Paid Tweets + Paid Media
Like Chocolate and Peanut Butter?
Not really earned, not that organic, but certainly paid for. The efficacy of Word-of-Mouth marketing online, in any form – paid blog posts or tweets was recently covered by Ad Age in their article: Paid tweets just as healthy as organic word-of-mouth?
Although the article presented multiple points-of-view, including the obligatory quotes from specialized practitioners, a Forrester analyst, and of course, a traditional agency skeptic, (who, of course, was converted) – it made a point without really attempting one or taking a side in this debate.
It seems that choosing to participate in a conversation, debate or exchange can be just as important as having a position.
While agencies, marketers and countless consultants push (race) to start a conversation with consumers that lead to trial, purchase and some kind of loyalty – the role of paid influence (or a sponsored conversation) has been the object of debate, even derision among purists.
In his research study, Add Sponsored Conversations to your Toolbox, Forrester researcher, Sean Corcoran, makes the case (effectively I believe) for paid engagement as an extension of marketing and PR efforts.
Corcoran maintains, correctly I believe, that as long as the blogger (tweeter, or whomever it might be) discloses the fact that they are sponsored and write what they really think – you can effectively support, even drive your marketing ambitions of awareness and engagement.
Among the demandments to respect: Be authentic, transparent, measure appropriately and participate – respond, don’t just walk away.
Right or wrong, fake or genuine, from your heart or for your wallet – paid conversations are here to stay.
Participate.
posted by Jason Ulrich on September 27th, 2009 at 8:39 pm Permanent link to this post
One Response to “Paid Tweets + Paid Media”
I agree it’s here to stay, but to me the difference between success and failure will be authenticity. Even though someone may disclose that they are paid to participate, if I don’t know who they are beforehand, it’s difficult to gauge whether or not they are speaking from the heart. Scott Monty is able to effectively tweet for Ford (http://twitter.com/ford) because he was a known and somewhat respected entity before he was sponsored. And there are certainly many precedents of successful paid sponsorships. Joe Dimaggio helped introduce Mr. Coffee to a weary nation because he was beloved and trusted, so people believed him when he said he loved the product (which was a piece of crap, by the way). It will be interesting to watch as this plays out.