Twitter Week in Review

Carri Bright — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:40:11 +0000

There’s so much going on in the Twittersphere this week that it’s been hard to keep up! Here are the top stories that have had us all ‘atwitter.’

Twitter Censorship

Twitter announced this week that it will, upon receiving a “valid legal request,” block tweets from being seen in specific regions. However, they have expanded their partnership with Chilling Effects to provide further information about the censored information.

It seems that everyone had something to say about this news. Canada’s The Globe And Mail published this article outlining why Twitter’s censorship plan is better than you think, while Amnesty International voiced their thoughts on what this policy means for Human Rights in the Huffington Post.

Twitter co-founder Biz Stone maintains that this move is a “a huge win for free speech” while Twitter CEO, Dick Costolo, addressed concerns about their policy in an interview he gave at the D: Dive into Media Conference saying that, “the company is focused on making sure tweets remain as accessible as possible.”

The Super Bowl of Tweets

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you are at least aware, if not manically excited about the Super Bowl this weekend. So much so, that there has already been extensive monitoring and analysis of related topics on Twitter.

One post goes so far as to claim that Twitter is now the most important part of the NFL viewing experience.

Even the Twitter blog has chimed in to let everyone following the action know to use the hashtag #SuperBowl to monitor the conversation.

Facebook IPO

The news that Facebook had filed their S-1 with the SEC in preparation for becoming a publicly traded company became a trending topic on Twitter almost instantly.

Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, penned this letter to investors and Tweeters world-wide voiced their reactions 140 characters at a time.

Twitter Tip of the Week

Make use of link shortening services like bit.ly to pare down long links and provide you more characters to express your thoughts.

Late Reaction to the CORRECT Hashtag Fashion

ameliag — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 21:33:51 +0000

Social media has reformed and redefined how we converse, where we view our news and how we interact with brands. Gone are the days when gaining “publisher status” was dictated by printed and copyrighted work. Today, essentially anyone can be a publisher, but with approximately 600 TPS (yep, that’s tweets per second) getting lost in the clutter is inevitable.

We have the luxury of communicating instantaneously on a platform that not only insists, but requires us to keep it short and sweet; 140 characters to be exact. We must be concise in our message, yet strategic in order to gain traction, increase our following and most importantly, engage our readers. Although there is no clean-cut method to the madness, there is a little tool that some of us might overlook and quite possibly misuse: the almighty hashtag.

Hash whaa?

Hashtag. It is essentially defined in its name. It is a tag; a tool sites use to help optimize their posts- similar to a keyword you would use to search a topic in Google. Essentially, it’s a descriptive word that is relevant to what you are saying and why you are saying it.

Use it, Don’t Abuse it.

There is not a stone tablet displaying the rules of Twitter’s infamous trademark, however, there are some guidelines to tweet by if you want to increase your following and conduct meaningful conversations.

1. Stand out in the crowd

If no one can find you, your tweets will become obsolete chirps. You would probably never search the word “and” on Google unless it was an integral part of the topic you’re searching- same goes for Twitter.

Those searching for content relevant to what you’re tweeting will primarily find you through equally relevant hashtags. Be sure to hashtag key aspects of your tweet like #socialmedia or #tigerblood (just kidding!) They provide trackability for you, for other users and for topics that you’re interested in. More keyword trackability = more niche followers = more engagement.

2. Don’t be that guy.

Use your hashtags as conversation tools, #dontspamyourfollowerswithatweetlikethis. A bad hashtag can transform that otherwise meaningful tweet into a noisy crow; remember that the unfollow option is always just a click away. One “spammy” hashtag and your following of typically happy tweeters will turn into a mob of angry birds.

3. Be a little nerdy

Stay current on the latest in your field of interest. Become a source of information rather than a receptacle for it. Follow the experts and use the same hashtags for similar topics you focus on.

4. But be the class clown too.

Don’t be too serious. Have fun with your tweets and hashtags. Pushing out relevant, interesting and humorous content? You’re a triple threat.

Why Should I Care?

Why is this relevant for SponsoredTweets? Well, the more followers you gain and retain, the larger your following will become. As your engaged following grows, so will your clicks and your cash flow.

Keep in Mind the reTweet!

ashley — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 18:58:52 +0000

Here’s a little tip for you, something to keep in mind when you’re crafting a Tweet (and this is with any Tweet, not just a Sponsored Tweet):

Always keep in mind that the message you publish could potentially be reTweeted by any of your Followers, or even people that don’t Follow you. One of my biggest pet peeves on Twitter is when I think a message is worth reTweeting, and I want to add a comment to the Tweet but can’t because there’s not enough room:

Yuck! In the example above I’m already down 15 characters. Most of the time when I’m presented with this, I just end-up not reTweeting, unfortunately. I don’t typically feel like taking the time to edit and get the message down to an amount of characters that will accommodate my comment. So see…the Tweeter loses out on having their message shared, along with the additional exposure of their Twitter profile. (Again, in the example above, the Outlets, Pinkberry and @attractions all lose out on additional exposure.)

Of course, if said Tweet is a Sponsored Tweet, then the Advertiser would’ve missed out on having their brand reach a larger audience, and you as the Tweeter may miss out on the opportunity to earn extra money (if the Tweet is a CPC Opp).

What are your thoughts on this? Do you think you’ll take greater note of how you craft your Tweets in the future?

Signing In to SponsoredTweets.com

ashley — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 17:24:28 +0000

Believe-it-or-not something as simple as signing in to a site can cause challenges for some. As is sometimes the case with Sponsored Tweets, as we get questions on Twitter and in our Support Forums. So here’s a little tip to help access your account on SponsoredTweets.com:

If you’re a Tweeter, you’ll want to click the “Sign in with Twitter” button after hitting “Log In.” This is the same information you use to sign in to Twitter – we connect to Twitter’s API and do not store your information (so if you ever have problems signing in to Sponsored Tweets, it’s most likely an issue on Twitter’s end).

If you’re an Advertiser, you’ll want to sign in with an e-mail address and password (which you originally used when you created a Sponsored Tweets account).

Here’s a visual to help out:

Refer a Friend and Make Some $$$

ashley — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 21:14:58 +0000

You like to make money, right? Of course you do, or you wouldn’t be using Sponsored Tweets! Many of you probably already know Sponsored Tweets has a referral program, but for those of you who don’t you can actually earn money doing…well, nothing!

Referring people to Sponsored Tweets is quite simple. First, sign in to your account. On the right-hand side of the page you’ll see a button that reads “join our referral program”:

Next, click the button and you’ll then be taken to a page explaining how the referral program works. Here you can also keep track of the people you’ve referred (“people you’ve referred” tab). To start referring, all you have to do is grab the link featured in the “your link” section of the page. NOTE: Do not use the link featured in the following image (unless you want your referral money to come to me). It is a unique tracking link and will not earn you money.

Seriously, does making money get any easier?! I think not!

When referring someone please keep in mind:

You will not earn any money until your referral makes a successful transaction.
You can sign someone up as an Advertiser and earn %5 of their transactions.
Referral money cannot be earned on promotional campaigns.
There are badges available for you to use, if you have a blog or website to post them on.

Have fun referring people, and don’t forget we’re here if you have any questions.

Sending Out Sponsored Tweets

ashley — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 19:09:23 +0000

For those participating in the Sponsored Tweets platform, we often run across some common, recurring issues. One we’ve noticed quite frequently is Tweeters publishing their Sponsored Tweets directly from their Twitter account. When taking a Sponsored Tweets Opportunity, it’s clearly stated in your dashboard to not publish the Tweet yourself (see content outlined by blue box below). The message must first be approved by the Advertiser, through Sponsored Tweets, then we’ll publish the Tweet through the system.

What you should see when taking a Sponsored Tweet Opportunity:

Please be sure to read everything very closely when signed-in to your Sponsored Tweets account. Of course, if you have any questions about anything along the way, we’re here to help!

IZEA Releases The State of Social Media Sponsorship Report

tedmurphy — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 17:13:51 +0000

Report finds that over 88 percent of social media publishers monetize social media and 87 percent have or would create sponsored content

September 13, 2010 – Orlando FL. IZEA, a world leader in social media sponsorships, today released its first report on The State of Social Media Sponsorship for the second quarter of 2010. The report was compiled from survey data of over 2,800 social media publishers, consultants, marketers and public relations professionals who volunteered to participate. It uncovers the impact sponsorships have on engagement, compensation practices, publisher preferences, and earnings. Complimentary copies of this survey are available from IZEA’s website.

The survey defined Social Media Sponsorship (SMS) as the practice of providing compensation to a social media publisher in exchange for mention, promotion or review through a publisher’s social media channels. Compensation may be in the form of cash, free product or service, experiences, discounts, coupons or other special incentives.

Key Findings

88.3 percent of social media publishers monetize social media in some way
87.4 percent of social media publishers have or would create sponsored content
The average social media publisher spends $711 per year on hosting, education, conferences and related social media costs
Twitter users earn 298 percent more in SMS for their blog than non-twitter users

“The growth of the SMS industry is astounding,” said Ted Murphy, CEO and founder of IZEA. “According to PQ Media, social media sponsorships are positioned to grow from $46 million in 2009 to over $160 million in 2014, this explosive growth presents significant opportunities for publishers to monetize their social media channels.”

With social media enabling every consumer to become a publisher, advertiser demand is clearly increasing. Brands of all sizes recognize the value of building relationships with social media publishers. This is validated by the majority of publishers (71.3 percent), who stated that they have been approached by someone offering cash, free products, discounts or other compensation in exchange for a blog post, tweet or other social media promotion.

While the report underscores the growth in SMS, it also highlights areas of concern. Survey data determined that 35 percent of public relations, social media and marketing professionals are not aware of the FTC guidelines on endorsement announced in late 2009. Only 29 percent of these professionals indicated that they read and understood the guidelines, meaning that the majority are unclear as to the best practices.

“Our space is maturing and becoming more sophisticated;” said Murphy, “however, we clearly need better education among both advertisers and publishers. In order for this space to gain widespread acceptance, everyone needs to play by the same legal rules and ethical guidelines.”

About IZEA

IZEA is a world leader in social media sponsorship, operating multiple marketplaces such as WeReward, SponsoredTweets, and SocialSpark. Our mission is to empower everyone to value and exchange content, creativity and influence. Through it network of over 400,000 social media publishers, the company has successfully launched over 1,000,000 social media sponsorships for over 35,000 advertisers, from small local businesses to Fortune 50 organizations. IZEA is venture funded by Inflexion Partners, Village Ventures, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, and DFJ Gotham Ventures.

Change is Comin’

ashley — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 13:51:10 +0000

Something exciting this way comes to Sponsored Tweets. Very soon. Stay tuned!

In the meantime….

(Source: icanhascheezburger.com)

Cashing Out Your Sponsored Tweets Earnings

ashley — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 18:39:23 +0000

Cashing out earnings in Sponsored Tweets is a fairly simple process. We still field many questions about it though, through the Sponsored Tweets Twitter account, so I thought I’d make a quick rundown of how the process works. Hopefully it’ll help those who may be confused, unaware, or have questions.

First of all, we pay our Twitter Publishers through PayPal. If you don’t already have a PayPal account set-up then visit http://paypal.com right now and get that done. You may not need it today but you will eventually. Go ahead…we’ll wait for you!

OK, now that you’ve got your PayPal all taken care of, let’s move on to your Sponsored Tweets account. Sign-in to your account using you Twitter handle (we do not store this information; we connect with the Twitter API*.) Once you’ve successfully signed-in, in the top righthand of your account you should see a “Withdraw” button that looks like this (using my account as an example):

As you can see, I have $11.04 sitting in my account. “But I thought I had to have earned at least $50 before I could cash out?” you might be asking yourself. Well, that’s no longer true! About two weeks ago we started offering “early” cash-out, with a $2 fee attached. So now you can take money any time you want!

If you’re ready, go ahead and click on that “Withdraw” button, and you should then see a screen like this:

At this point, just fill-out all the requested information on this screen and the next…and you’re on your way!

The last screen you’ll see is the one confirming payment. Congrats! Now you’ve got some extra cash in your pocket: buy some ice cream, catch a Lady Gaga show, or put it away for that European trip you’ve been saving for!

Be sure to let us know if you have any questions about cashing-out. For other tips you can check-out our Support Forums.

* If you’re not familiar with what an API is, click here.

Sponsored Tweets » Insight