Twitter has announced its move to offer ‘promoted tweets’ as a form of advertising through the service, the California-based social network is valued at more than $1 billion, but has so far generated no revenue. Since its inception in 2006, Twitter has avoided the seduction of traditional advertising to drive value before profit, an unusually risky business move.

The long-awaited ‘promoted tweets’ were recently launched, a marketing opportunity that Twitter co-founder Biz Stone describes as “ordinary tweets that businesses and organizations want to highlight to a broader group of users.”

To maintain the natural feel of Twitter, executives insist that tweets “resonate with users,” allowing tweets to remain present only if they are retweeted and responded to to avoid a spammy effect. Initially, the tweets will appear at the top of search results as Google “sponsored links”, but a second development will see them integrated into individual users’ feeds.

Thousands of businesses large and small have made use of Twitter, some commercially, others simply for presence, but only a small number have generated truly substantial revenue from using the service. They have been able to create ROI and increase customer loyalty and satisfaction. Starbucks has used Twitter primarily as a promotional tool, but also as a venue for customer service. He has been extremely successful in promoting customer engagement and brand relationships.

Starbucks almost became public enemy number one after its ruthless campaign to monopolize its overpriced coffee. However, they were able to successfully manage social media, namely Twitter, in a way that promoted interaction with their customers and built personal relationships with consumers. Using Promoted Tweets would allow Starbucks to reach millions of potential customers, and if handled like your regular Tweets, you should build relationships with an even larger group of customers.

Experts have discussed how companies like Starbucks could offer deals and discounts to anyone who “retweets” a message that could provide a high level of “word of mouth” promotion at no additional cost than the original tweet.