Nevermind kicking kids off the lawn; some brands want (and need) to keep kids off their Twitter follower lists.

That’s now possible thanks to a partnership between Twitter and Buddy Media that gives anyone — not just brands — with a Twitter account the ability to screen the age of their followers.

To make it happen, brands have to begin by signing up for Buddy Media’s Age Screening service, which can be done via age.twitter.com. The content there explains that there’s an approval process, which suggests that regular folks (non-brands like me, for example) will be a lower priority than, say, Budweiser and other alcohol-related companies.

Once in the program, brands will auto-send a direct message to new followers directing the individual to provide his/her age via the same web page, age.twitter.com. If the user is old enough s/he’ll be able to follow that company.

The program has been tested over the past month with companies like Jack Daniels, Jim Beam, Coors and Miller.

(Stock image via Shutterstock.com. Used under license.)

Related Topics: Channel: Social Media | Social Media Marketing | Twitter | Twitter: Accounts & Profiles

About The Author: Matt McGee is Editor-In-Chief of Marketing Land. His news career includes time spent in TV, radio, and print journalism. His web career continues to include a small number of SEO and social media consulting clients, as well as regular speaking engagements at marketing events around the US. He blogs at Small Business Search Marketing and can be found on Twitter at @MattMcGee and/or on Google Plus. You can read Matt's disclosures on his personal blog. See more articles by Matt McGee

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