If I seem a bit taller today it’s because I’m up here on my soapbox surveying all the brouhaha about ads on Twitter. Now, now, it’s not that I’m thrilled about it, but I don’t believe any of us are naïve enough to think it wouldn’t happen. The question is, will businesses forget everything they’re beginning to learn about personal connections and open communication and revert to tweeting “Buy Our Stuff Today!” ??
So many people and businesses discovered right away what a great marketing tool Twitter could be. Not because it directly sells sprockets and gizmos, but because it sells the credibility and one-on-one connection to the person hawking those sprockets and gizmos. The same way radio revolutionized advertising by transforming the way advertisers marketed their products, Twitter is on the cusp of doing something similar. Keep in mind that radio also started without advertising. Why bother? Only a few people had one. There was nothing to listen to of general interest. It was just a gimmick. Even when radio stations were able to attract sponsors, it simply allowed for a mention of the sponsor at the beginning and end of the program… Brought to you by Spacely Sprockets… That’s where Twitter is right now. This 140-character message is brought to you by @MjBubbles. You listen – or don’t – based on your opinion of my credibility.
Can you imagine what it must have been like in that first advertiser meeting about actual radio ads?
- Sprocket VP: Just read the copy that’s in the print ad. It’s always worked before.
- Radio Upstart: But this is a new form of communication. We can add personality, music, a friendly voice. It will be just like a good friend telling you about sprockets!
- Sprocket VP: Nonsense! What does your friend know about Sprockets? We’re the experts. Just tell people to buy them!
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Twitter co-founder Biz Stone is confident people will love seeing interesting ads amid the rest of the chatter on Twitter. But he says the team is taking its time testing the ads, dubbed “promoted tweets.”
And so the eternal battle continues. Twitter is a new way to reach people. It has proven to be an effective way to reach people. Now begins the high-wire act of keeping tweeple happy while infiltrating their community with sponsored messages. Dallas Lawrence, Chair of the Social and Digital Media Practice at Levick Strategic Communications has a great column on Mashable about all this. Businesses take heed. Do not cast aside the lessons you have learned, thinking all bets are off and that you can just pay for old-school messages to run in the Twitter space. Your current followers are loyal because you chose to engage them on a more personal level. I know it was scary to open yourself up like that. All new relationships are a bit frightening. But the rewards can be great. This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
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Tags: Biz Stone, Dallas Lawrence, Mashable, Twitter
I’m OK with it. If it’s like the ads on Facebook and Gmail, I can visually filter it out with no problem–these are ads that pay for a free service that I enjoy and use regularly. (I never thought it was my God-given right to have this free service, but I bet there will be people screaming otherwise.)
I hear what you’re saying, Melissa. Plus, I think we’re all a little savvier about marketing and less likely to buy something just ’cause AplusK tells us to. And it’s easy to “filter” 140 characters!