Alright folks, BeTweeted is almost there. A grass-roots effort to begin a new trend of socially responsible advertising on Twitter--a sincere effort to see it monetized without spamming--now ranks number 12 on Google for the keyword "advertise on Twitter." This may seem like an unusual post, but I know so many of the readers are passionate about our mantra... we're asking for some link-juice.

That's right, linkbacks. I've watched with a bit of surprise as Twitter users openly tell their followers "I'm almost to 10,000 followers... can you help me" and loyalists jump right on board. But it's not just about us and our fame. Let me remind you what will happen when an ad service like BeTweeted suddenly finds itself on page 1 of search results:

Nearly 10x the traffic. That's the difference b/w page 1 and page 2. That means 10x more ads for you to tweet (if you're a twitterer). But more importantly, it also means 10x more advertisers getting the message that Twitter is not about SPAM!

So, what can you do? Link to BeTweeted from your own blog, website, facebook page, ning site, or linkedin profile. And, to be more specific, link a keyword-rich string like this: "Advertise on Twitter with BeTweeted."

Labels: Advertise, Blog, Monetize, SEO, Socially Responsible, Spam, Twitter

In the quest to use Twitter for local marketing, many requests flooded in over the past month that we add the ability for local advertising. Of course, the only way to do this is to permit only those Twitter users within the vicinity of a given metro area to actually tweet the link. But, that now has raised a question: what level of certainty do we have that a Twitter user in Indianapolis, IN is being followed by other Indianapolisians?

So, with the initial launch of a very tediously-created local advertising feature, at the cost of much hair pulling and cursing Google Maps API, we delivered local ads. Now, I need to figure out if the yet-unsatisfied twitter advertisers from whom I have been contacted are indeed a loud minority--a squeaky wheel, if you will--or in fact presenting a concern worthy of more consideration. And I need your help...

Imagine that you needed to advertise locally... say it was a garage sale, a local restaurant, or real estate listing. Knowing what you know about Twitter, which of the following best describes what you see as a viable solution:

• I would be willing to pay for tweets from anyone in my area, realizing they may have followers outside the area, but that risk is acceptible.
• I would be willing to pay only for clicks where the IP address of the clicker could be geo-located from the area of my business.
• I would be willing to pay for national exposure, understanding that even those who don't live in my area might share the info with those who do.

Or, if you have any other relevant input, by all means do share.

Labels: Advertise, API, Local Advertising, Real Estate, Twitter, TwitterMLS

After last week's taping (airing today) of Brandswag.tv, I've been thinking about a question asked on the show. "Who should advertise on Twitter using BeTweeted?" Great question. My quick-response, I'm confident, was still the correct response. Basically, it's any company that has a product which would play well in the social media arena. This can mean anything people readily share and talk about with their friends--movies, books, articles, news, etc.

But, I want to go deeper than that. Maybe you're not familiar with social media, or maybe you're not sure if your product is one people will talk about. There are several things to consider when thinking of advertising on Twitter.

1. First, do you intend to use Twitter yourself? If you're not going to join the conversation, forget it. People want to engage with you on Twitter. This is the chief flaw of all the "get rich quick" affiliate and MLM programs that get spammed to the hilt on Twitter. There's no personality. There's no relationship built that would warrant the kind of trust it requires for me to go into business with you.
2. Are you excited about your product/service? I know that seems like an odd question, but it's very true that many people just have a job, not a passion for their work. If your hocking a product without passion, you won't be able to keep up the high energy required to use Twitter effectively.
   
3. Are there a lot of people, even within niche markets, who would be willing to introduce your product? The premise of BeTweeted is that you're product is always introduced with @reply features that mean our twitterers are introducing you to their followers. We've seen several very unsuccessful Twitter ads because they were simply not the sort of product one would introduce to their following: adult content, questionable motives, personal products, etc. Be reasonable.
   

If you can say yes to these three questions, I believe you should be using Twitter advertising to grow your business. Learn how BeTweeted can help you advertise on Twitter.

Labels: Advertise, Affiliate, Twitter

I'm gushing. I can't lie. Today I have two announcements that are the most exciting announcements since the launch of BeTweeted back in April. The first, of course, was a prerequisite for the second, but it's been a long time coming anyway. What is it, you're wondering. Well, if the title didn't give it away, here goes:

First, Twitter advertisers now have the opportunity to localize their ads. This means that new ads can be location restricted and only Twitterers with accounts in the required area can tweet the link. Some of our earliest advertisers wanted so badly for localized targeting, but we just weren't able to deliver it yet. Well, the technology has come together and it's awesome!

Second, (drum roll please) TwitterMLS.com. TwitterMLS is a new service targeted directly for Real Estate agents who want to share their listing son Twitter. Now, of course, you can see why localization was such a priority. Agents can post a link to their online listing or virtual tour website, tell us the city/state where the listing is at, and then have other Twitterers in that same area tweet the listing to their followers.

These developments are just the beginning of an all-out effort to lead the way in innovative Twitter advertising services. You can help. The development task list is written by none other than you yourselves. What do you want to see next?

Labels: Advertise, API, Local Advertising, Real Estate, Twitter, TwitterMLS

Ok, we did it. We listened to all the rants about blocking spammers, unfollowing, #spam tags, and all sorts of mass hysteria over the concept of advertising on Twitter. But, we didn't believe you. So, we decided to prove you wrong. And we did it.

What am I talking about? BeTweeted tracked the average follower count of it's advertisers for 3-weeks. We wanted to see if unfollows, #spam hashtags, user blocking, and the like was actually damaging the Advertiser's follower count negatively. And sure enough, nope!

The full release can be found here: Statistics Show Advertising on Twitter has Positive Impact on Follower Counts.

So what does this mean? Is it a license to go spamming away. Not at all. In fact, though the limited statistics we have can't support this, I believe that the reason our advertisers saw such a positive impact is in fact our anti-spam approach. Socially responsible advertising on Twitter is a method that, while seems restrictive, generates higher responses than spam ever could. Try it out. Advertise on Twitter with BeTweeted.

Labels: Advertise, Socially Responsible, Spam, Twitter

So, I won't lie, I found this post through keyword searching on Twitter. On June 3rd, Elizabeth Arlaune (or @JoLoPe) posted a blog article about an informal survey conducted. Intrigued by the Tweet that she used to promote it (irony intended) I indeed clicked the link (a lesson to you betweeted advertisers). Although unscientific, her findings were nonetheless contrary to outspoken opinion and definitely worthy of discussion. You can find the entire blog entry here.

First, the responses to her questions led to some interesting conclusions. First, 90% of her respondents said it was OK to advertise/promote on Twitter. That sure doesn't sound like the tune we've heard louder and louder from social media purists over the past few months. Not only that, but 66% are actually guilty of promotion themselves. Now, this does beg the question, where did she find her sample population? I'm not sure. But, even if slightly skewed, I can't imagine a factor of correction that could negate these stats.

I would, however, have to disagree with one observation made. In considering the data, Elizabeth makes the statement, "EVERYTHING is about promotion." Wait. Stop. Hold the phone. Is that what this data means?

I disagree. I think that it is one thing to say that advertising on Twitter is permissible, even encouraged. However, it's an entirely different matter to say that Twitter is only about advertising. It should be no secret, I use Twitter for promotion. But, I also use it for customer service and response, building relationship with our users, collecting feedback, etc.

No matter how much advertising gets in the mix, Twitter will never be about anything other than relationships. The grievous error, then, is in thinking that relationships cannot exist in the midst of advertising.

Labels: Advertise, Blog, Social Media, Socially Responsible, Spam, Twitter

I was watching the Tonight Show last night and was captivated by a commercial. Now, I know there's this unspoken tradition of hatred toward Microsoft among many computer gurus, but I have to admit I don't jump on that bandwagon very easily. And, to make the point that Microsoft isn't out of great ideas, I would like to introduce you to Bing.

If you haven't heard of it, Bing is a new search engine. That's right, they have the audacity to think they can play in Google's back yard. But guess what? I think they just might be onto something here. And, no, I'm not just saying that because I get higher page ranking for my keyword on bing than Google: "Advertise on Twitter."

The basic premise is that, as people change the way they use the internet, search has to change with it. What is this major change that they think search needs to react to. The fact that they claim 4.5 new websites are created every second. So, how much of that do you think is crap? How much is designed just for SEO with no content in mind? Bing thinks it's becoming an issue.

What's more, the site search functions that so many have come to enjoy have become even more prevalent and easier to use on Bing. For example, search Bing for "twitter" and the first result includes a site search field. Google doesn't offer that. Try the same for eBay, Amazon, even Google itself (ironically).

As for advertising, their revenue model looks strikingly familiar. Sponsored links occupy most of the right column, and of course, the top spot in search results. Nothing new there.

But, what I do find a helpful advantage over Google is the offering of related searches in the left column.

What are you thoughts? Try it out. See if it might replace your home page. It has mine.

Labels: Advertise, bing, Monetize, SEO, Twitter

Now, I don't want to diminish this accolade, but I do tend to like shiny things. My friends can't take me fishing anymore because I get very distracted by the spinner baits. I have a new favorite app every week.

But, yesterday I was introduced to a new Twitter application called Twibes. It's a very simple concept based on aggregation. However, it builds a social network on top of a social network. I can no join a "twibe" for, let's say, marketing. There, if I post any tweets with the hashtag marketing to my ow Twitter stream, it will display in the Marketing twibe stream. There's no extra action taken.

It's more than that, though. No doubt, many people will jump right in beleiving the value is in the broadcast... it's not. This is the ability to search for people and build new relationships based on interest. If you're looking for a group of Twitterers to tweet with who are interested in Jack Russel Terriers, you can find them... you can follow them.

My current twibes are Marketing, Advertising, and of course, Hunting. What's your twibe?

Labels: Advertise, API, Social Media, Twitter

Our model for providing advertisers a service of spreading a message on Twitter is much like that of a real estate broker. In real estate, you have the challenge of finding both buyers and sellers. You need sellers in order to have inventory to sell. You, of course, need buyers in order to get the property sold and earn your commission. At BeTweeted, we are the brokers between advertisers with a message to share and the Twitterers with the means to share it.

So, the question arises, who is in control? If you've been a BeTweeted user since it's launch last month, you've probably noticed a few small modifications to the system over time--most of which revolve around granting and restricting various controls over the Advertiser's message.

Let me state up front, however, that every measure we've taken has been first in the interest of preventing spam and abuse. That much is obvious. But, there comes a gray area after that. Whose interest should we protect first? The Twitterer or the Advertiser? From a business perspective, one might quickly jump to the Advertisers--those who are spending money with us. But, are the Twitter users not spending just as much? Perhaps not in dollars, but we view their Twitter following as a tremendous hidden value.

To recap, we launched April 29th with the ability for Twitterers to modify the tweet slightly to suit their audience. The resulting abuse, however, forced us to retract that ability in the interest of protecting advertisers. Today, however, we have advertisers who have questioned why every ad must be formatted as a ReTweet. Our "socially responsible" position: because if you're not willing to tweet it yourself, it's not something you should ask others to tweet. The jury is still out on this deliberation.

Where is the line? Who do we protect? Advertisers? Twitterers? Or, even the Twitter users that view our ads? Is it our responsibility, as "socially responsible" brokers of Twitter advertising, to police the spam?

Labels: Advertise, Socially Responsible, Spam, Twitter

If you don't know what I'm talking about when I say "Follow Friday", or #FF, or #FollowFriday, then you haven't been on Twitter in the past 90-days. What began as a nice gesture has grown into an odd form of circular promotion.

Here's what I've observed, tell me if you think these are odd:

• I have received #FollowFriday introductions issued by users who do not even follow the mentioned users themselves.
• I have received ReTweeted #FollowFriday introductions where the re-tweeter does not follow the mentioned users. Instead, I surmise, that they have retweeted the tweet more for the sake of self-advertisement than anything.
  
• I have been given #FollowFriday props from users who have never even @replied me or DM'ed me at all. We effectively have no relationship, yet they picked me. Is this random? Is it based on how many followers I have in an attempt to gain an @reply intro to my own users? At least have the courtesy to advertise on Twitter through BeTweeted (speaking of shameless self-promo, right).
  

I'm beginning to wonder if I should institute something altogether new. Perhaps I'll call it #SinceritySundays for those who I sincerely like. But, alas, if it becomes popularized it well become abused.

Labels: Advertise, Socially Responsible, Twitter

Twitter's search tools is becoming an increasingly popular means to follow trends--the topics and keywords that are talked about most on Twitter--or simply see what people are saying about a topic of interest to you. But, have you thought about this phenomenon in your Twitter advertising strategy?

With the understanding that Twitter's links are nofollow tagged, making Twitter not a leading SEO tool, many people disregard the importance of keywords in one's tweets. That's a fatal error. The fact is, with more and more people searching tweets instead of simply viewing the stream from their personal following, keywords are more important than ever.

Making sure to cater to keyword searchs on search.twitter.com will vastly increase the exposure that BeTweeted already offers. As our blogger video already demonstrates, a main value is the introduction of your tweet to other Twitter users that you may have never been able to reach before. But, if those tweets from BeTweeted also appear in the correct search streams, your exposure increases even more.

Consider, the next time you put together a BeTweeted ad, to place strategic keywords in the text of the tweet that you provide. Your exposure will grow even wider and your Twitter popularity will show it.

Labels: Advertise, Social Media, Twitter, Viral Marketing

I recently had a lengthy email exchange with an advertiser about how we could effectively use Advertising on Twitter through BeTweeted to reach not just anybody, but his target audience. Now, that's a tricky issue.

It would seem, at first, that we could simply build in measures that check for keyword relevance in the would-be twitterer's stream in order to only allow relevant twitterers to tweet a link. However, that doesn't target the followers, it targets the twitterer. No matter how much we geo-target and keyword-target the twitterer who shares the link, we are still subject to the viewership of that twitterer's followers.

So, how CAN you target? Can it be done? Of course, but content is key. Bear in mind, our advertisers pay for clicks, not impressions. So, if a twitterer shares an advertiser's tweet with 10,000 followers, even if only 5 of those are interested in the content, we can still be reasonably certain that the remaining 9,995 unqualified recipients won't click, and therefore won't tally as part of the advertiser's ad budget.

The trick is to make sure that the accompanying tweet with your link clearly attracts the right kind of clicks. "Check this out, it's really cool:" is a very generic tweet. Sure, we may get more clicks with the ambiguity, but when you're goal is targeting specificity is important. For this particular client, we were certain to talk about fuel tax. But, since his audience is over-the-road truckers, we specifically mentioned diesel fuel to target even more.

Labels: Advertise, Twitter

We've all experienced this, right? You tweet "i have a headache" and ten seconds later there are 40 @ replies from Tylenol, Excedrin, and some hangover medicine pusher on Twitter. Tweet, "I hate shopping for car insurance" and suddenly you're being followed by 32 new car insurance salesman. How do they do that?

Twitter search has ramped up significantly of recent in terms of it's abilities to find users talking about what you have to sell, your brand, or your target market. Long before that, however, TweetDeck had search windows available that would notify you of new posts on any keyword you desire. Then, when you see a relevant mention... go follow 'em.

Isn't that "dirty?" You may have been hearing bloggers talking nasty stuff about those pesky advertisers out there doing this low-down dirty Twitter practices. Well, I can agree... to an extent. Here's my rules about it:

First, I follow. I don't @reply. But more importantly I follow because, guess what, there's a high likelihood we're interested in the same thing! I'm a Twitter Advertiser, they talk about twitter advertising in their twit stream... HELLO isn't that social?

Second, I don't @reply UNLESS it's warranted. Today, @suzl said "Hi, I'm back, Can anyone tell me how to start to advertise a business on twitter?" Now, you cannot convince me that it's socially irresponsible and "spam" for me to reply to that.

So, you're interested in getting started. I recommend downloading TweetDeck and creating a few relevant searches for your topic. Be social. Be a real human. But don't be afraid to introduce yourself to people who are obviously in to your topic.

Labels: Advertise, Socially Responsible, Spam, Twitter

Ok, all you Twitterers out there, listen up. Whether you're an affiliate guru or just a beginner, these ideas can help you. In a recent article on brand integration, Adage author Larry Dobrow gave a great example of crossing the line of validity when it comes to celebrity endorsement. Bret Michaels apparently gave a plug for how much he likes hanging out at Dave and Busters on the air.

Adage asks (and I echo): seriously? I'm expected to believe that Bret Michaels hangs out at Dave & Busters on a regular basis? This is most certainly not the venue of choice for Hollywood residents.

So, what can you take from this as a Twitter user looking to up your stock and make some dough of our links? Or, any links for that matter--blog sidebar ads, email footer links--anywhere you might hock a product for a referral fee.

It's simple: be real. I see far too often that Twitter users are so eager to make any money they will share any link, whether they believe in the product or not. Around here, I call that bordering very close on the line of spam, if not indeed crossing it. Your followers would agree. In theory, they're clicking links for two reasons: yes, they're intrigued enough by the tweet text to learn more; but also, they are clicking because you said you liked it too!

When you understand this influence you can have, and resolve to use it well: that's socially responsible!

Labels: Advertise, Affiliate, Blog, Monetize, Socially Responsible, Spam, Twitter

I've read this release syndicated on so many different sources today, I didn't know who to cite in my blog article. I'll go with PCMag since they were at the top of Google search. So, according to an article at pcmag.com, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone is not interested in advertising as a revenue model.

His reason? He says that they aren't interested by that prospect, first of all, but also adds that their current staff isn't prepared to do advertising. They don't know advertising and so they don't feel strong in that venture.

His alternative? Tools for the trade. Twitter has always believed there was something significant in their new minimal-character communication medium that would undermine the way we analyze "trends" in real-time. Now, they're asking businesses to believe the same thing. I think it could work. Their search tool has been wildly popular, especially since it was recently beefed up in capability.

The irony, however, is in the details. Stone's major cited reason for not going into advertising was the skill set of their personnel. So, what's all this analytical business going to mean for their staff. Well, at least doubling by year-end for starters. Which begs the question, if you're willing to hire 40 people to create a business model around something virtually unheard-of before, why not put a few ad reps on the low-hanging fruit while you're at it?

Oh well. More ad sales for me, I guess.

Labels: Advertise, Monetize, Twitter

For anyone who has been following betweeted for any amount of time, you've probably heard us say that we're anti-spam. We believe that Twitter advertising can be done tastefully, in a not-so-spammy way, and in a way that we call "socially responsible." This morning, I have had it up to here [puts hand near forehead] with people who even abuse our system to facilitate spam.

So, just to let you know we're serious... no, I mean really serious. You're going to start seeing a regular #spammer report from us. You guessed it, this will include our own non-compliant users. No favoritism here. Everyone must play nice on Twitter or its going to be ruined for the rest of us.

Here's the latest spam report.

[should I label this post "sleep-deprived rants"?]

Labels: Advertise, Socially Responsible, Spam, Twitter

Any time I hit a website that looks like crap on a stick AND it appears to be a bad idea, it's pretty easy for me to dismiss it as a bad idea. When I begin to second-guess myself is when I find a website that looks very professional and well-designed, and yet the concept strikes me as purely absurd. I wonder, is this the worst idea you've ever heard, or am I missing something?

Check out Tweet Traffic Ads. You pay $50. You get one tweet. Your audience is 25k followers who receive nothing in their stream but ads all day long.

What am I missing here?

Or, is it the most genius idea you've ever heard of? After all, their value proposition is incredibly simple. The purchase process is incredibly simple. If they can get mentions in blog posts like this one enough to sell their service, I guess I can't argue with profit. What do you make of it?

Labels: Advertise, Social Media, Spam, Twitter

Advertising Age published an article over the weekend that offers just the sort of stats that an analytical type might need before jumping on this "trendy" new Twitter bandwagon: Twitter Proves Its Worth as a Killer App for Local Businesses. According to Jeff Leach, co-founder of Naked Pizza in New Orleans, they were able to affirmatively track 15% of their sales as directly resulting from a Twitter-exclusive promotion.

When small businesses pay thousands each year in directory advertising, email marketing, and direct mail -- Twitter's first appealing trait is it's low barrier of entry. It's free to join, and free to build a following. I will freely admit that advertising services like BeTweeted aren't required for success on Twitter, although they sure do help a lot!

The other low barrier of entry described in Advertising Age's article is the simplicity of Twitter. It's not nearly as overwhelming to get started as, say, designing a blog in Wordpress or creating a page on Facebook. With so much to distract and occupy a small business owner's time, Twitter's ease of use is very appealing.

So, if you've been looking for some proof in the pudding before you jump on the Twitter bandwagon, Advertising Age's article is worth the read.

Labels: Advertise, Small Business, Social Media, Twitter

Many of you may have already seen that Brandswag, a social media marketing firm, came out today announcing an "official endorsement" of BeTweeted (see the article here). Once I get past the obvious pats on my own back, I step back and wonder: what's so marvelous about this?

Well, lest anyone should think I'm being ungrateful, I have to say upfront that it is indeed a very great thing, and I am very honored to see it. That said, to answer my own rhetorical question, what's so marvelous is that Colin and Kyle at Brandswag are not only thought-leaders in the social media realm, they're also very discerning people (which is a prerequisite for being established as a thought leader).

Here's what I mean by "discerning." I've followed these guys for some time now. They don't push crap. They're not apt to promoting get-rich-quick schemes. They don't jump on bandwagons just for a little chance at a jump in site traffic. So, all this amounts to one thing for BeTweeted: we must be on to something here. Socially responsible advertising on Twitter is here to stay.

If you visit the Indy Awesome Blog today to see this "endorsement" I keep gushing about (can you tell I'm excited) just do one more thing. Search the blog for mentions of any other Twitter ad network. Nada. We must be doing something right. Will you join us?

Labels: Advertise, Social Media, Spam, Twitter

Brian Morrissey wrote recently about Twitter, comparing in-stream ads to the sponsored links on Google. Morrissey's point, and a good one I believe, is that Google's success in selling their advertising was to create the illusion that the sponsored links were in fact content. This brings up a very fascinating semantic debate that I'd like to explore.

Are the sponsored ads on Google really "masquerading" as content? What is "content," then, if not a page with relevant info--product, commercial, or otherwise? Doesn't Google enforce a relevancy rule in their Adwords campaigns? The last time I created an Adwords campaign, I watched a little screen process for a few seconds before telling me that they were able to indeed confirm that my keyword selection, ad copy, and destination URL were all matching in relevant content. Hmmm. Content?

I just cannot wrap my head around the notion that ads are inherently not content. I know Google makes money when I click a sponsored ad. Half the time, when I type a search term, I'm looking to buy something. If the ad describes the product that I'm seeking, guess what, that's the content that I want to find.

So, how can we as advertisers deliver content on Twitter using BeTweeted? Simple. Author and distribute marketing messaging that's conversational... that's in fact social. For my favorite application of this, watch this video on how bloggers can increase traffic using Twitter.

Labels: Advertise, Blog, Social Media, Twitter

Over a month ago, Robin Grant quoted himself (yeah, seriously) in his own blog article entitled, "Should you Advertise in Twitter streams?" He went down on record (again, by his own self quotation) as saying "Twitter is all about conversations and what these ad networks are trying to do is insert ads into that conversation stream which is inherently inappropriate."

What a joy to know that we launched on April 28th, after Grant's inclusive statement about "these" ad networks, and so we can rest assured that he was not referring to BeTweeted. Ok, so maybe that's a bit legalistic.

In all seriousness, despite my jabs at the article, I want to go on record as agreeing with Robin. In fact, I think I should quote myself as such. "I think Twitter should be all about conversation."--Nick Carter.

Now, I do want to add to that quote, however. I think Twitter should be all about conversation... and so Twitter Advertising should be conversational. There seems to be a misconception that the presence of compensation is mutually exclusive with the presence of real content. I disagree. I think there is a distinction between spam and decent advertising on Twitter. And, yes, the latter can exist.

Labels: Advertise, Socially Responsible, Spam, Twitter

I had a great conversation today with a very "social media" savvy would-be advertiser on BeTweeted. The major concern, both from this person and in the minds of many people looking to leverage the power of Twitter for their businesses, is the potential back-lash of being "discovered" as a Twitter advertiser. Could the mere fact that your company advertisers on Twitter actually reflect negatively on your brand? We surely think not, but let's explore the ins-and-outs.

With such a rage building in the community of social media users over the influx of spam, it's reasonable to fear that as an advertiser on Twitter your company's name may be some how, rightly or wrongly, lumped in with this category. Like having your name in the rolodex of Heidi Fleiss when it all goes public. What stigma would you have to bear if the world found out you were among the list of those who paid to leverage Twitter for business gain?

Herein is where the concern becomes paranoia. The fact is, such a great majority of Twitter users are indeed using it for business gain, it can hardly be said that this is a shunned use... even to the most die-hard of social media purists. So, what is it that does bear a stigma? What is the "shunned" use. It's important to understand what is really mean by the term spam. Spam is the abuse of Twitter. It's intrusive commercial messaging with no value to the social cloud that is the twittosphere. Most often, it's done obnoxiously and shamelessly.

But, what if you were "advertising" content on Twitter that was creative, interesting, compelling, or just plain helpful. What if you, as a company, really felt that (as you indeed should) your product was of benefit to those who found out about it. Then, you asked some high-powered Twitter users to look at it first, see if they agreed, and if they indeed did, introduce you to a few of their friends. Does the mere fact that these Twitterers can earn affiliate revenue for such an introduction make you a spammer? We certainly don't think so.

I get a referral fee whenever I send my Realtor new business. I get a store credit for bringing friends to my favorite coffee shop. I get cold cash when people buy a book from Amazon that I recommended in my blog. For that reason, do you not want to meet my realtor? Do you think the coffee shop really isn't my favorite one and that I'm lying just to get some free joe? Do you honestly believe that the book must truly suck and that I'm only hocking it for the measly 73 cents I might make. C'mon! Seriously!

My friend, that is NOT spam. It's a little refreshing, kinda, isn't it? Welcome to what we love to call "socially responsible" advertising on Twitter!

Labels: Advertise, Social Media, Socially Responsible, Spam, Twitter

Here's a quick tip for all our advertisers out there. You've heard of PPC. You're used to things like Google Adwords. Now, you're ready to place an ad on Twitter. With BeTweeted, after we include your username and the tinyurl to the link you want tweeted, you're left with 80 characters of the original 140 characters in which to write your ad. So, what do you do with this text?

If you're used to traditional advertising, you jump straight into classic ad copy writing mode. With so little text to work with, it's gotta be high-impact, right? Well, sorta.

Twitter users have a specially trained nose to sniff out anything that resembles spam. Usually, this means outlandish claims, immediate gratification, or an overall over-confidence in one's product. Remember, you're not the one tweeting your link, other twitterers are. So, the claims you present in your tweet may turn off the twitterers from wanting to tweet your link. But, moreover, your target audience isn't on Twitter each day looking for a life-changing product. They're looking for interesting and compelling content!

So, how can you succeed at advertising on Twitter? First, determine that you indeed should advertise on Twitter. Then, consider what might interest a person, not just long enough for them to click a link, but long enough for them to become engaged with your company. I, for one, author specific blog articles with the end goal in mind of demonstrating my "readership worthiness"--if you will--to the prospective readers whom I may be introduced to through a BeTweeted ad. But, it doesn't have to be a blog article. In fact, you may indeed be sharing your eBook, your product, or your service.

Let's take Accel Networks, one of our advertisers, as an example. Their product, fixed wireless broadband solutions for retail and hospitality industry, could be tweeted in classic ad-copy format: "The best fixed wireless broadband ever. Fast and Secure Connection!" But, what's proven to be more successful, is the copy writing that recognizes the audience's mindset and desires as they interact with friends on Twitter. "If your store needs broadband, like, yesterday... check this out." Casual and informal style, informative, and still conveying the core value proposition of the product.

Labels: Advertise, Spam, Twitter

Here are the top three ideas that are so genius, I wish I would have thought of it...

When I first started to dream of building an ad network on twitter, of course, I googled "Advertise on Twitter." Guess what came up first (and still does, if I'm not mistaken) - a Twitter user who managed to get the username "Advertise"... so, he really is "Advertise" on Twitter. No really, I mean it. See here: Advertise (advertise) on Twitter.

Now, on the same first page of Google results for the term "advertise on twitter" is yet another ingenious online marketer who, as recently as February as this year, was able to register the domain advertiseontwitter.com and begin monetizing it immediately. How was it still available? I don't know. Is he selling advertisements in the Twitter stream? No, he's using the site to earn affiliate revenue promoting all other ad services on Twitter. (goodie for me)

Finally, last but not least of the "So Genius I wish I'd Thought of It" list... tinurl.com. Yeah, I know it's simple, an out-dated looking site, and soooo 2008. But, I still love the concept and their ability to hold their own amid now hundreds of other URL shortening services made necessary by Twitter's 140-character limit.

Labels: Advertise, Monetize, Twitter

My wife takes the Indianapolis Star for one reason and one reason only: the ads. Particularly on Sunday, it's like Christmas morning when she gets to eat her cereal and thumb through the large chunk of sales, coupons, and other advertisements inserted into the paper. It's a Sunday tradition.

I ask myself this morning, what if she was a Twitterer and the newspaper distributed that advertising in a whole new medium. I can already tell you that one of the first topics of conversation she has with friends at church later in the morning is over the sales they all plan to attend that afternoon. Now, unless I'm mistaken that makes this material great fodder for a social media marketing plan.

Imagine, each advertiser recieves as part of their media buy that week a simple 140-character tweet including a link to download the content that would have otherwise been distributed in print. Not only would followers consider retweeting just as surely as they call their friends to plan out their shopping, but the URL destination itself could even include the typical "addthis" script plugin to facilitate more viral marketing.

Would advertisers pay extra for this service? Assuming the Indianapolis Star has a significant following on Twitter, of course! And, by the way, they do. @IndyStar has 3888 followers. This is just one more way that Twitter advertising could be applied in a socially responsible manner and truly benefit those who receive it.

Labels: Advertise, Social Media, Twitter

When I was in high school, there was a kid who would do anything for money--or attention, really, but the dares usually began with some promise of money. He once licked a public toilet seat for $20. Yeah! Now, after you've finished losing your lunch, I really do intend to relate this little allegory to marketing principals and how ads are treated on Twitter.

You see, Andy (that was his name) could have probably made a decent living the rest of his life by making an imbecile of himself for cash. At just three random dares a day, $20 each, he's pulling home $1,800 a month as a 12-year old. In fact, for all I know, that's just what he did. But, I bet he would have gotten more sophisticated. Contracts may be tighter today, and instead of licking toilet seats for the on-lookers' entertainment value, he may have sold his friends' email addresses to the top bidder and, yes, his Twitter followers, too.

A Twitterer DM'ed me today and asked what prevents our users from tweeting the same advertiser's link more than once to increase their clicks. "A few people do just that," I told him, "but the reason most don't is the same reason most wouldn't walk the streets with a sandwich board on: DIGNITY." (yes, I know, that's more than 140 characters... I edited here for grammar).

The point is this, as sure as social media marketing is here to stay, so are the spammers--the one's without dignity or social responsibility--who will indeed abuse their rights until some measures are taken to block them. I, for one, am in fact excited that at least on Twitter, blocking such advertisers is easier than with other media like email, snail mail, or even Facebook. Unfollow!

Labels: Advertise, Social Media, Socially Responsible, Spam, Twitter

Oprah said the word and Twitter became an overnight sensation. Ok, sure, it was pretty darn popular even without that, but her endorsement was certainly a landmark in Twitter's growth. So, now you're wondering if you can use Twitter to build your blog traffic, website traffic, or just plain advertise your company. Is it worth it? Is Twitter just a fad, or will it really benefit my brand?

There are few qualifiers that I must give before announcing my resounding, "Yes!" First, Twitter advertising is not going to perform the same way traditional banner advertising performs--at least, not for long. This is social media advertising, not a "push media." So, your budget and goals should take into consideration the fact that, if you pay to advertise on Twitter, you're paying to increase your social footprint.

I can't deny that applying traditional CPM advertising principals to Twitter could have positive impact on your branding efforts, but I want to suggest that there's a better way to think of it. Successful marketing strategies that include Twitter revolve around the concept of building a following, becoming social, and engaging your target audience. That's what BeTweeted is designed to help you do.

So, if you're not yet ready to embrace this new paradigm in online marketing, then I would actually be inclined to join the rest of the purists and say: keep your spam off twitter, please. But, if you get social media marketing and you're ready to use Twitter advertising as a socially responsible medium in your overall marketing mix, then you get my resounding, "Yes!" Advertise on Twitter with BeTweeted.

Labels: Advertise, Social Media, Socially Responsible, Spam, Twitter

With a title like that, oh my, I bet this article get's dugg by 10 different people. Of course, each will claim it's a unique submission and I won't get the valuable benefits of being dugg 10 times. Curse that blasted interface. .... I digress.

Seriously, though, how many articles can we possibly need about monetizing. Is that even a word? My spell check keeps giving it the dreaded red-squiggly, which is a sure sign we're using flat-out jargon that is doomed to be either forgotten entirely or parodied relentlessly. That is why I've decided to give my top ten articles on how NOT to monetize your Twitter account. Enjoy.

1. Thou shalt not (yes, I think this will be a fun thematic style to continue, don't you) place ads in your Twitter background that can't be clicked on anyway. What's up with that?
2. Thou shalt not include links to your own products in an Auto-DM on follow. I open my outlook in the morning and immediately sort all DM's in my inbox... shift+delete.
   
3. Thou shalt not tweet the same paid link multiple times just because people didn't click it the first time. "Buy from me. No seriously, buy from me. Hey did you hear me say 'buy from me?'"
   
4. Thou shalt not subject your twitter followers to an advertiser's link without first visiting the link yourself... and, yes, considering the relevancy of its content to your followers.
5. Thou shalt not take Twitter's name in vain. I've clicked far too many links to products where people want to get paid for teaching you how to monetize your twitter profile. Absurd. I think so.
6. Thou shalt not sell your following to the highest bidder [clears throat] not to name any names.
7. Thou shalt not allow some advertising bot to place links to content in your tweet stream automatically (see number 4).
8. Thou shalt not bear false witness (yes, it's getting deeper) on behalf of an advertiser, no matter how much they pay you. If you don't use their product, don't say you do!
9. Thou shalt not tweet more than 1 in every 5 tweets that are advertising or promotional.
10. Thou shalt not @reply unaffiliated names in your advertising tweet for the mere sake of implying their endorsement, affiliation, or otherwise increase credibility.
    

Labels: Advertise, Monetize, Socially Responsible, Spam, Twitter

Anymore, the two terms seem almost synonymous: Advertise and Spam. But, as I recently commented on a TechCruch article about be-a-magpie advertising, spam-like services such as be-a-magpie were the inspiration for our Twitter ad network, BeTweeted. And, as we spread the word surrounding our launch last Wednesday, it seemed that nobody bought it at first. Several bloggers saw the press release as fodder for yet another rant on keeping Twitter pure.

Today, however, I want to thank Jimmy Rogers for his honest assessments and "fair shake" attitude that resulted in a blog review which accurately reflects our heart for Twitter advertising. I will thank Jimmy with a very keyword rich backlink to his own blog, the highest honor any blogger can bestow upon another blogger. So, here goes: Betweeted Brings Ads to Twitter Without Spamming.

"Inspired by Beamagpie, it has a similar interface, but the ad structure and syntax is different. When real users want to advertise something, they use a retweet."

Nailed it, Jimmy. Kudos.

Labels: Advertise, Socially Responsible, Spam, Twitter

It seems that since the dawn of communication, every new media is eventually leveraged for personal gain--what many call advertising or marketing. With print came print ads and brochures. With phones came telemarketing. With email came spam. With social media... well, more spam. Is the presence of an advertisement inherently evil? Is it the practice of using a phone for sales that is wrong, or the abuse of it? Likewise, is a promotional link in the twitter stream wrong, or is it the abuse that's wrong?

There are a great many purists out there that believe social media venues like Twitter and Facebook should remain unadulterated by advertising, sponsored links, and the like. Just read the heated comment stream that ensued when Kyle Lacy blogged about BeTweeted's service to advertise on Twitter. But the extreme view, that inserting promotional links on Twitter should be altogether banned, is simply not a plausible outcome in the reality that we live in.

The question then becomes, how can it be done responsibly? I have come to the sad realization that the abusers are going to abuse. They're the same types of people that were the first to invent automatic dialers in the 70's and the first to purchase email list in the 90's. But what about the companies looking to advertise in a responsible way? Those who advocated no call lists and can-spam acts--the companies I call "socially responsible" yet still realize that they need to leverage every media to market their businesses--how can they use Twitter to advertise?

BeTweeted is billed as "socially responsible" advertising on Twitter. Here's what we mean by that:

• No links are ever auto-tweeted into the stream.
  
• Every Twitterer should preview the content before recommending it to their followers.
• Advertisers should be incentivized to deliver valuable content, not spam, by realizing that Twitterers have the option to say "no" to their links.
• Advertisers should be require to be active on Twitter, including their own username in the tweet, so they can engage their audience as social media enables, not merely push messaging as antiquated marketing principals advocated.

This is my heart for marketing in a social media age. There are those that oppose me. There always will be. However, I will resolve to not forget the practices which I oppose and to not build a technology that enables them.

Labels: Advertise, Social Media, Socially Responsible, Twitter