Get ready for video ads in Twitter!

Twitter has launched a new advertising program that delivers "promoted videos" to the tweet stream of users of the popular messaging platform.

The new program adds to the source of advertising revenue for Twitter, which has struggled to convince investors it is on a path to profitability.

"By using Promoted Video, it's easy for brands to upload and distribute video on Twitter and to measure the reach and effectiveness of this content," Product Manager David Regan said in a blog post.

Regan said test launch came after months of experiments and feedback from users and brands. He said that to make it easier for advertisers, Twitter will offer a cost-per-view model: "This means advertisers only get charged when a users starts playing the video," he said.

"Additionally, advertisers using Promoted Video have access to robust video analytics, such as how many people view the entire video," he added.

Twitter accounted for 0.5% of global digital advertising revenues in 2013, according to research firm eMarketer, and expects to increase that to 0.8% this year, as digital advertising spending grows to $140.15bn.