Do You Want Companies to Directly Market To You on Twitter?
Last week, Guy Kawasaki did a brief interview with Web Worker Daily where he said that his favorite web app is TwitterHawk, calling it “the ultimate marketing tool for Twitter”. TwitterHawk allows you to automatically send tweets to people based on key words. Guy gives an example of someone tweeting about “fashion week” and TwitterHawk sending that person a tweet directing them to the Fashion page on Alltop (a web site founded by Guy). Here’s the video interview with Web Worker Daily:
What’s Your Favorite App, Guy Kawasaki? from WebWorkerDaily on Vimeo.
And here’s a sampling of Alltop tweets generated by TwitterHawk.
As you might expect, there were a number of people questioning Guy’s marketing tactics. In fact, Guy himself admits in the video that this might be interpreted as spam – “…this is a way that I can interject myself into the Twitterstream and depending on how you want to look at it – spam people – or do highly, highly targeted marketing.”
Would I appreciate this type of marketing on Twitter? No. But there are others who would. Robert Scoble (@scobleizer) recently announced that he and his wife are expecting another baby later this year (congratulations Robert and Maryam!). On his blog yesterday, Robert said that he was surprised that no companies approached him about products that might interest him…
Yes, we’re having another baby. But look at what did NOT happen on Twitter: not a single diaper company contacted us yet. Not a single maternity clothing company. Not a single car company (yes, we’re going to buy a new one soon). Not a single camera company (already bought a new one for this occassion). Not a single insurance company (I need more). Not a single bank (I need to start saving for another college student). Not a single stroller company (need a new one that can hold two). Not a single vitamin company (Maryam is going through her prenatal vitamins at a good clip). Not a single shoe company (Maryam needs new shoes for pregnancy, and Milan is growing fast too).
That will NOT last.
So what do you think? Do you want companies to directly market to you on Twitter and other social networks? Take the poll.
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