Twitter Followers for Rent

In a recent article @bmorrissey expresses an interesting perspective on the value of Twitter followers. Apparently, Twitter is now sending “invites” that allow you to advertise yourself to new followers, with a recommended price point of $2.50 per follower. While some argue that the persistent connection that one establishes with the follower is valued quite high; most marketers, Morrissey included, believe that Twitter is simply renting you followers.   In fact, he goes so far to equate it to Twitter being a landlord and Tweeters being unhappy tenants. From the perspective of an advertiser, there is little room to argue that the lifetime value of acquiring customers on owned channels is significantly higher than on social media platforms. However, one must take into account the earned media potential. What this article fails to discuss is the value of earned media. Earned media acquires loyal fans and followers through their trusted network. However, the potential for earned media is directly correlated to one’s social footprint. In my opinion this is invaluable. It’s incredibly challenging to garner loyal customers through paid media. While I think it’s important to not discount this, it’s virtually impossible to tie social media investments to ROI. Until we can do that, advertisers and marketers won’t pony up big money to expand their social footprint.

Article: http://bit.ly/NdIl2P