Everyday Twitter users with a substantial number of followers are making thousands of dollars a month, promoting other companies’ products and services via their own personal tweets.

It’s the new frontier of online marketing — pay well-known bloggers or other Web personalities to tout the benefits of your products or services via their Twitter feeds.

Sponsored tweets, as they’re called, are an appealing marketing concept in that they don’t require the same type of budget most advertising campaigns do — which makes them a viable option for small and mid-size companies.

Companies like Ad.ly and Izea (among others) help sales and marketing organizations facilitate the process, by targeting Twitter users who cater to the same demographic a company’s products do.

In return, Izea keeps 15% of the advertiser’s fee for setting up the partnership (Ad.ly insists on 30%).

From that point, the blogger will post regular tweets, encouraging followers to check out a specific product or service, take advantage of a limited-time offer, or enter a contest, etc.

The tweets are generally labeled with tags like “#ad” or “#sponsor” so users are aware they’re viewing sponsored content.

Possible drawback: Some users of social media sites like Twitter don’t appreciate being marketed to, and they’ll stop following a person who’s posting sponsored content on a regular basis. As a result, Facebook actually prohibits similar practices, claiming it tarnishes the site’s mission and values.

What are some ways you’re using social media to boost sales and marketing efforts? Let us know in the comments box below.

Source: “A Friend’s Tweet Could Be An Ad,” by Brad Stone, New York Times, 11/22/09

Tags: ad.ly, advertising, Brad Stone, customers, Facebook, lzea, marketing, New York Times, social networking, Twitter