Started to receive what's called "promoted Tweets" in my Twitter feed. The first one was from Wal-mart, then from Valley Crest Tree Company. Being a horticultural company Valley Crest got my attention. Why have they chosen this route? Twitter works because you receive Tweets from people or business you have chosen to receive them from. When you start to receive Tweets from businesses you have not connected with the Tweets become advertising. Sometimes it's advertising that your glad to receive, but more often it's just more noise. Why do businesses insist on "yelling" at you in The Village Square?
Right now the paid "promoted Tweets" are few and far between. What happens when these things start to fill up your feed between stuff you actually want to read? That's what makes these promoted Tweets so weird. Do these companies just assume that we want to receive stuff they feel is important? The last Tweet I received from Valley Crest took me here, to see Gabriel Aubry wearing a Valley Crest baseball hat. I had to look up to see who Gabriel Aubry was, (he is a male model).
I Tweeted Valley Crest about this and they Tweeted back, "Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We're new to Twitter and still learning. We wish your business success in social media!" The most important concept about social media and business is it's permission based. The people who receive your updates have chosen to receive them. When you "push" your message onto my time line you have crossed over the boundary. Your Tweet is now just more advertising.
It's fascinating to watch companies jumping on the social media bandwagon. Some get it, and others seem to think it's just another medium to push their message. If your thinking of using social media the most successful businesses seem to be the ones that take an interest in maintaining the "social" aspect of the medium. Social media works best when everyone agrees to want to receive the message. That's why you get to choose who you "friend" on Facebook, or who's Tweet you receive, or who's e-mail newsletter lands in your in-box. It's called permission based advertising. The recipients give you permission to send them information. If Twitter starts to get filled with "promoted ads" it will soon fall out of favor and people will move on to the next social media platform.