Twitter should charge business users

By February 10 2009, 9:27 am 12 Comments
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And why not? Twitter is a great service that has set the web and media alight with chatter. Businesses find it very useful and to me that seems like a clear sign that Twitter should benefit from some of that and start to pull in some revenues.

Since Twitter launched in 2006 it has been searching for a way to make money. There have been a few false starts alone the way, and two and half years later it still makes very little while growing exponentially – just look at this weekend gone, it was everywhere. Making cash is the conundrum that afflicts a lot of web ventures, both in this Web 2.0 originated boom over the last couple of years and in the dotcom boom of 2000.

The story that Marketing has today “Twitter plots charges for commercial users” says specifically Twitter plans is to charge brands. The magazine quotes Twitter co-founder Biz Stone saying more and more companies are using Twitter and individuals following them.

“We can identify ways to make this experience even more valuable and charge for commercial accounts.’

He added that Twitter could also create revenue-generating features to tap into the way brands use Twitter as a hybrid marketing and customer-service tool.

There is no word on the level of charges so far or how all encompassing the move will be, but Twitter has proved such a success and most of us are probably following a brand or two. Even ones we might not directly consider brands (maybe like news services?).

The move does raise a number of questions. It does, of course, have to be pitched just so. Some have already raised concerns that if the price is too high it could kill off Twitter.

In a quick survey of the Twittverse the replies give a mixed response. With some in favour and others concerned about the model or the principle of charging for the service.

 

AlastairDuncan @GordonM Twitter proposing charging business users. Would consumers pay for twitter, like you they do for SMS on mobile?

 

mattwaring @GordonM – keeps Twitter ad free – Twitter is the new DM,
dont see why companies will not pay, perfect return, you know who/what,
etc

vanessaavina Icon_lock @BrandRepublic certainly adds another communications tool for business to customers and other businesses

 

JamesAShaw @GordonM The money’s got to come from somewhere! Charging for additional ‘business’ features may be better than guessing who’s a business..

benbold @GordonM Brands should pay to promote themselves

Direct message from Chris Byrne great idea… Will bring a linkedin quality to twland…Chris Byrne / sensorpro

sandlines @GordonM I think you just invited the first invoice from Twitter. I’d be curious to know how they plan to differentiate ‘commercial’ use

Direct message from sensorpro great idea… Will bring a linkedin quality to twland

I agree with most of those points. It is definitely a tool. Payment I think would help Twitter evolve and develop and possibly make it even more useful to brands already using it. Some of the pioneering work done on Twitter by the likes : Comcast (Comcastcares), DirectTV  and HRblock has really paid off.

Check this very good blog post for others in the US.

As well as grow Twitter has a right to make some cash out of what it does. It is the ideas of Stone and co who have made this all possible and it is also more appealing than advertising.

For many brands it has become an increasingly important driver of traffic to websites and so works very well as a marketing tool.

Clearly, however, some have reservations about the model:

DanDimmock @GordonM It will be interesting to see how they plan to admin this – more commercial ambition in here than straight fwd ‘business’!

finncomms @BrandRepublic It’s not in the spirit of this social media platform. They should look to a donations style a la Wikipedia or Tiny URL.

Interesting point about social media and comparing it to Wikipedia, but I am not sure it’s the same. Wiki from the start was something very different to Twitter and they do very different things.

DanDimmock @GordonM Not sure I agree. Twitts have choice as to who they comm/conv. – as long as that opt isn’t removd why change? Ah, $$$!

Direct message from Nick Myers – Better model wld b 2 chrge ppl 2 follow famous or popular ppl – subscrpition based model. But @ v minimal, or one off chrge eg apple store. Nick Myers / MyEveryMove

Direct message from Nick Myers Biz r only just starting 2 use Twtr, to charge will put them off. Nick Myers / MyEveryMove

I don’t think businesses are going to be put off, particularly not if it continues to grow at the rates we are seeing. It’s going to be interesting.

 

[Twitter]

  • http://wearesocial.net/ Robin Grant

    I had quite a long philosophical conversation with Fiona about this when she was writing the article, which is not entirely summed up with the quote above (I’ve got some work to do on the pithy sound bite front, obviously).

    The challenge Twitter will face is that there’s such a grey line between personal and commercial use.

    Aside from the celebrity issue, where they are clearly individuals, but using the service for commercial gain, it’s grey elsewhere too. If I spend a lot of my time on Twitter talking about business related stuff, where does that leave me?

    For brands overtly using Twitter, it’s not black and white either. Look at Ford’s Scott Monty for example (@ScottMonty), who uses his personal account to represent Ford. Even the account we run for Skype (@PeteratSkype) is an individual not a brand (as is the same for all of Dell’s accounts). And of course Zappos famously have hundreds of employees on Twitter

    Let’s face it, Twitter is popular because it’s such an interesting mix of both your personal and your business life – if fact, unlike Facebook or LinkedIn, it lets you be the whole you. Twitter will be risking a lot if they try to change this.

  • TESS ALPS

    Interesting. One could of course make the case that Twitterers should be charging Twitter, as it is they who create the content that generates the traffic. I’m not twittering because of its delightful design or its stunning functionality. When business people go to a restaurant and talk about business should the restaurant charge them a supplement because they are using the location for business purposes? I reckon that Stephen Fry alone has generated considerable value for Twitter value and if they want to cash in maybe he will too.

  • Gordon Macmillan

    Tess why do you Twitter though? I do it as in equal parts I find it useful for work, promote what I’m doing and because it is enjoyable.

    You’re certainly right about Stephen Fry he is a real value generator as are the other celebs to lesser degrees.

    I would argue when you go to a restaurant you are paying in part for using its location – Soho is not cheap and the price of your meal no doubt reflects that.

  • John Gallen

    Gordon, how much would you be willing to pay?

  • Anil Kapoor

    what a stupid idea. there’s this thing called advertising you may have heard of. and no one goes to the fat duck for the location

  • Gordon Macmillan

    You mean if they started charing individuals? That might kill it. But as a business i think (pending on size maybe) you would have to look to £500 to £1000 upwards. If you’re Microsoft or Google then you’re going to be paying more than Brand Republic (should they choose to make all brands pay).

  • TESS ALPS

    Why do I Twitter? Not absolutely sure yet. But I suppose it’s another outlet for our voice, a way of keeping up with journalist monkeys like you…erm, I mean important opinion-formers, plus a chance to have some fake proximity to revered slebs.
    I’m not saying that Twitter hasn’t created a valuable space, just that it would be nothing without its contributors. And in general my sympathies are always with the ‘poetry’ and not the ‘pipes’, to quote Stephen Carter.

    The restaurant analogy only goes so far, because, yes, I expect to pay more in Soho, all things being equal, but if Heston were to transport the Fat Duck to Stornoway it would still be over-booked. My restaurant point was more about how on earth does one distinguish between business and normal users,

    Apologies for the near identical post here and on Marketing. I replied to you via Twitter, then came to BR, couldn’t find my post and hence repeated myself. All of which goes to show I am still crap at this game.

  • Gordon Macmillan

    Journalist monkeys, lol. Yes the people make it – it is the Ivy of social media.

    Distinguishing will be the tricky be – I’m on it as an individual, like you, but we’re both using it as a platform for work. BR is also on it and that is definite business. All in the balance.

  • Alan Munro

    While I’m sure that Twitter is very keen to find a way to make some money, it doesn’t ‘have’ to. Twitter could very well be the kind of ‘up like a rocket and down like a stick’ phenomenon that happens every now and then on the internet.

    Sure, Twitter’s great and everyone’s talking about it and tweeting like crazy at the moment but it’s way to early to tell whether it’s just a fad or whether it has a long-term place in society. Certainly, it’s far too early to be pinning a monetary value to it – especially when it doesn’t have a comfortable way of making any.

    For what it’s worth, I’m not convinced it could sustain a personal subscription model. I’m also sure that businesses would try to radically change things if they were having to pay – and I’m completely convinced that the best ‘brands’ on Twitter are the ones who really understand Twitter’s appeal and put personality before business.

    So Twitter finds itself facing something of a conundrum – it needs the revenue, but the compromises could kill it. I suggest we just enjoy it while the going’s good and then move on when the next great thing comes along …

  • http://www.i-boy.com/weblog/ George Nimeh

    I don’t think the real value is in charging companies for display ads. It is a conversation, and brands/products want in on it. Not easy, but relegating them to the sidelines as posters is not a very good option. Access to customer information for marketing, on the other hand, is certain to have tremendous appeal. So, on that, I’d say @RobinGrant is 50% right, and in this business at that early stage, that ain’t bad

    They should offer custom templates and other nice things to make things look good … You know how marketing directors get when it comes to being “on brand” and all. That’ll make ‘em a ton of $$$.

    And Brendan Mitchell commented that a FlickrPro type service would be good. I think that’s certainly worth looking at. Add-ons and extras, premium and pro is the way to go

    But they should offer savvy companies more: Make it easy for smart and innovative companies to create and deliver “command line services” like the unofficial ones from the rail and @myflightinfo … Tons of utility there which is bound to create brand love and bucks.

    Special kudos to Fiona for getting Biz to spill the story. Way to go!!! Let us know when they re-enable the marketing mag twitter account. ;-)

    ~G~

  • http://www.i-boy.com/weblog/ George Nimeh
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