tracking

The march towards profitability continues… up for review today is Twittertise. Dan Thorton of 140char.com wrote a good review of the service. My interest lies is how it might be used to indirectly monetize microblogging activities.

Background

Twittertise allows you to “advertise” on Twitter and track the success of branded communications with your customers.

Using Twittertise you can schedule your communications on Twitter and using URL tracking technology measure the effectiveness of your traffic driving techniques on the platform.

Details

• Approach: Click analysis
• Payment: None, tracking only.
• Use: Scheduled tweets with click-through tracking; graphs and other statistics available.

Thoughts

Twittertise is built off of the URL shortener bit.ly; its API provides information on total clicks and traffic sources. This information is presented visually (think Google Analytics) and provides both cumulative and detailed views. Easy tracking of URL’s in tweets is essential for anyone on-line, particularly business users, as it provides feedback on activity. Please note that URL tracking is also provided by:

• Directly through bit.ly – You can only check traffic on individual links (there are no accounts).
• Tweetburner (twurl.nl) – This service offers accounts, allowing users to track URLs from one location. A quick review on getsatisfaction.com indicates ongoing problems with tracking.
• zi.ma – Yes, another shortener, but this offers several interesting features, including password protection of URLs and bulk shortening along with statistics. The domain name causes me some concern about long-term branding (copyright infringement anyone?)

I would not go as far as other reviewers and tie these metrics to return on investment. ROI and other quantitative measures are effective when dealing with tangible assets. While scheduled tweets fall into this definition, the sum of the value of twitter is largely intangible. When examining activity reports, look for the alignment of tweets to the interests of followers (e.g. customers). It would be helpful to tie these measures into broader site traffic metrics. Here is where tracking could get interesting: if you could demonstrate that certain tweets resulted in activities, you can link twitter activity with measurable goals.

The notion of scheduling tweets and using the platform for advertising is something that might need further consideration. If I schedule a tweet, to what extent might someone pick up on the “canned” tone – either through language or interruption in flow – and intentionally not click on a link. Flights and campaigns may work for email, but microblogs provide a far more dynamic landscape. There are clear business needs to track clicks and align activity to strategic goals, but Twittertise does not go in the direction of a microblog management platform.

Summary

Twittertise provides business users with tools needed to link activity to value. In my opinion, tracking and metrics could be expanded to provide additional value and perhaps create a new class of metrics. Scheduling may be better suited for certain accounts or follower types. One important theme jumps out at me: a tracking service could help microblogging platforms with their own monetization issues. How long will it take for premium services to hit this space?

Jonathan Kash is Director of Web Services at a non-profit based in Washington, D.C., and writes the blog Fluent Simplicity. He also created the Social Media Brand Index (originally the Twitter Brand Index). Interests include brand identity, online reputation and strategy.

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