Ads on Twitter Are Okay By Me
Being a part of the *special* 900,000 users that access Twitter through Hootsuite, couldn't help but notice something new popping up in my Feed.
A dull yellow highlight around the word Promoted Tweet (or Promoted depending on where you look) with a message from a big name brand like Nintendo or Best Buy, brands I don't actually follow.
These brands have paid a premium to Twitter to appear in users feeds via the Promoted Tweet veil.
Like most entrepreneurial ventures in life, it all comes back to earning/making money.
And this is the way Twitter chose to do it.
Announced back in April, Twitter has utilized these Promoted Tweets in a way where they're not terribly annoying, in my opinion that is.
Unlike other websites, where ads appear in the typical right hand column or in Banner ads, these purchased advertisement tweets show up in general feeds and haven't been too much of a distraction so far.
These ads feel like a natural extension of the service, much like other advertisements on the web.
When I go to YouTube, I can expect to watch commercials now.
When I want to read an article on the Baltimore Sun's website, some ads appear about a Baltimore mom making $134.95/hr.
Head to any of the big networks that host old episodes for streaming, and you're going to be treated to the same 30-sec ad from a sponsor at regular broadcast commercial spots.
Okay, so those are annoying, but we still use those services. Following this line of logic, I wouldn't expect Twitter users to be bothered by this new form of advertising.
I've done searching on Twitter, and am finding that few seem to share my apathetic attitude toward these ads:
Maybe I'm just not getting hit as hard as other users, but I really don't think these Promoted Tweets are the devil.
If anything, they're a smart way of reaching Twitter users with brand messaging. At least we're not being forced to watch a :30 sec Dove spot everytime we refresh our feed.
Jury's still out on all of this. What do you think about Promoted Tweets on Twitter?
Sean Sutherland, Associate Account Executive/Promoted Tweeter (not really)
3 others 'fessed up:
I have to say, the promoted tweets aren't as bad as I'd feared they would be.
They're not too frequent, and that yellow "Promoted By" does a good job distinguishing it from normal tweets.
I was worried it would be hard to tell if it was an ad Tweet or a normal one.
Hey thanks for your comment!
Yeah, I think when people initially heard about this program they were a bit worried. But I think Twitter has implemented these in a way that has been totally unobtrusive; at least in my experience.
Hi nice reaading your post
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