Twitter is the place to go if you want to find out what’s happening. You can read news stories, look for trending topics, and following your favorite tweeps. Now, you will also be able to gain information about the latest specials, products, and offers from any company that you follow on Twitter.

Twitter recently made an announcement on the site’s blog that paid advertisements will begin showing up in streams. According to the blog, these advertisements will be set in place to help Twitter users keep up with their favorite companies. Twitter hopes that the addition of advertisements will enhance the whole Twitter experience.

Types of Ads

The thought of battling a number of advertisements in addition to all those tweets may seem insane. But, Twitter promises that the only ads you’ll see are the ones that you’re interested in. How is Twitter going to make this happen? By only inserting ads from companies and businesses that you already follow.
The Twitter blog also mentioned that certain charity organizations will posting ads as well. Let’s say, for example, that you follow Starbucks.

Now, when you log onto your Twitter account, you will see any daily Starbucks promotional ads at the top of your Twitter feed. These ads will act just like any other tweet, and they will eventually be sent to the bottom of your feed as the day progresses. Twitter will also include a yellow “promotional” tag with any advertisements, just so there’s no confusion.

Shutting Ads Off

While it’s not yet clear how, the Twitter blog did state that users will be able to turn off the new advertisements with “one click.” Twitter’s goal here is not to annoy users, but to make the overall Twitter experience even better. By alerting followers of deals, coupons, promotions, and many other offers, Twitter users will be the first to know about anything happening with any company.

This may prompt more people to follow certain companies. Twitter is currently testing out its new promotional plan with a few key companies including Sephora, Starbucks, HBO, Gatorade, and Groupon (amongst others). Charity organizations that may appear on your Twitter feed include The American Red Cross, Make-A-Wish Foundation, and others.

A Good or Bad Move?

Are these new promotional tweets a good or bad thing? Well, that will depend on the content of the promoted tweets. If, for example, Starbucks is offering one dollar coffees every Thursday, Starbucks fans may want to know about this promotion.

If, however, Starbucks simply wants to post that there’s no better coffee out there, this may become annoying. The new Twitter ad placement project has a good and bad side. Presently, the new ads have just appeared on Twitter, so it’s too soon to tell.

Remember, if you don’t like what you’re seeing in your Twitter feed, you can always turn off the advertisements. The fact that Twitter users can stop the ads at any time should prompt companies to come up with promotional tweets that people actually want to read.