startupi

This week saw the launch of a startup that provides ad campaigns for Twitter for users who want to monetize their Twitter streams.

It’s a concept that’s more narrowly focused than that of boo-box, for example, and more formal than the idea of the often disliked “paid Tweet.” The power of TwittePaga is in its simple and efficient technology for registering participants and tracking the performance of the links.

The guys behind the initiative are two developers from Santa Catarina: Bruno Bertolini (who has also done TwitteLembra, Vai Chover and Cinetrine) and Ricardo Delcastanhar (known for Big Blogger Brasil and Twitphoto). The two work in IT for a medical products business, and planned and built TwittePaga in their free time with no investment or costs, other than a CNPJ to formalize operations.

How it works

The advertiser who contracts with TwittePaga defines the text for the Tweet, the link, the budget and the value, Bertolini explains. TwittePaga manages the payments to the Tweeters, which are calculated taking into consideration their reach on Twitter. “Using our service anyone can earn money. Some may earn more than others, but anyone can participate,” explains Delcastanher.

The tweets use an exclusive URL shortener: twpg.me. This has some advantages. For the advertiser it makes tracking their statistics easier. “We don’t do segmentation, and Twitter doesn’t break stats down,” says Delcastanher. The advertiser can follow the trajectory of the campaign by viewing graphics showing clicks, Tweets and more. And for Tweeters, it’s a way to differentiate the Tweets they send via TwittePaga.

How to participate

• the user follows @TwittePaga
• after a few minutes, the user receives a direct message with a link to participate in their first campaign
• by clicking on the link the user goes to the campaign page at twittepaga.com, which shows the text to be Tweeted and its value
• clicking on “I’d like to participate” redirects the user to Twitter, where he authorizes Twitter to Tweet the text automatically
• the value is credited to his account on TwittePaga
• for each new campaign, a new direct message is sent to the user, which he can agree to promote or not
• when his account reaches R$ 30.00 the user receives a PayPal payment.

Delcastanhar adds: “You earn when you Tweet, independent of the number of clicks the Tweet gets. The value of a Tweet doesn’t change after you Tweet.  What can happen is your rank can improve if you show good performance, and that will be increase your value ranking and be calculated the next time you Tweet an ad.”