I’ve sent out over 20,000 tweets since getting started on Twitter. Exactly three of them have been sponsored (via Sponsored Tweets). Each carried a disclosure of some kind and I earned a total of $23 from those tweets. But some feelings kept nagging me, so I erred on the side of caution and de-activated my account… and I’d like to tell you why (whether you care or not).
First, I don’t think you should avoid sponsored tweets solely on the basis of what I say. There’s a good, healthy debate going on within the Twitter community and that debate should probably continue. Therefore, I’m actually going to state some points to the contrary of where I’m really going with my thoughts.
A Case for Using Sponsored Tweets
I’ll be brief. I like the service Sponsored Tweets offers because they do require disclosure, they try to avoid spammy accounts becoming users (by looking for accounts with a minimum number of followers and tweets), and the offers I tweeted were good ones, especially the one asking people to buy gifts for suffering patients. I also like that I remained in total control – they never inject anything in your Twitter stream without your permission.
Now, the reasons why I de-activated my account…
Sponsored Tweets Don’t Seem Natural
I talk about things I like on Twitter all the time – brands, products, restaurants, etc. I do this for free. I don’t send them a bill when I mention them. But with Sponsored Tweets, I get paid to recommend things I wouldn’t naturally talk about, so it kind of disrupts the natural flow of my own conversation.
Twitter Doesn’t Even Do Sponsored Tweets
Some pretty creative guys built Twitter and they don’t charge anything for its use. I’ve never seen a single tweet from Twitter itself that was sponsored by anyone. Until the company monetizes its own stream, I think I feel a little guilty about doing so myself. I realize there are easy arguments against this point, but it’s a gut feeling.
I Might Lose the Trust of a Follower
I have thousands of followers and I appreciate them all. If I come across the wrong way with just a few of them, I think I’d find that disappointing. If someone unfollowed me because of an #ad hashtag, I think I’d be a little sad. So I’d rather have your trust.
At the end of the day, the only reason I could think of to stick with sponsored tweeting was the money, and that’s just not reason enough for me. For you, it may be different, so make your own decision, but weigh all of these thoughts heavily. Oh, and follow me… ad free!
Just fyi, the links above are just plain ole’ links – not affiliate ones.
About Brandon Cox
I have recently joined sponsored tweets and wrote today a post about it and I must say I was surprised to read the title of this post. I have read the reasons you mentioned here, Brandon. Afterall can posting 1 ad tweet in between 100 regular tweets and retweets cause followers to unfollow you?
Kavita recently posted..7 Tips to Make Money from Sponsored Tweets
I’m still deciding on whether I’ll do it or not. But as of right now I don’t have enough followers anyways.
Nick recently posted..Today In Swagbucks 6-27-10
Some of the “big dudes” in blogging are into this. Other than read different points of view I haven’t looked into it much. Not being much into Twitter, it doesn’t make sense.
Still, I don’t see it as much different from affiliate marketing. If you’re **selective** about anything with a potential conflict of interest, I think you should be fine. Of course, I don’t know how selective you can be with sponsored tweeting.
Good info here.
.-= Alison Moore Smith´s last blog ..6 Steps to Startup with WordPress: The Guide for the Wannabe Blogger =-.
You do have total control over for whom you tweet and how it reads, and there’s always a disclosure. Moderation is key for most users – some people just have no sense.
You express some very valid points. I am enrolled in ST, but have only tweeted once for $1. My followers can tell the difference between my tweets and the sponsored ones so I am not worried about them getting confused. I just wish I could make more money from the program.
.-= Ms. Freeman´s last blog ..Google Takes Scammers to Court! =-.
Hi Ms. Freeman,
Do you have a screen shot of the Sponsored Tweet – I was wondering what is sent through ST ?
Thanks!
I understand. Keep connecting with folks – the more relationships you have, the more valuable you are to advertisers.
Very good reasons why you deactivated your ST account. I myself do not use ST on my “main” Twitter profile and instead I created another account that I would use for this purpose, whenever that happens:) I have not sent a single ST yet.
.-= DiTesco´s last blog ..DiTesco’s Weekly Echo #13 =-.
That’s not a bad idea – keeps your own brand pure but allows you to exercise some ad muscles.
You’ve raised some very pertinent points. I really don’t mind the odd ad tweet in my stream but I have seen some people send out an ad every other tweet. No only does it deter you from the Tweeter but also the service they are using (in my opinion).
Thanks for sharing,
Karl
.-= Karl Foxley´s last blog ..Introduce Yourself and Get Some Link Love! =-.
No problem, Karl, and thanks for joining in the fun!
I agree with you on this one Brandon, I personally don’t like ads on Twitter ( and not sure how I would feel about making money tweeting about buying gifts for suffering patients, I think I would get more out of that for free) but I don’t unfollow those that do tweet ads, unless they bombard them to me through replies and DM’s.
What I wrestle more with is the fact that I started a second account (@FenceProducts) to promote my business. I am having trouble sending out too much noise about “buy fence stuff from me!” and am still used to just trying to discover, converse, and network. So I hope to find a happy medium with this side of Twitter because I really do enjoy using it.
.-= Keith @ Superior Fence Products´s last blog ..Vinyl Vs Wood Fencing =-.
Kevin, I would only challenge you to think of the fact that your fence business won’t mean much to people on Twitter, but YOU will mean something to them. In other words, be Keith, who knows everything there is to know about fence stuff.
Know anybody I could get some fence stuff from? Ha, there’s this guy on Twitter who knows more about fence stuff that Bubba did about shrimp – Keith, I think, is his name.
Just my thoughts, bro.
Brandon,
I have decided to unfollow you because you no longer tweet any ads. ;)
I don’t think you should feel too bad for Twitter as they have been able to raise tons of cash from investors (even if they can’t figure out a way to monetize their own site).
Brad
.-= Brad Harmon´s last blog ..Guess Who’s a Member of the Famous Bloggers Club =-.
Well now that’s true! But when they do…
Hello,
I don’t blame you for not wanting to do sponsored tweets. It really isn’t for everyone. Each person has to gauge how they want to utilize it.
Been working on a RT advertising platform because it only allows the person to Retweet one message per person and limits it to 100 Retweets – so it cleans up the noise a bit and allows someone’s brand/message to get out. At least I feel that is in the right direction…..
good post!
Should be interesting to check out. For all the reasons above, I don’t know that I’ll try it, but it does sound like a promising service with a good balance. Good luck with it!!
Brandon,
Thanks for the reply back. Yes, definatly a work in progress but making headway. I’ll keep you posted on how it all goes.
Great post and great blog!
Thanks for this article. Was considering Sponsored Tweets myself but have been hesitant for the very reasons you list here. I’ve built a pretty good following and did not want to disrupt or otherwise change the impression people had about me.
I even considered upgrading my twitter background but decided to not disturb what’s been working thus far. As they say, “if it ain’t broke…”
.-= Jimi Jones´s last blog ..BlogEngage – Networking With Other Bloggers =-.
Jimi – You’re welcome. I don’t think I’d ever unfollow someone for a random and occasional tweet, but I also know that Twitter is a fairly sensitive arena. People are slightly picky sometimes. :)