Marketing Pilgrim’s Social Channel is proudly sponsored by Full Sail University, where you can earn your Masters of Science Degree in Internet Marketing in less than 2 years. Visit FullSail.edu for more information.

By on July 6, 2009

Twitter Gets Real Ads

10



twitter-logoBack in March, Twitter gave us all a head-fake when they started posting “sponsored definitions,” definitions in a the sidebar of Twitter homepages that looked like ads. Twitter was quick to correct the assumption that they were, in fact, ads—they were only definitions, just like you get free from dictionaries.

Then, the boxes began carrying info on Twitter apps. Rather than paying for their placement, the featured apps were actually approached by Twitter. The apps being advertised didn’t pay to get there, so despite the fact that they were still called “sponsored definitions,” they weren’t ads. Nope, no way, nuh uh.

Well, now they are, apparently. Read Write Web reports that two of the “sponsored definitions,” for Cinema Tweets and the infamous ExecTweets, are really ads this time.

twitads

As RWW notes, these ads appear only on your Twitter homepage when you’re signed in, not on other Twitter users’ pages. However, since this ad format has been used since March, it’s possible that Tweeple will either a.) completely ignore the ads, just like the did the previous definitions, or b.) not realize these are ads, despite the “sponsored” marking (though we’ve seen that before ;) ).

What do you think? Are these really ads, or are they just more of the same? Will Twitter users click on ads unwittingly, ignore them completely, or somewhere in between?


Similar Stories in: Display, Social | Forward: Email This Post

Similar posts you may like...

10 comments on “Twitter Gets Real Ads”

  1. Twitter adds ads to home page Says:

    July 6th, 2009 at 2:12 pm

    [...] home page AUTHOR : Kevin  FILED UNDER: Twitter News 6 July, 2009 // Jordan McCollum noticed today that Twitter is now displayed ads on the Twitter home page just under a users follow and follower [...]

  2. Twitter 出尔反尔，终于忍不住开始投放赞助广告 | 谷奥——探寻谷歌的奥秘 Says:

    July 6th, 2009 at 2:41 pm

    [...] Valleywag and Marketing Pilgrim 本站文章除注明转载外，均为本站原创编译 [...]

  3. Social Media Commando Says:

    July 6th, 2009 at 4:04 pm

    For a split second I thought, “How nice, Twitter is introducing the Twittersphere to TwitterSpeak.”

    Then I noticed ‘Exec-Tweets’ in the headline and knew it must be an ad.

    I fall into the category of ‘somewhere in between’ – The ads sometimes catch my attention, and I read their content from time to time, but as of yet have not been motivated to click one.

    What about all those contest giveaways that generate so much traffic, views, and forwards? Done right, and depending on what Twitter charges for ads, a contest is most likely Light Years ahead in terms of results.

    Commando OUT.

    Social Media Commando’s last blog post..Scaring Yourself Silly = WIN

  4. Barbara Says:

    July 6th, 2009 at 4:45 pm

    I don’t have any problem with Twitter having a discrete ad or two on their page. After all, their sponsored definitions are way more polite than a lot of the tweets some people post.

    Barbara’s last blog post..Seven Secrets of Successful Blogging

  5. Tinh Says:

    July 6th, 2009 at 9:00 pm

    Twitter can not live without food, sponsored ads is what it will be, just when

    Tinh’s last blog post..Thủ Thuật Nhỏ Giúp Chèn Code Vào Sidebar Dễ Dàng

  6. Twitter Gets Real Ads | Twitter Bootcamp Says:

    July 6th, 2009 at 9:09 pm

    [...] View post: Twitter Gets Real Ads [...]

  7. Twitter Chính Thức Hiển Thị Quảng Cáo | Blog Kiếm Tiền Says:

    July 6th, 2009 at 9:54 pm

    [...] Marketing Pilgrim Blog Các bài viết liên quan bạn nên đọc:Kiếm Tiền Trên Twitter Với MagPie"Tác [...]

  8. Internet Marketer Says:

    July 6th, 2009 at 10:29 pm

    I don’t think ads on Twitter will be negative unless they are obtrusive. There is so much spam to filter through on Twitter that its users have gotten pretty good at quickly identifying and ignoring irrelevant tweets, users, and messages.

    Internet Marketer’s last blog post..How to Use Qualitative Web Analytics

  9. Igor Kheifets Says:

    July 7th, 2009 at 4:02 am

    I believe that thore are infact sponsored ads,
    but since I haven’t noticed them so far I’d they are
    quite in effective and do not bother me…

    Igor

    Igor Kheifets’s last blog post..Best Affiliate Programs. What Are The Best Affiliate Programs To Promote

  10. Terry Howard Says:

    July 8th, 2009 at 9:20 am

    How about Twitter, and the rest of the Social Media world, just stop being dopes and run ads like a normal contributing member of the web. Either that or shut their maws about not having enough funding. I’d except either course of action at this point.

    Terry Howard’s last blog post..Formula For Success