"Pay Per Tweet"

By: Insanul Ahmed (Vibe Magazine; Oct./Nov. 2010; pg. 34)

Not every celeb can score loaded endorsement deals, but several are getting paid in full peddling products on Twitter. VIBE cornered Sean Rad, founder and president of Ad.ly---a leading Twitter advertising platform---for details on how our favorite stars get tipped to tweet.

Vibe (V): Celebs like Kim Kardashian have been plugging Carl's Jr. chicken salads and Reebok too eagerly on Twitter. Is your company to blame?

Sean Rad (SR): What people see as tweets, we view as fantastic content that's not being compensated. We bring advertisers into the mix and make money for influential people sending messages to their audience from a brand they believe in or associate with. We have over 60,000 influencers signed up (including Kim K., Trey Songz and Soulja Boy). A lot of times our influencers say they'd like to (promote) a certain brand, and we'll go about getting an ad.

V: Can a regular Joe be an influencer?

SR: Anyone with influence (can be considered). We have algorithms that factor in a lot of things: followers, their engagement with those followers, how often they tweet, etc.

V: Lindsay Lohan reportedly makes $10,000 per tweet. Just how much are celebs caking?

SR: We can't (disclose) prices. It ranges from $1 to five figures.

V: Can they tweet as many ads a they want to boost their earnings?

SR: There isn't a limit, but we pace it out. The price (per tweet) will decrease if you place too many ads and don't maintain a good quality stream.

V: Sounds like an easy gig, yet many stars deny their involvement.

SR: We've never experienced that. Every ad is clearly disclosed as an ad. The influencer approves every message to make sure it's in line with their audience. But there are instances where (stars) might be promoting other things they don't want to admit.