Twitter turns to affiliate marketing: offers daily deals via ‘Earlybird’ launch
- Added:
- Jul 08, 2010
Twitter has launched an advertising feature for morning people, dubbed Earlybird, letting advertisers offer users exclusive deals on products and events.
In a blog post, the company officially announced EarlyBird, which aims to inform users of special promotions that are unique to Twitter and the account.
Advertisers who pay Twitter to distribute the offers via @Earlybird will determine the availability and pricing.
The offers will be time sensitive, so fast action will be needed from users to grab a bargain before they’re gone. Bargain hunters can also spread the word by retweeting deals.
None of the selected advertisers have yet been named, but Twitter offers more details here.
Despite getting a $160m boost in venture capital funding earlier this year, and being worth an estimated $1bn, Twitter is still on the hunt for sustainable revenue sources to support the company.
Early indications on Promoted Trends and Promoted Tweets appear to have been successful, and are part of a larger strategy to avoid paid accounts yet gain financial security.
EarlyBird functions in the same way as a normal Twitter account – for the offers to appear in a follow feed. Unlike Promoted Trends, however, they do not appear automatically on your front page and it is an opt-in service, as opposed to the opt-out follow that had been mooted.
Initially, EarlyBird offers will be US-centric, although Twitter has said this will likely change: "We're starting with US-wide offers but will explore location-based deals in the future," the company said.
The blog goes on to say: “We partner with select advertisers and retweet offers that they have crafted only for the Twitter community. Our advertising partners determine the terms of the offer, including availability, amount, and price.
“Many of you use Twitter to stay on top of timely, relevant information, and lots of businesses are already sharing special offers on Twitter. We believe that surfacing deals through the @earlybird account will help you discover the best of those deals,” the blog continued.
Read the full company blog here: http://support.twitter.com/groups/31-twitter-basics/topics/111-features/articles/208505-what-is-earlybird
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