Last week, Marketing Pilgrim’s Frank Reed posted a thoughtful analysis of Twitter’s recent foray into advertising.

Twitter’s advertising platforms are indeed headed into uncharted territory. And it’s going to be hard for Twitter, let alone advertisers, to confidently predict the optimal configuration.

Frank cites an AdAge article that quotes Coca-Cola marketing chief Michael Donnolly as saying that Coke is not interested in tens of thousands of people but millions.

One important point to make, and one that I’m not sure Michael Donnelly gets, is that the value of Twitter is not in the quantity of followers but the “quality.” Of course, the quality of a follower might be hard to define, but that does not mean we shouldn’t try. And trying to evaluate the quality of followers might an anathema to someone like Donnelly who seems limited to thinking terms of in millions of people.

Indeed, most of Coke’s tweets seem rather inane. Their tweets provide no links that might be of interest. They consist of tweets such as:

• @euribjs Coca-Cola loves you, Talita! ^SS
• @thomasbrunskill Yay! Thanks for celebrating with Coca-Cola, Thomas! Enjoy! ^SS
• @diogopontes2010 Coca-Cola helada, siempre deliciosa y muy refrescante, Diogo. ^GD
• @alexaliggio Thanks for following Coca-Cola Alexa! We’re following you too! ^CA
• @Mahrukh_ That’s enough to open happiness with friends! Enjoy! ^CA

Yawn. There aren’t even any special offers, which might be why most followers are following.

CocaCola ranks 31st among social media brands. And it shows. This performance might lose the company a couple of places in that ranking. What Coke needs to understand is that the key to success in Twitter is to cultivate loyalty through providing value among a cadre of followers who trust you and enjoy your content as I have pointed out in this blog (as have many others more sagacious than me). Focusing on quality of your followers puts the emphasis back on the individual. And it is individuals that wield power in social media.

It really makes me wonder if Coke “gets” Twitter. If I was Donnelly, I’d be much more interested in a hundred thousand followers who I could consider to be brand ambassadors and influencers rather than a million who just wanted a coupon for 10 percent off their next six pack of Coke. In the long run those influencers would give a higher and much more sustainable ROI than an army of marginally interested followers.