Twitter ye not! Guardian prank
This month we look at the rise of micro blogging and how it can be applied to business.
This year’s April 1st story from the Guardian stated “Twitter switch for Guardian, after 188 years of ink” - Newspaper to be available only on messaging service, Experts say any story can be told in 140 characters…
When you’re the subject of the Guardian’s April Fool ruse, you know you’ve made it big! The article itself made amusing reading – an excerpt:
As a Twitter-only publication, the Guardian will be able to harness the unprecedented newsgathering power of the service, demonstrated recently when a passenger on a plane that crashed outside Denver was able to send real-time updates on the story as it developed, as did those witnessing an emergency landing on New York’s Hudson River. It has also radically democratised news publishing, enabling anyone with an internet connection to tell the world when they are feeling sad, or thinking about having a cup of tea……
A mammoth project is also under way to rewrite the whole of the newspaper’s archive, stretching back to 1821, in the form of tweets. Major stories already completed include “1832 Reform Act gives voting rights to one in five adult males yay!!!”; “OMG Hitler invades Poland, allies declare war see tinyurl.com/b5×6e for more”; and “JFK assassin8d @ Dallas, def. heard second gunshot from grassy knoll WTF?”
Twitter has featured heavily in the news of late, from Google buy-out rumours and twitterers breaking news stories ahead of the news wires, to Celebrities emerging by the dozen promoting their Tweets, to the power of the user community making and hurting brands.
If you didn’t already know, Twitter allows users to post short, updates, on what they are doing right now. Users distribute quick thoughts, news and ideas, and this broadcast element of Twitter has led this type of service to be called microblogging, as each individual message (called a “tweet”) can be considered a very small blog post. Users select other “Twitterers” to follow or receive their messages in close to real time.
Gartner released a report last week on Twitter and how businesses are using it – which is slightly bizarre as messages, or ‘Tweets’ are limited to 140 characters – what on EARTH can you say in 140 characters?
On the radio today a TV chef was explaining how he’d managed to condense a recipe for cheesy peas or something similar onto a Tweet, which was pretty impressive. Not sure how he’d fare with a more complex concoction but he’s proved a point. This must be marketing at its most succinct – how many marketing messages have you worked on lately that could be captured in 140 characters?
So, back to the Garnter report, which begins by stating “By 2011, Enterprise Microblogging Will Be a Standard Feature on 80 Percent of Social Software Platforms”
An intriguing thought. What makes them so sure that it’s not a phase we’re all going through? First it was MySpace, then Facebook, now Twitter – they all started off as social networks for personal use which morphed into platforms for clever business marketing and then faded away gently in the face of the next innovation. Well, they’ve spent some time on this and they’ve come up with 4 key ways in which businesses are using Twitter – see what you think:
Direct – the company uses Twitter as a marketing or public relations channel
Many companies have established Twitter identities as part of their corporate communications strategies, much like corporate blogs. They Tweet about corporate accomplishments, distributing links to press releases or promotional Web sites, and respond to other Twitterers’ comments about the brand.
Indirect – The Company’s employees use Twitter to enhance and extend their personal reputations, thereby enhancing the company’s reputation
Good Twitterers enhance their personal reputation by saying clever, interesting things, attracting many followers who go on to read their blogs. As people enhance their personal brands, some of this inevitably rubs off on their employers.
Internal – Employees use the platform to communicate about what they are doing, projects they are working on and ideas that occur to them
It is crucial that employees understand the limitations of the platform and never discuss confidential matters, because as a seemingly innocuous Tweet about going to see a particular client can tip off a competitor.
Inbound Signaling
Twitter streams provide a rich source of information about what customers, competitors and others are saying about a company. Search tools like search.twitter.com or the twhirl application can scan for references to particular company or product names. Savvy companies use these signals to get early warnings of problems and collect feedback about product issues and new product ideas.
Additional information is available in the Gartner report “Four Ways in Which Enterprises are Using Twitter.” The report is available on Gartner’s Web site at
http://www.gartner.com/DisplayDocument?ref=g_search&id=911714&subref=simplesearch
So, are you convinced? OK, there are certain marketing applications which really lend themselves to Twitter – pretty much the same ones which benefit from SMS marketing (so old hat…)
- Pubs, clubs and restaurants, art galleries, in fact anywhere which needs footfall and which can find itself empty at short notice. A quick Tweet can spread the word quickly that there’s a free pint or a free starter for the first 20 people to turn up. Last minute, limited time offers are just made for Twitter – once you’ve built up your following, at least.
- Recruitment businesses or caterers could use Twitter to great effect if they have 20 waiter/waitress places to fill really quickly – just get all your candidates to sign up to Twitter on their mobiles and you get an immediate response.
- Any business which needs to get news out fast to its client base, sales team, or whoever, could use Twitter to do short, sharp ‘need to know’ message which can drive the recipients to a website for more info
But all of these rely solely on the business having built up a following in the first place. That’s the hard bit. Then you need to keep them. That’s difficult too. JetBlue are doing it – they have staff on duty to answer real questions from real followers 24 hours a day and they’re getting good press for it. Big commitment though.
Agent Provocateur is joining up their conversations via Twitter, Facebook, a blog, a website and other “social media” activity to create authentic conversations. The Twestival (a worldwide synchronous charitable event in support of clean water) will reportedly raise over $1M almost exclusively due to efforts of people on Twitter. The US President has his own Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/BarackObama which says that it will give brief reports from the President on what he’s doing or thinking. I’d like to think that he has better things to do…
Eliza Dashwood – Director of Sales & Marketing at Ambergreen has put together some Golden Rules for Companies thinking of using Twitter as part of their marketing activity.
1. Don’t Sell
First and foremost, Twitter, like any other social media channel is about community. The individuals that are there are not there to be sold to. So, rule number one is: Don’t push sales through this channel. First and foremost, this place is about communication and community.
2. Get Involved
Although following users might provide companies with insights into what the Twitter community is talking about, the point is to give information as well as receive it. Posting useful news about your brand or sector might end with your company gathering a host of followers that could very well become, depending on what you have to say, your brand advocates.
3. Add Value
The point of using Twitter is to offer information. If your friends are following you, you might feel comfortable talking about your morning walk into work. If a brand does that, users might find it a bit odd. So if you’re going to post information, which by all means you should, make it useful and relevant to your business, whether it’s about your company specifically or something relating to your industry. Twitterers tend to follow people that tweet about things they’re interested in, so keep information up to date and relevant.
4. Respond
Like most things, there are rules of etiquette that should be followed. When people follow you it’s because they’re interested in what you have to say. When they re-tweet what you’ve said it’s because they’ve found it valuable enough to share. When someone takes the trouble to comment on what you’ve tweeted, it’s only polite to respond, even if you don’t necessarily like what they have to say.
This is where the real opportunity for user engagement lies. You can set up alerts that go straight to your in-box letting you know when people are talking about your brand. Whether the conversation is negative or positive, you can use this as a tool to reach people on a real personal level. But whatever you do, do not try to stifle the conversation. Allowing people to have their say is what Twitter is based on.
5. Watch your mouth (or be ready for the consequences)
Last month an ad agency representative was flying into FexEx Global Headquarters in Memphis to present on digital media on behalf of their agency, Ketchum. Upon his arrival, he sent out the following tweet:
“True confession but I’m in one of those towns where I scratch my head and say ‘I would die if I had to live here.’”
The tweet was picked up by a FedEx employee who promptly emailed it to all Directors and management within FedEx. The result was an angry letter to the offending twitterer regarding the amount of money spent with his agency and how offended FedEx was at the tweet.
The moral of this story is be careful about what you tweet and be prepared to react to any negative response.
6. Be patient, be persistent
Engaging in social media takes time and commitment and the effects are not always immediate. However, through adding value to the community, you can start to see the audience grow. What you mustn’t do is neglect this channel once you get started, otherwise, your followers will get bored and “unfollow” you. So, being consistent is important. Over time, you may see more and more individuals following what you have to say, responding to you and giving you insights into what is happening in your marketplace. So, direct financial ROI might not be apparent, but by being a long term contributor to Twitter, you can be doing your brand a world of good. (As long as you pay attention to rules one to five)
Love it or loathe it, Twitter represents the Zeitgeist – short, sharp and to the point for busy people with busy lives. How many Clients will buy into it, let alone request it is another matter but forewarned is forearmed – until the next marketing innovation is born…
If you’ve tackled Twitter or have any amusing anecdotes, why not share them with the rest of us? No, not on Twitter, on our discussion board where you can tell us all about it in loads more than 140 characters…
Now read a Case Study to see how DellOutlet is using twitter
Tags: Marketing and PR, Social Networks, Twitter
Posted in Articles