Twitter Launches Promoted Stickers With Pepsi

Less than two months after introducing searchable stickers, Twitter wants to monetize the feature via a new partnership with Pepsi, the global launch partner for Twitter's Promoted Stickers.

Tweeters in Argentina, Canada, Egypt, India, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, and the US can look for Pepsi-branded tags in the app's library.

The social network last month completed its rollout of the new sticker feature, allowing iOS and Android users to jazz up their photos with graphic lightning bolts, snowmen, cacti, watermelon, sunglasses, and other emoji.

Before posting a photo, tap the smiley-face icon at the bottom of the screen to reveal a library of stickers ranging from animals and food to technology, flags, and weather.

Like hashtags, Twitter stickers aim to make it easy for people to explore a topic of interest or join a global conversation. Any public tweet containing a sticker is searchable; just tap on an emblem to call up a timeline of messages from people around the world using the same stamp.

"Now, people around the world can all share their universal passion for Pepsi and make the brand come alive in a powerful new way on Twitter," social network COO Adam Bain said in a statement.

As part of today's launch, Pepsi will share nearly 50 custom stickers associated with its global PepsiMoji campaign. "If a picture is worth a thousand words, a picture with Pepsi stickers can really spark a conversation," said Brad Jakeman, president of PepsiCo Global Beverage Group.

Brands looking to interact with Twitter users are invited to design four to eight stickers to act as visual hashtags. Companies can then track their use across the platform.

Rival social networks like Snapchat and Facebook, meanwhile, have offered stickers for a while. And some users are less than thrilled with Twitter's new addition, pointing out that the social network should have first made good on another recent promise—to stop counting photos toward the 140-character limit. Others suggested the company should focus its efforts on more important changes, like letting users edit tweets.

This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.