Tweets for Sale
As I sat down to write this entry, I had a hard time deciding whether to write it from a marketer’s perspective or an individual’s perspective, but then I considered that the lines between a marketer and an individual have blurred.
A marketer’s best bet is to represent itself as the real individual or individuals that make up the company, he/she/they need to be transparent, honest, useful, etc. Therefore, regardless of whether you are a marketer or an individual there seem to be two opposing sentiments regarding the concept of sponsored tweets.
Sentiment 1: Why not If an individual can get paid to tweet about a product they care about, why not? Through Izea’s sponsored tweets, the individual can choose which products they agree to tweet about, what exactly they want to say about them, and even name their price/tweet. Aren’t sponsored tweets really just a form of celebrity endorsement anyway? Brands have been paying individuals to support their products for a long time now. And it works. After Kim Kardashian tweeted about Armani jeans, the site received thousands of clickthroughs.
Sentiment 2: Sell out Brands paying consumers to speak on their behalf is the antithesis of what social media is all about. Brands should earn conversation by creating exceptional products and useful, engaging content. The beauty of social is to be able to interact with individuals, garner insight, and inspire them to become brand advocates, not paying money to push out one way communication as would a TV commercial.
What’s the real value of forced endorsement? It may lead to initial interest, but I doubt that it really builds valuable, long term relationships. If you find yourself partial to sentiment 1, you want to be careful which platform you choose. Some companies give very little control and you could end up endorsing a brand that you hate and for a brand this could result in major backlash.
As for me, my tweets are not for sale! Well, maybe, if you give me enough money to buy some black patent Louboutin stilettos…
Photo Credit: Pandemia
