Twitter delights investors with advertising tool that can reach users even when they are logged out

Investors in social media giant Twitter have cheered a pilot of an advertising tool that the company said could allow marketers to reach 500 million people in a single click.

Shares surged more than 6% to $25.74 on the New York Stock Exchange after Twitter revealed that it was expanding its ad syndication programme so that its ads can reach users even when they are logged out.

"We're taking (ad syndication) a step further with a test for marketers to reach the over 500 million people who visit Twitter each month to keep in touch with what's happening without logging in," said Revenue Product Manager Deepak Rao in a blog post.

"This includes people who click on links to Tweets in Google search, who will now be able to consume branded, promoted content alongside organic Tweets," he added.

The move could more than double Twitter's base of monetiseable users, Business Insider reported.

Twitter has been under pressure from shareholders over slowing user growth, as well as concerns over its money-making strategies, which have pushed its share price below that $26 they first listed at in 2013.

Co-founder Jack Dorsey, who was reappointed as chief executive in October, has set in motion plans to help turn things around, including more than 300 job cuts.

But Twitter disappointed again in October, lowering its revenue forecast for the fourth quarter without explanation.

Analysts suspected it was related to user growth and increased competitive threats.