What’s Your Influence Worth?

Dec 8th, 2009 by Brett Greene

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There was a New York Times article a week or so ago profiling a guy who made $300 in a hour by tweeting about M&Ms. Since I waited to write this, I can’t find the article, but he has was averaging $3,000 a week doing promotions like this.

So is it wrong to get paid to tweet? This is an interesting question for me right now because my company is developing Trust Engagements that assist influencers, advertisers, publishers and users with new ways to do do commerce online.

Our models are based on the community driving the engagements and are very different than a guy getting paid to broadcast an ad for candy, but his case highlights the ’sell out’ factor that is going on.

What these people aren’t getting is that your reputation is your brand and it’s your future online and in life. If getting paid $100 to hype a product seems worth tearing down any trust and respect you’ve built with your Twitter followers or blog readers, then maybe you deserve to lose what you’ve built.

Social media is powerful because of how easily and quickly it connects tribes of people with similar passions. When you exploit that to pimp a product inauthentically you’re pouring sugar into your gas tank.

Blogger or Pimp?

Where I land with the M&M pimp is that if he was going to write about M&Ms anyway and he loves them the way I love Glacier Ice Cream (who didn’t pay me to write that,) then it’s an integrous transaction for him to make a little money. If his honest passion was the driving force for the content he created then a little affiliate commission makes sense.

But if he’s like some bloggers I’ve heard and read about who are accepting every corporate offer to pimp any product they’re asked to pimp, then they’ve shifted from blogger to pimp. They’ll lose the cache they built up to be able to promote things, and we all know that it’s hard out here for a pimp.

I guess what gets me about this new phenomenon is that I’m continually baffled by the lack of common sense people use in life and with social media. If you wouldn’t want it done to you, then don’t do it. If your favorite blogger suddenly started hyping products in most of her posts would you feel thrilled or betrayed?

There are bloggers out there like Jo White and Aimee Giese who mention products they honestly believe in along with transparent disclaimers and insightful information.

But they’re not the norm. Jo and Aimee are women with very high integrity and strong opinions and excellent writing skills – a lethal combination for doing the right thing. They are two people to watch to see how to balance integrity with connecting people to great resources which may come with perks for yourself.

There’s nothing wrong with getting a little spiff along with full editorial control over reviewing something. I’ve done it on this blog for Cirque Du Soliel because I love what they offer the public and I’m inspired by how they do business.

Where do you feel the line can be, or is, crossed in the emerging world of personal social media influence merging with commerce?

Tags: blogger, cirque du soliel, get paid to tweet, mom blogger, paid to blog, sell out

Posted in Influence, Spin

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16424 ResponsesWhat%27s+Your+Influence+Worth%3F2009-12-08+17%3A34%3A41Brett+Greene to “What’s Your Influence Worth?”

on 08 Dec 2009 at 7:53 pm1Aimee Greeblemonkey

Thanks so much for your kind words, Brett! I am always struggling where to draw the line between promotions and personal blogging – and in some ways I think strictly review bloggers who don't intermingle the two have it easier in a sense.

However, personally, I like it how I have it. As you mentioned – I work with a product or brand if I like them anyway – and if I have a bad experience I am also honest about it.

I am also upfront with the people that I work with that I am first and foremost a lifestyle blogger, I am going to be myself – so what they see is what they get – and I understand if they don't want to go any further with me. Which is why my post from yesterday about attending Disney on Ice may not have seemed like a typical "review" post. And that's fine with me!
on 08 Dec 2009 at 8:27 pm2brettgreene

Thanks for being an example of how to navigate the waters for people are not strictly review bloggers. Since we all give friends daily advice on things we like and don't like it's only natural for that to show up on our blogs too. It's an interesting time for community and commerce to build more authentic forms of advertising that helps us to find the resources that will help us in our lives.
on 08 Dec 2009 at 10:38 pm3Amie aka MammaLoves

Beth Harte wrote a post earlier today about influence and how PR people look at spheres of influence. It made me think about how I discount many bloggers/tweeps now because of decisions they've made about signing on with a brand. Sadly though, they seem to maintain the same popularity they had because they can give away Sw*ffers or hot chocolate or whatever. I just don't understand it.

I'm much more likely to consider a product someone like Aimee likes because I know she is authentic.
on 08 Dec 2009 at 11:02 pm4brettgreene

Amie, thanks for turning me on to Beth's post. She's always so insightful. It's so amazing how people abandon the character traits that made them interesting and attractive enough to build an audience in the first place, isn't it?

Beth's article makes a great point about influence vs. personal reach which I had not seen defined before. With that definition, I wonder if the people you mention who remain popular are actually affecting anything or if it's misperception.

People like Aimee, Beth, you, Jo, etc. stand out in that sea of bloggers turned hucksters. Authenticity and integrity still rule the day.