How Charlie Sheen Found Twitter

March 2, 2011 • 2 min read • By Brian Morrissey

It seemed too good to be true when an @charliesheen Twitter account appeared yesterday around noon, though its legitimacy was confirmed with Twitter’s “verified” seal of approval.

It turns out Sheen didn’t just impulsively start a Twitter account the morning after he made waves with a series of bizarre interviews. Instead, a member of his camp contacted social media celebrity ad network Ad.ly for help in setting up his presence, according to the company.

That’s not so unusual, according to Ad.ly CEO Arnie Gullov-Singh, since the company is known around Hollywood for the work it has done in social media with about 1,000 celebs like Kim Kardashian.

“There is a huge gap in Hollywood in understanding social media,” he said. “We ended up filling that gap. We’ve earned the reputation as the go-to guys in Hollywood for social media.”

It used contacts at Twitter to wrangle the @charliesheen account for a squatter and also get it verified before Sheen even tweeted, according to Gullov-Singh.

With a quick Ad.ly’s tutorial, Sheen comes off as a wily Twitter pro. He quickly started using hashtags, link-shortener Bit.ly and posting photos via Twitpic.

Thanks to his current stranglehold on the pop culture-news media nexus, Sheen has what could be one of the fastest growing ever Twitter accounts.

In just over 24 hours, he’s amassed nearly 1 million followers. Since he’s out of work, it begs the question if followers should expect some ads next. Gullov-Singh says that might come but not necessarily, since Ad.ly often provides free social media consulting to celebrities in the hopes of working with them later in a commercial capacity. Ad.ly campaigns typically cost advertisers between $1-$2 per click and run across Twitter and Facebook.

“We want to be top of mind if they think about monetizing it,” Gullov-Singh said of Sheen’s account. ‘He may never think of monetizing it.”

https://digiday.com/?p=791

Digiday Top Stories

Content & Commerce
New app launches through Apple hoping to win with ‘zero-party data’ when others haven’t
Caden's new app lets users connect data from their Uber, Amazon, Netflix and other accounts in exchange for money. Will it take off?
Gaming & Esports
‘The next level for us’: The New York Times eyes longer play sessions for games in subscription drive
The games division is focusing on finding new ways to mine the inherent competitive nature of games like encouraging people to play multiple games in a single session or through new achievements and rewards for progression.
Member Exclusive
Digiday+ Research: Video ads are a growing business for publishers large and small
Video advertising's potential rings most true among small publishers, while data points to video advertising already reaching its potential among large publishers — but also not, at the same time.
Sponsored
Brands are optimizing video production to drive user acquisition
Sponsored by QuickFrame by MNTN With brands increasingly investing in video ads on social media, marketers are enhancing their video production capabilities to unlock growth on Facebook and Instagram. Especially urgent in an uncertain economic climate, brands must minimize production costs while creating a high enough volume of social media videos to identify the creative […]
Beyond Ads
How The Guardian’s Luis Romero is selling the legacy U.K. publication in the U.S.
The Guardian U.S.'s Luis Romero is working to grow the U.K.-based publishers' ad business in North America while combating the pervasive brand safety problem facing all news publishers.
Navigating Economic Instability
In graphic detail: Publishers’ full year 2022 earnings
Looking back at 2022, the hits to publishers' revenue were partially staunched, but by the end of the year nearly all areas of the business felt the impact of the economic downturn.