Tweeting for Clients: Good Business or Bad Policy?

by lisa ~ June 15, 2009

June 11, 2009 - It’s a controversial subject - companies paying people to send promotional messages about them via Twitter. Those who write these so-called sponsored tweets are paid “based either on the number of clicks they receive or on a flat fee per Tweet,” according to Adweek.The marketing company behind this idea is Izea, based in Orlando, FL, which also pays bloggers to write about clients’ products. Its clients, according to its web site, include Dirt Devil, American Greetings, Beaches resorts, and Blockbuster.

The concept of paying for tweets or blogs is generally viewed as deceptive if it’s not disclosed by both parties. The Federal Trade Commission is so concerned about undisclosed product endorsements that it recently said it’s updating its rules. BusinessWeek actually has an eye-opening feature showing how various brands ranging from Ford to General Mills are wooing bloggers.

Public opinion - if not the law - holds that sponsored tweets should be disclosed. In fact, it’s increasingly common for such posts to carry a “hashtag” that includes this code: #spon. Yesterday a tweeter calling himself iheartdeals wrote this: “Unlike Netflix, Blockbuster does not charge you extra for renting Blue-Ray #spon http://tinyurl.com/p4yylk”

But one person who posted on Adweek’s discussion page following the article about Izea wrote, “I don’t get the big fuss about disclosure when hiring someone else to promote your service/company. As far as I’m concerned this is a work-for-hire service and just like any other employee/contractor the person is doing their job.”

It seems to me that those who do nothing but post sponsored tweets must be thoroughly uninteresting. However, I also know that many PR people who tweet for personal reasons will occasionally discuss their clients although they aren’t specifically being paid to do so. For example, I announced yesterday that I might be handling PR for a book by a Wall Street insider that’s scheduled to be released this summer. “The author (my client) says he wrote ‘about how the individual investor can take advantage of Wall Street’s self-imposed folly,’” I posted.

Did I cross a line by doing so?

As the rules of social media marketing evolve, the boundaries will be drawn. At this early stage, it’s an issue that deserves discussion within the PR community; however, affixing specific policies may be impossible.

To read the full Adweek article, “Get Ready for Pay per Tweet,” click here:

http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/digital/e3if90a53b1b75730c949329d588f640e6c

Lisa Tibbitts is a New York-based corporate communications professional with an MBA in marketing. Follow her on Twitter: http://twitter.com/FinancialPR.

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