The fastest growing social networking site of all time, based in California and valued at over 1bn has been the focus of a particular question from the beginning, how will it turn a profit? The company has avoided any move towards traditional advertising in its four years and it’d executives claim that it has been developing over the years to add value before profit.

Twitter recently launched ‘promoted tweets’ which Co-founder of Twitter, Biz Stone has described as “ordinary tweets that businesses and organisations want to highlight to a wider group of users”.

At first, the promoted tweets will act in a similar manner to Google’s sponsored links, appearing only at the top of relevant search results but a second phase of the development will see tweets integrated relevantly into users feeds.

Some of the first companies to invest include Starbucks, Virgin America, Best Buy and Red Bull. These companies are not only benefitting from the model but also receiving relevant hype from its launch.

Twitter executives are adamant this new method of advertising will be targeted and not just spam so in order to control the relevance of promoted tweets and ensure its success, the rules state the promoted tweets must “resonate with users”. If the tweets are not retweeted and replied to, they will be deleted.

Many analysts are worried that this concept will irritate users who could hit back at the brands which they will have no control over. Twitter has proved itself as an influential channel which is great at creating internet viral buzz around a product or service.

Some of the most successful commercial use of twitter has been as a customer service tool, brands are able to respond to negative feedback directly and in real time, which can have a positive effect on the image of the company. But some experts think that users will enter twitter in a ‘complaining’ mood rather than a ‘buying’ one so this new ad format may only cause trouble, in real time, which companies will have to respond to.

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