It's natural, as you sign on to a new site or social network, to gravitate toward like-minded people or others working in your area of expertise.
As a writer and social media specialist, I tend to follow colleagues and experts in the published and SEO fields to keep up on rumors and events.
Ultimately, I realize many of the people I follow are using Twitter not so much to trade recipes and water-cooler talk about Lost and the Super Bowl, but to promote their own interests.
Authors have books to sell, SEO mavens have services to exploits, and the bottom comes down to money - the more time invested in social marketing should eventually yield results.
So it comes as no surprise to see people I know opting to post "sponsored Tweets," data designed to offer the profile's owner a kickback on click-throughs and/or purchases.
Sponsored tweeting works similarly to pay-per-blogging: a business sets a budget to advertise products and services through a site that connects advertisers and Twitter users.
Registered Twitter users then accept or reject the ad copy given to them, and post accordingly to their account(s).
Depending on the company, these micro-bloggers may need to disclose which of their tweets are sponsored, and as people click through and/or take advantage of the deals the one who posted the tweet receives a commission.
Whether or not one can get rich simply by tweeting is up for debate, but it does beg the question of whether or not the practice could risk your Twitter following.
Think about why you tweet, how you post, and what attracts viewers to your feed? What expertise do you offer that keeps people interested, and how often do you directly socialize with the people you follow on your profile? I mentioned earlier that I do follow a number of authors, all of whom have books and other projects to promote - naturally I expect to see links to online bookstores, blogs, and contests for book and prize giveaways.
On occasion, I am known to unfollow a Twitter account based on saturation.
If every post off the feed is a "buy my book" plea, offered every few minutes, I may find a reason to quit reading.
Personally, too, of those I know who are supplementing their income with sponsored tweeting, I find it isn't too disruptive, and the profiles continue to offer data of value.
As with any such venture you consider, for whatever reason, balance promotion with genuine socialization to keep those who came to you for a reason.
One thing to note about sponsored tweet programs: just because you use Twitter doesn't mean you automatically qualify.
An advertiser with money to spend wants to be seen, and if you're a new user with only ten followers to your credit chances are you won't fit the criteria, as opposed to the seasoned poster who organically grew a following.
As a writer and social media specialist, I tend to follow colleagues and experts in the published and SEO fields to keep up on rumors and events.
Ultimately, I realize many of the people I follow are using Twitter not so much to trade recipes and water-cooler talk about Lost and the Super Bowl, but to promote their own interests.
Authors have books to sell, SEO mavens have services to exploits, and the bottom comes down to money - the more time invested in social marketing should eventually yield results.
So it comes as no surprise to see people I know opting to post "sponsored Tweets," data designed to offer the profile's owner a kickback on click-throughs and/or purchases.
Sponsored tweeting works similarly to pay-per-blogging: a business sets a budget to advertise products and services through a site that connects advertisers and Twitter users.
Registered Twitter users then accept or reject the ad copy given to them, and post accordingly to their account(s).
Depending on the company, these micro-bloggers may need to disclose which of their tweets are sponsored, and as people click through and/or take advantage of the deals the one who posted the tweet receives a commission.
Whether or not one can get rich simply by tweeting is up for debate, but it does beg the question of whether or not the practice could risk your Twitter following.
Think about why you tweet, how you post, and what attracts viewers to your feed? What expertise do you offer that keeps people interested, and how often do you directly socialize with the people you follow on your profile? I mentioned earlier that I do follow a number of authors, all of whom have books and other projects to promote - naturally I expect to see links to online bookstores, blogs, and contests for book and prize giveaways.
On occasion, I am known to unfollow a Twitter account based on saturation.
If every post off the feed is a "buy my book" plea, offered every few minutes, I may find a reason to quit reading.
Personally, too, of those I know who are supplementing their income with sponsored tweeting, I find it isn't too disruptive, and the profiles continue to offer data of value.
As with any such venture you consider, for whatever reason, balance promotion with genuine socialization to keep those who came to you for a reason.
One thing to note about sponsored tweet programs: just because you use Twitter doesn't mean you automatically qualify.
An advertiser with money to spend wants to be seen, and if you're a new user with only ten followers to your credit chances are you won't fit the criteria, as opposed to the seasoned poster who organically grew a following.
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