Should I Advertise on 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.

Top 10 Ways NOT to Monetize your Twitter Account

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.
    

The launch of BeTweeted.com

It's been a long 24-hours. From last-minute glitches to an unbelievable firestorm of twitterers responding, BeTweeted kept me frantically busy for the past solid day. Built on the Twitter API, BeTweeted is a pay-per-click advertising outlet that generates clicks and discussion around your products/services among Twitter users. From the majority of advertisers yet unfamiliar with Twitter, here's a synopsis of how powerful this can be.

First off, Twitter is now the #1 traffic generator for my website. Why? Because I have over a thousand followers who, if I post valuable or interesting content, share the links with their own followers, and so on. It's no longer about Adwords, where I hope to get a single click and then convert it into a sale on that same visit. This is about creating readership. Building a "follower" base on Twitter that I can leverage for years to come.

BeTweeted places the advertiser's Twitter username in the beginning of the ad (as a "retweet" and @reply feature). That means, if a Twitterer finds the link, clicks the link, and is interested in the content they read there, then they're likely to "follow" the advertiser on Twitter themselves or subscribe to that advertiser's blog.

This is the fast track for people looking to build readership in their blogs. Realizing that a blog is only as good as the number of people interested, BeTweeted is tantamount to paying the "cool kids" on Twitter to introduce you around a bit.

Does the concept work? Just ask our advertisers! Yesterday, larrykevin started a small campaign. Within less than 5 minutes, he had 25 new visitors to his blog (clickthroughs) and 6 new followers on Twitter. Amazing.

Start the converstation today at betweeted.com!