theatrical marketing Marc Weinstock says First View will be an important word-of-mouth marketing tool.
"Twitter's First View is a great opportunity to widely distribute our trailer for Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates while generating buzz and social conversation. We are able to hit a broad movie-going audience with great video in a way that not just garners views, but actually creates social momentum," he writes.
Twitter's stock is currently trading at an all-time low ($14.72 at the time of writing.) Having been under pressure for months as the company struggles to boost user growth, Twitter's stock plunged below $15 for the first time this week after reports over the weekend suggested the company was going to introduce a non-chronological algorithmic timeline.
Jack Dorsey, Twitter's CEO, debunked the reports in a tweetstorm on Saturday afternoon, saying the company "never planned to reorder timelines next week" and that "Twitter is live."