Twitter’s Monetization Through Digital Media & Advertising

I guess, everyone agrees that Twitter’s 140 character’s micro blogging platform is a hit. Simple because, it is an innovative & effective way to communicate to your customers, colleagues & of course, friends. Before we realize Twitter has blown out of proportion from a website to a globally accepted web’s first major social operating system. In a world of quick and smart online communication, Twitter’s already a cult.

And, when one becomes a cult, the possibility of earning Vitamin M, read as Money also comes along. The speculation has been endless about the possibilities of making money through Twitter. However, there lies a challenge too; because no social networking platform has been effectively able to make money for a sustainable period of time. And, the best way to make money on Twitter is by Digital Media, Advertising & developing a sustainable environment for developer. But, it isn’t that Twitter does not know it. They do. Chloe Sladder, Director, Media Relationships, Twitter USA was recently quoted speaking at MipTV 2010, which is currently underway at Cannes in France as – “We would pull off any advertising that would not work for the user or interfere with the user experience“. And, there you, the user feels that a company does care about you; and it actually inculcates a ‘Feel Good’ factor in you.

Let us now look at a few monetization strategies with the help of Digital Media & Advertising -

1. Affiliate Marketing – The ‘Affiliate Links’ can be easily displayed on your tweets enabling customers (mind you, you compulsorily need a large follower base) click on the link on which you are promoting your product or service. The Sales page would be helpful here in keeping your customers hooked on to your profile and not taking them to an alien site.

2. Direct Advertising – It is as simple as it sounds. Recommend or promote your product or service on your profile through your tweets and help your follower base reach out to your offerings. The key here is your niche and that’s what makes it successful too. If you are into Software Development, there’s a high probability that most of your follower base is from the same niche too.

3. Broadcast Media – With the help of proper integrating of Television with Twitter, it serves as a broadcaster’s viewership driver. Much of the conversations and updates on Twitter are about the various television programs running across the globe. Highly likely, that if you have a show or a program running on a TV which is widely viewed, it will generate tweets. And, then there comes the monetization whose scope has to be correctly analysed.

4. Developer’s Empowerment – One of the least thought option of monetization through Twitter is the possibility of empowering developers to an extent that they are capable of doing more with its API; and thus lies the ability and scope of creating a truly remarkable business platform. Steve Rubel mentions the same here – “Mold the robust platform of Twitter into a social OS and add premium services for developers and Twitter could become a giant business that weathers the ever-changing fickle nature of online communities“. Worth a thought, I say.

True, I might be subjected to criticism here because some of you would opine that these ‘Monetization Strategies’ would actually alter Twitter to an ‘Evil’ place. But, isn’t that going to happen, either tomorrow or day after. Why not latch on to the ‘First Mover’ benefit then.

But, make sure, you still offer value from your Twitter page rather than just being another commercial junkyard. Note, ‘Value will always Sell’.