And now for a word from our sponsor… on Twitter?!?

• November 16, 2010

By Linda Forrest

Let’s face it: there’s a delicate balance between cool and commerce. New media arrived on the scene like an irreverent, insouciant prat, thumbing its nose at the “old” way of doing things, and this includes marketing. That new media would spell the end for traditional media has been a much ballyhooed topic these past few years. While the death of traditional media has been overstated, the adoption of so-called 2.0 communications modes certainly shook things up from a marketing perspective.

No longer are customers – whether B2B or B2C – content to have information solely pushed at them, rather they want to participate in the meaningful exchange of information and, in most instances, pull the relevant information to them. It’s up to marketers to make sure that the pertinent information is available on all channels that make sense, and to respond quickly to reputation-threatening information.

One thing that most definitely hasn’t changed is that businesses need to make money in order to survive. Twitter is no different.

Having survived for several years on no revenue, it was time for the company to fish or cut bait and so it took a page from its media predecessors and started to sell advertising. No longer was one’s Twitterstream the providence of the free-thinking and radical sticking it to the proverbial “man.” It became a marketing channel like any other, where companies, for the right price, could promote their Tweets to prospective customers.

While users might complain loudly about this interruption of their streams by corporate raiders, or roll their eyes at the suggestions for who to follow, Promoted Tweets represent a great opportunity for brands, and here’s why.

The recent noise level on Twitter reminds me of MP3.com in its heyday. It was a free-for-all where there was so much content and no way for content creators to effectively market their wares. As a result of the amplification of everything, it was very difficult for users to hear anything. With the adoption of a Promoted Tweets option, there’s a mechanism for brands to rise above the noise. The reputation management opportunities presented by Promoted Tweets are phenomenal.

Examine Twitter’s old way of doing things. Let’s say a brand experiences a potentially damaging incident that effects numerous consumers. The brand could issue a Tweet that suggests they’re working to rectify the problem, what reparations are underway, where users can seek more information, etc. Problem is, with no way to make those Tweets “stick” to the top of the Twitterstream, they can be quickly overtaken by user-generated Tweets with relevant keywords and hashtags that contain potentially negative and damaging information. With Promoted Tweets, brands willing to pay the associated price can control their messaging on the channel, at least to some degree.

In my personal opinion, the suggestions for who to follow, just anecdotally, don’t pass muster, at least yet. Safe to assume that I will never follow AT&T’s @shareatt. Ever. It really makes me wonder what I’ve ever Tweeted that got me put on that list…

Product placement, when done poorly, is hideous. Agreed. The same will be true on Twitter. Brands looking to use this advertising (and let’s not mince words; this is advertising) to its fullest potential, should, as with any other channel, use it wisely. Target relevant information to actual prospects and customers. Spamming will get you nowhere.

Many are quick to jump on this initiative as Twitter having “sold out” but it will be interesting to see if indeed this move will save or destroy Twitter in the long term. With consistent revenue coming in and with brands able to better use the channel as part of their marketing budgets, my money’s on save.