BeTweeted Blog - Advertise on Twitter

Gimme Some Link Juice

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Carter) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:53:00 +0000

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."

Local Twitterers, Local Followers?

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Carter) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 18:51:00 +0000

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.

Should I Advertise on Twitter?

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Carter) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:26:00 +0000

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.

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.
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.
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.

Real Estate Ads & Local Targeting: Exciting Announcements!

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Carter) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 19:35:00 +0000

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?

No question, just comment -- one fan writes...

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Carter) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:27:00 +0000

In a random email this morning, subject line "No question, just comment," Morgan writes:

Just wanted to write and say I think you guys are doing the whole "advertising on twitter" thing right. It's not about spam bots - it's about blogs and other sites paying tweeters and retweeters for doing what they're already doing. Hopefully we can see, through services like yours, a shift from the random spamming on twitter, and annoying banner ads, to really personalized advertising - personalized and personal, unlike Phorm's "personal" ads.

So... yeah. Didn't really have a question, but just kudos.

Well, Morgan, we thank you!

Statistics Show Advertising on Twitter has Positive Impact on Follower Counts

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Carter) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 12:11:00 +0000

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.

Twitter is "all about promotion" One Blogger Says

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Carter) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 11:50:00 +0000

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.

Bing Bang Boom

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Carter) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 16:46:00 +0000

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.

Fed up with Twitter Spam? It's going to get worse.

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Carter) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 17:36:00 +0000

Jeff Bertolucci published an article on PC World yesterday about Twitter Spam and it's proliferation through technologies as well as the general emphatuation that the world shares with Twitter. I found it to be an interesting and well-written article. If you're interested, you can find it here: Fed Up With Twitter Spam? It’s Going to Get Worse.

In his article, Jeff even cited another source which estimates spam to total about 10% of all the current tweets. The problem is, as Jeff described it, what constitutes spam? You see, everything on Twitter is technically "opt-in." There is no way to send someone a message if they haven't decided to follow you. Perhaps the issue is not with the content, but with the following practices. Auto-followers find themselves, more than anyone else, subject to spam.

What constitutes spam? Is a keyword-targeted @reply considered "spam?" But, in theory, I'm interested in meeting new people on Twitter who are interested in the same topics I am. Is it spam to auto-tweet one's blog articles via RSS reprocessing? But, if I've followed you, why can't you share your blog post with me?

The bottom line is this: it's not the technology used, or even the intent behind tweeting that makes something spam. It's the content and it's relevance to your following. If you're socially responsible--understanding that you tweet your mind--that cannot be spam.

Twibes: My New Favorite App (for now)

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Carter) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 11:59:00 +0000

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?

Who is in Control When You Advertise on Twitter

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Carter) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 11:50:00 +0000

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?

Is Follow Friday Getting Out of Hand?

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Carter) — Fri, 29 May 2009 18:18:00 +0000

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.

Twitter Marketing with Multiple Accounts

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Carter) — Thu, 28 May 2009 13:36:00 +0000

I started using Twitter as a theological blogger. Then, I thought it would be a good idea to bring my marketing business onto Twitter. Of course, that's a different persona altogether. Later, I launched AddressTwo, and a new Twitter username was born. And, of course, most of you know @betweeted_com, which happens to be my fourth Twitter identity.

All of this sounds great at the time, but in the end I'm left with a plethora of problems. I don't have time to be 4 people. I don't remember who I'm friends with under which accounts. Those who know me personally know all of my personalities and are confused by the four distinct Twitter accounts. The list goes on.

Now, of course there are several apps that help with multi account management, but they don't totally eliminate all the problems. So, what IS the best practice?

I've determined the best practice is practice itself. If I set out to be 4 people, understanding that I had 4 legitimately different audiences and messages, then I need to maintain my commitment to be social, engaging, and interesting to all 4 of those followings. I've set aside 1 hour each morning to blog and to tweet. Just one hour. We'll see how it goes.

Advertising with Twitter Search in Mind

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Carter) — Wed, 27 May 2009 19:40:00 +0000

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.

Targeted Advertising on Twitter: Content is Key

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Carter) — Wed, 27 May 2009 19:32:00 +0000

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.

Twitter Coming to a Television Near You

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Carter) — Tue, 26 May 2009 13:09:00 +0000

So, how's this for irony.... New and radical communication medium is invented, called Twitter. Once popularity grows, Twitter then turns to 80-year-old medium of television to tell more people about Twitter. Huh?

So, according to The Hollywood Reporter, that's exactly what Twitter has decided to do. Working with Reveille and Brillstein Entertainment Partners, the new social media will be broadcast on the old push media in the form of a television series.

Author Amy Ephron has supposedly been busy creating the show's format, which, as near as I can tell is vague at best from all reports released thus far. The majority of the details leaked haven't pertained at all to the content of the show, but rather have emphasized the names of those involved. I'm not sure if this is an intentional misdirection, or just some really eager producers desperately wanting to see their names in a press release.

So, what do you think? Will people tune in to this show--at least for the first season--on the simple basis that it invovles Twitter? Can they survive without a substantial plot?

I Just Love being Keyword Targeted on Twitter

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Carter) — Fri, 22 May 2009 12:47:00 +0000

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.

Brand Integration and Believability

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Carter) — Thu, 21 May 2009 18:31:00 +0000

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!

Twitter and Search Engine Optimization

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Carter) — Wed, 20 May 2009 20:09:00 +0000

There's a distinct difference between search engine marketing and search engine optimization. What a lot of people what to know is, "will Twitter links boost my SEO?" That's a great question. Let's think about it.

First, for the novices reading, what we're talking about is what some people call "link juice." It's the value that Google places on your website for every time it finds another website linking to your own. In other words, when Google realizes there are lot of other sites out there that link to your site, it thinks there must be something good there and you move higher in search rankings. Now, this is an incredibly oversimplified illustration, but that's the gist of it.

So when you tweet a link in Twitter, that must have amazing impact, right? I mean, Twitter is the epitome of fresh content, dynamic, full of links, keyword rich... it's got the perfect mix for high Google authority. So, if they link to you, that must be the golden link, right? Wrong. See, Twitter actually tells Google via their back-end code NOT to follow any links in the tweet stream. In other words, its as if Google turns a blind eye to the links in the stream.

So, is there SEO value? It would seem that the answer is in fact no. But, while the link juice isn't there, I would suggest this is still a pretty powerful SEO tool. Why? Because of the shear number of visitors you get. Visitors equate to subscribers (provided you have RSS... a must for anyone whose serious about SEO). And, what you may NOT know is that Google not only loves to see that you offer RSS, but they really like it when your RSS gets read a lot. Didn't know they looked at that, did ya?

In short, no, you won't instantly jump to page one just by having links to your website in the tweet stream. Just like anything in life, it takes time for the benefits to come. But, if you use Twitter responsibly to build genuine traffic that subscribes to your content, you'll find that it's a pretty useful tool for upping your page rank.

Twitter says no to Ads, Yes to Tools

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Carter) — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:36:00 +0000

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.

No, Really, We're Serious!

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Carter) — Wed, 20 May 2009 12:24:00 +0000

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"?]

Is this the worst idea you've ever heard?

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Carter) — Mon, 18 May 2009 17:16:00 +0000

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?

Three Twitter Apps I'd Love to See

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Carter) — Mon, 18 May 2009 16:57:00 +0000

I've seen some pretty cool twitter apps in my day... and I've seen some really crummy ones. The API is getting better every day, and yet we're still seeing mainly low-effort stuff coming out. What if someone as innovative as Biz Stone decided to build on the already amazing platform an equally amazing app? It might look something like this:

A Twitter-Based Chat Room.
This would be managed by a unique hashtag, most likely, and in order to join the chat you'd simply start hashtagging your tweets appropriately. However, with an app that reads these hashtags (and likely also generates them) the public convo can become a manageable beast.
A conversation tracker.
I'm sick of having to visit my old tweets to figure out what in the world someone is replying to. If I could view ongoing conversations in unique windows, much like AIM, I would love it. I know, someone will say "why not just use AIM." Because, you dolt, I like using Twitter. This is where all my friends are at!
Tweet Deck Multi.
This one's pretty simple, and I can't wait until it's out... I love tweetdeck, but I also have several Twitter accounts to manage. If they'd get on board with multi-account management, it would be the best app ever.

Your Client Wants to Advertise on Twitter!

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Carter) — Mon, 18 May 2009 12:03:00 +0000

Okay all you public relations pro's and marketing mavens out there, are you offering "social media" services yet? Perhaps you're still waiting to see if it's just a fad. Maybe you're unsure how to deliver it as a service model, or maybe you view it as a competitor. Well, Phil Johnson, a blogger over at Advertising Age thinks you're missing the boat -- and I agree!

If you make your living charging any company, large or small, for your advice and/or services in the area of public relations, marketing, sales, or just plain business consulting, then your customers need to hear you say "Twitter." It's not about being trendy. It's about offering best-in-class service.

There are countless services that you could begin to introduce, or perhaps you're already offering and can enhance by using Twitter. Here are a few:

Thought leadership. Gain a following to build the persona of your client as a thought-leader in any relevant industry topic.
Lead generation. Yes, it can work. If your client has the right type of business, you can generate leads using Twitter. Good, solid, qualified leads.
Customer service. Especially for software or computer-related services, Twitter is a great way to have instant dialogue with needy customers.
Sales & Promotions. Offer a sale, a deal, or a discount using Twitter. This is obviously great because of the ability to track the results very clearly.
SEO. Yep, it can work. If you can make sure your links are followable by bots, you cannot deny the obvious benefit of links from Twitter.

The list goes on. And, of course, if you're interested in using BeTweeted as part of your services to the client, check out our Affiliate Program to see how we can work together.

Twitter Advertising Makes the Cash Register Ring

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Carter) — Mon, 18 May 2009 11:50:00 +0000

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.