I was asked by a Twitter colleague Brian Carter (http://twitter.com/briancarter) to comment on the issues raised by Twittering not for fun, but for profit.  TweetROI.com is a service currently in Beta where both marketers and Twitterers can come together.  As I understand it, marketers can fund Twitterers to advocate for their product, cause or service.  Twitterers presumably can get paid for advocating the same. 

Understandably, folks are concerned that if someone is being paid to promote a product or service they are somehow less authentic than someone who does it for free.  I do understand this view though it does not carry the day in my mind.  We all do things for our own motives, and while I do think that most of us do many things because it feels good to help, that is still a motive benefiting oneself.    The Illusion Of Transparency In Social Media  does a good job of outlining the counter-argument that “objectivity” is illusory when you think about it. 

That said, I think  a Twitterer and Billy Mays (Mr. OxyClean & Miracle Putty) have categorical differences beyond the size of their paycheck.  Billy Mays is not a trusted expert in cleaning shirts or making permanent repairs with epoxy.  He’s a paid pitchman and I don’t think people think he is much more than that.  I doubt he has ever repaired a coffee cup and used it afterwards.   

On the other hand, the guys and gals I follow on Twitter are those I recognize as bringing useful stuff to my attention.  One of my favorites is 10minuteexpert, every day he puts out three or four web-related tweets that I look at closely.  I know he knows what he’s talking about, so if he pitched a software package, I am confident that that package would be a good one, and I would actually be pleased to learn he made a little scratch off the sale.

A Twitterer with a large following has credibility for reasons other than waking up one day and deciding to have credibility.  Billy Mays pays hundreds of dollars to pitch his products to me on obscure cable channels.  I choose to follow a Twitterer.  If 10minuteexpert suddenly started pitching golf clubs or invited people to sign up for a free Mac Air, the bubble of objectivity would be busted (at least for those products).  If he did it a bunch of times a day, the “unfollow” would be swiftly struck.

In my work, I manage pay-per-click campaigns, and I’m very interested in exploring pay-per-tweet.  I know we sell a good product (community pharmacy service) and it is up to the Twitterers to protect their credibility.  I can’t imagine a Twitterer who pitches nothing but payola tweets would get very popular.  I think it will all work out.  The market is a stern mistress and cannot be fooled.

If you are a small business, Twitter offers a great way to have a conversation with your customers, and enlist their help in becoming your advocate. As a social media guy, I say this all the time, but it really helps to see what a good job looks like in real life.

Check out MyHelpfulAce. The folks running the Twitter account are doing EXACTLY what ought to be done when using Twitter as part of your marketing mix. Some business Twitterers (and Bloggers and Websites) spend all their time talking “at” the visitor. Everything revolves around the great products, great service, great history etc. The missed opportunity is to describe to the visitor how the business can solve a problem the visitor has.

In the case of RockyMountainAce.com, it is clear that the Tweets are all about the customer, not about the Ace Hardware stores. It would be tempting to lard up the tweets with sale items or coupon offers. This would be easy, and probably would be effective to a point, bu that isn’t a conversation, and it really isn’t centered on the potential customer. Note these excerpts from their Tweets:

A Helpful Tip – MyHelpfulAce is offering a helpful, eco-friendly tip to help the follower solve a problem.

@ZeekDuff Did you know you can buy praying mantis eggs, which will hatch this spring & eat mosquitoes? Cheap, eco-friendly pest control.

Thanks to a Customer – Here we have them saying a thank you for the business.

@momander Thanks for picking up your cordless lawnmower at one of our stores. They’re very popular – easy to use and great for environment.

Inform followers of a Sale – Some say that Tweeting isn’t for busnesess solicitation. In this case I think it is perfectly appropriate given that MyHelpfulAce is putting out plenty of other tweets centered on the user.

Today (Sunday 4/26) – Buy One Lawn & Garden Item Under $30 & Get One 50% OFF! Find stores at http://www.myhelpfulace.com…

Encouragement & Offer – Note this exchange: MyHelpfulAce is obviously paying attention to their followers. They ask a question, get a response and offer encouragent as well as an offer.

@geekedout You bought worms… for composting, by any chance?

@geekedout Vermicomposting is great! Some of our stores do carry the red wigglers. You using ladybugs and praying mantis for pest control?

If you are considering using Twitter and other social media to promote your business, I would reccomend that you follow MyHelpfulAce and watch what they do. So far, they have done the best job I’ve seen for this type of enterprise.