It's been one week since Twitter announced the arrival of Promoted Tweets, the company's long-anticipated web advertising model. For those who have been frustrated by the perceived lack of a monetization plan, this is Twitter's cautious first step in the direction of the dollars. Why cautious? Because Twitter needs to be careful not to put off its horde of faithful users - users who have, until now, been able to use the service without interruption from advertisers.
Here's how Twitter is playing it safe:
But Twitter isn't the only one who should proceed with caution - at least for awhile. Businesses should keep an eye on how some of the initial Promoted Tweets are received by the millions of active Twitter users - and there are some heavy hitters lined up to test this service: Best Buy, Starbucks, and Sony Pictures are among the corporations partnering with Twitter at launch.
- For now, Promoted Tweets will only show up at the top of Twitter's search results pages (this may be expanded to a user's Twitter stream, other Twitter clients, etc. in the future).
- They've introduced the rhetoric of resonance. Twitter (cleverly) tells us that if a Promoted Tweet doesn't generate engagements by users, it will disappear. They'll remove the message -- even though they're also the ones who put it there in the first place.
- There's lots of language in the announcement of this new feature that suggests caution: phrases like first phase, we will learn a lot, and expect to iterate, to name a few.
Once the initial backlash subsides (and there's bound to be some backlash), businesses should consider Promoted Tweets with the same mindset they'd take with other media campaigns. They're going to want engaging copy and relevant links for sure, but they're also going to want to test, measure, and optimize these campaigns to find out what resonates with users...and what doesn't.
The idea of resonance makes Promoted Tweets a blended approach of paid and earned media. This is a good step in bringing traditional advertising elements into the dynamic world of social media. But in order for this to really take off, businesses need to tread lightly and remember that they are entering a conversation channel -- so it's important the message is appropriate and relevant to not only consumers, but the goals of the business as well.
All in all, businesses are going to find another viable marketing channel in Twitter. It's just a matter of figuring out the type of messaging that engages the masses at a time when those masses are ready to accept advertisements. And figuring out that balance will take time.
About the Authors: Stacy Cohen and Darren Kennedy are part of the Digital Innovation Group at Engauge. Connect with them on Twitter: @stacycohen @darren_kennedy