twitter: direct monetization or marketing tool???

[jake_russell]

Hey YE,

Quick question about twitter. Do you think it is a more valuable tool if used for direct monetization? ie ads or affiliate links - Or is twitter a more valuable tool when used to promote a particular product or company?

I am seeing people do both but I am hearing no numbers come from the affiliate link camp. Anybody have personal experience?

[AndyMc]

My vote is for usage to promote something. Marketing, hype, driving traffic, creating buzz...

[jake_russell]

I tend to agree. I think it is good for that but making money on twitter itself seems a little to "out there" for me. Some do it I am sure but the reward is not worth the work and low chance of success.

anybody have any experience otherwise?

[Adnerb]

I think it is very useful to build a brand with info, or to follow a trend but I am not sure how you would even advertise as people mostly use their phones and I think they would opt out or ignore ads on their phone. I might be wrong, I did look into twitter but I am no expert.

[TelecommutingMom]

I think it is better used to lead people to your site by interesting them in what you have to say. Your site or blog should be what sells them on your product once you are there.

[PhillM]

I tend to agree. I think it is good for that but making money on twitter itself seems a little to "out there" for me. Some do it I am sure but the reward is not worth the work and low chance of success.

anybody have any experience otherwise?

I've had multiple brands on twitter and 3 different accounts with over 2000 followers and when I post a link to my own products or affiliate links I might get 1 or 2 clicks. Twitter is for following celebs not posting affiliate links. Business links just look too much like spam. Of course twitter can be useful in building a fan base but don't expect them to click your links.

[GotLiveChat]

I've had multiple brands on twitter and 3 different accounts with over 2000 followers and when I post a link to my own products or affiliate links I might get 1 or 2 clicks. Twitter is for following celebs not posting affiliate links. Business links just look too much like spam. Of course twitter can be useful in building a fan base but don't expect them to click your links.

Agreed; seems Twitter is good for ppl (that others care to follow) vs. having an actual business use. Not to say it can't be used for business -- just need to keep time spent on it limited and see what types of leads it gets for you.

[rogercbryan]

Hey YE,

Quick question about twitter. Do you think it is a more valuable tool if used for direct monetization? ie ads or affiliate links - Or is twitter a more valuable tool when used to promote a particular product or company?

I am seeing people do both but I am hearing no numbers come from the affiliate link camp. Anybody have personal experience?

I don't find a lot of value in Twitter at all... but if you are looking to stretch it you can use it like this

1- Passive List Building: In certain niches Twitter Users do follow their streams so if you are looking for a way to market a product or service passively you can Tweet about it and hope that your followers see your offering in their stream. I've had limited success using this for local marketing for a restaurant.

2- Branding and Positioning: Because Twitter is a 2.0 Network Platform you can use your Twitter Account as a place to build links to so that you can get it to rank. Your Twitter page will rank a lot faster then your website (just like Facebook or Youtube) because they already have a high PR. So you can position your page as a place for people who are researching your company to find you.

As in direct aggressive marketing or list building... Twitter does not create value

[experimentjon]

The one case where Twitter has shown to be an effective tool is for:
1) Lunch trucks which have different locations daily. It has been an interesting model, and seems to be popular.
2) Customer service communication tool.
3) New product announcements.

There is a lot of misuse of Twitter for advertising, but in specific niches, it can be a useful tool.

[ent-ins]

Twitter is more appropriate for marketing tool, instead of direct monetization..
It can be used to build your brand online.