Ad.ly, the newest advertising that matches publishers (you) with advertisers. The more popular you are, the more advertisers will pay per week for “renting” your account to submit their ad to your followers. As the publisher, you do have ultimate say in what gets published to your account.
Ad.ly was started for celebrities and industry leaders on Twitter to monetize their twitter accounts through advertising. The advertisers needed access to their followers and what better way to pay for it? The idea behind this is that celebrities or well respected/followed tweeters have a very targeted audience that it is believed that they can influence. Publishers are selling their influence and advertisers are hungry and willing to pay.
Here is how it works:
1. Ad.ly matches advertiser with your account.
2. Publisher approves advertising prior to the ad being tweeted.
3. Tweeted 1x a day for 7 days.
4. Compensation is based upon your number of followers and is recommended for you by ad.ly however you can set the price you wish to be paid for the ad for the week.
5. Opportunity to donate your proceeds to charity of choice. Ad.ly posts a notification on your account so that the advertiser is aware that you are donating the funds.
6. Referral Program. Refer your friends/followers and receive 12% of everything THEY make. Not too shabby.
Ad.ly is new but has already been making strides with signing on advertisers such as NBC, Sony, Microsoft and Butterfinger. It is encouraging to see bigger name advertisers however it may just be a matter of time before the spammers get control and accounts are hacked. Ad.ly is only a few months old and starting to make some strides. There has not been any real positive or negative feedback on the success or failure through “un-follows” to accounts.
Celebrities are sought out to appear in television or radio commercials to endorse products and are paid very well for their time and endorsement of the product. Does this influence carry over to twitter especially for the “real” accounts? Will people be influenced by the celebrity or industry leader to click the link and/or buy? Will industry leaders prove to be more influential as we trust them therefore increasing our propensity to buy?
Is Ad.ly good or bad? Does advertising belong on Twitter via a third party? Is this nothing more than selling yourself or followers for a quick buck? Should publishers have to disclose that they have become a part of Ad.ly and give the option to un-follow prior to ads starting?
photo credit: theblogismine.com
