Twitter advertising move should focus on brands adding value, not the hard-sell

Leaked reports of new Twitter advertising plans, which would see promoted tweets appearing in users’ streaming timelines, risks becoming a turn-off for using the micro-blogging site. The move could lead to a decline in interest and a plateau in the volume of users in a similar vein as has affected Facebook in recent months.  Twitter, however, is desperate to capitalise on its status as the fastest growing web platform.

Short, discreet marketing messages posted on Twitter or PRs interacting with followers is seen as acceptable to Twitter lovers, especially as the latter presents an avenue for consumers to follow brands and interact with them directly, but in an unobtrusive manner that isn’t perceived as the dreaded hard-sell advertising that Gen Y really can’t stand. Even the occasional DM (direct message) may be withstood if the brand supplements this by presenting followers with worthwhile content in the form of cool photos, interesting links and original ideas that offer some value for their loyalty; ‘following’, is in fact, equated to loyalty in the digital age.

Promoted tweets, trending topics and ‘who to follow’ ads have all been features on Twitter for a year now, but if the insider leaks are correct then promoted tweets may actually appear in one’s timeline, over-stepping a line. Previous actions by Twitter to place ads in its iPhone app ‘QuickBar’ were quickly removed following a fans backlash, although Twitter claim high usage metrics for the app supports their initial decision to implement it.

Facebook’s launch of a comment Ad feature will allow brands to directly communicate with those outside its fan base, opening the door for uncoordinated direct marketing on a huge scale, a move seen as unthinkable only a couple of years ago.

The new move by Twitter may take some tweaking, through the monitoring of initial reactions via their own product, and it will have to be proactive in their PR in overcoming any negative response. After all, Twitter’s USP is its instant and direct format; there is opportunity to impact upon those with similar likes and passions and the possibility of having one’s, or a brands, ‘thought’ re-tweeted by someone in the same industry, who may have more followers and therefore a greater potential influence within the same sphere.

Twitter will eventually generate serious revenue, as Facebook has done, and leverage its almost meteoritic rise as the cream of the social crop. How it achieves this feat without alienating its incredibly influential and passionate core champions is open to opinion. What isn’t in any doubt is that tweeting time lines are a-changing.

Image © Carrotblog.com

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