Twitter Opening Office In Sao Paulo, Brazil

Twitter has announced that the company is building an office in Sao Paulo, the Brazilian city in which Facebook has based its South American branch.

Sao Paulo, which is the eighth most populous city in the world, is enjoying a internet boom along with the rest of Brazil, the country where Twitter has its second largest membership base after the US, counting 40 million users.

"We believe our new office in Brazil will allow us to get closer to the users and show the value of our platform," Facebook’s Brazilian company manager, Guilherme Ribenboim, told Reuters in a recent interview.
"Brazil has rather mature Internet and advertisement markets. Our audience is very big and active," he said. "We are going to try to monetize it."

Twitter is hoping that, by setting up offices in Brazil, it will not only attract more members, but also increase the usage of those who have already joined: Brazil is currently fifth in Twitter usage stats.

Twitter, which recorded 150 million messages at one point during the London Olympics, will certainly be looking to take advantage of the two huge events taking place in Brazil in the next four years, the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics – both spectacles will have a significant impact on Brazil’s booming economy.

During the London Olympics, Twitter users turned to the service to stay abreast of what was happening, to share opinions on the big talking points and to see the pictures and messages posted by athletes and teams. Advertisers saw a brilliant opportunity to target huge numbers of consumers at once.

Due to the relative success the site had during the London Olympics and subsequent similar events, Twitter is planning to offer social media marketers opportunities during the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics.

"It is already happening”, said Ribenboim. “We are talking (to advertisers) looking for opportunities, strategies."

Do you think Twitter’s move into Brazil is a clever one? How would you use the Brazilian World Cup and Olympics to advertise your business online?