Want To Buy Something You Can't Afford? Pay With a Tweet (.com)

"You Scratch My Virtual Back, I’ll Scratch Yours"

Duncan Heath of Extreme Sports Trader explains that the “Pay with a Tweet” marketing model is a relatively recent, but highly effective, form of viral marketing that revolves around the concept of paying for a product or service with a social mention. As the name suggests, it started on Twitter and was originally used to promote digital products, such as e-books.

An e-book seller, for example, would require a user to tweet about the product or about the site in general–and in return the user would be able to download the product free of charge, thus “paying with a tweet.” The technique is viral in nature as the product is promoted to all of the tweeter’s followers, who are then in turn encouraged to pass the message on if they want the product also.

Sites such as www.paywithatweet.com were set up to formalize the process and track when a tweet had been made, automatically allowing a user to access a digital product once they had promoted it. As with most simple ideas, the “pay with a tweet” (PWAT) model has grown rapidly in its adoption among marketers. This post then looks at ways in which it can be expanded and at other potential methods/platforms where the PWAT magic can be worked.

Pay With a …

1. Facebook Wall Post
2. Blog Post
3. Digg


MORE

Want To Buy Something You Can't Afford? Pay With a Tweet (.com)