What’s a Twitter Follower Worth?

Is that steep? There are, of course, arguments on both sides. The pros would say that a Twitter follower is a persistent connection. The lifetime value of this, or at least until the follower decides she’s had enough of your blather, is quite high. The con is pretty simple and troubling: Twitter is renting you this follower.

My personal account aside, as a media business, Digiday wants to get new followers and fans and email subscribers. But there’s no question which connection I’d rather have with our audience: email. With email, we own the data, not Twitter or Facebook. Facebook’s struggles with brands come down to this: They’re not selling connections, they’re renting them. And it’s better to own than rent over the long term. A year ago, I asked marketing execs from MTV and Virgin which they’d rather have, if they could choose one way for a consumer connection: Twitter, Facebook or email. Both said email.

Platforms face many challenges, but this one is paramount for Twitter and Facebook. Brands won’t want to pony up big money for connections that are often fleeting and that don’t give them control. Otherwise it’s impossible to attach a lifetime value to a Twitter follower or Facebook fan. Platforms may want to play landlord, but they’re going to have unhappy tenants.

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