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A new deal has been announced between Twitter and the Weather Channel.  Often, the weather becomes a trending topic on Twitter.  During a big... The Weather Channel and Twitter Join Forces

A new deal has been announced between Twitter and the Weather Channel.  Often, the weather becomes a trending topic on Twitter.  During a big weather event, many people turn to social media for news.  Social media provides users with access to real time information. Now, whenever the weather becomes a trending topic on Twitter, the Weather Channel will step in to provide custom content.

This isn’t the first of this type of deal for Twitter.  Twitter made a similar sort of deal last year with ESPN.  Like the agreement with ESPN, the content from the Weather Channel will include a variety of things.  Content will include a mixture of user generated content, video clips of weather forecasts, and special coverage for any major weather events.

The Weather Channel and Twitter Join Forces

All of the content will stay within the Twitter stream.  The content employs Twitter’s Cards technology, which will keep users within Twitter.  As with the ESPN deal, the intention is to be attractive enough for third-party advertisers to sponsor the content. For advertisers, it would be an opportunity to reach users in a less traditional manner.  For example, last year because of the partnership with ESPN, Twitter users could watch replays of college football.  The instant replays were tweeted from an official ESPN account.  In turn, Twitter was able to sell ad space to Ford.  A short promotional clip was played before each sports replay.

The way that it would work with weather is essentially the same. For example, an insurance company could provide sponsorship during coverage of a hurricane or tornado.  The major difference is that weather coverage has a larger potential audience. The agreement with the Weather Channel gives Twitter an opportunity to show how their brand of unconventional marketing could work on a larger scale. It’s a chance for Twitter to showcase its ability to sell.

[Image via pocket-lint]