Aug 10
24
Companies that understand the power and potential of Twitter to effectively communicate with their markets, their employees, their communities—and the entire universe—are growing their reputations as industry innovators and category leaders.
Two recent reports show Twitter to be the social tool of choice for businesses. It’s all about influence and interaction:
(a) The online population that’s creating the content influencing the rest of the world is on Twitter.
(b) Customers prefer Twitter as the mechanism to truly interact with brands and learn more about them.
With Twitter as a communication platform, brands capitalize on speed and brevity to listen to the marketplace, respond to inquiries, resolve issues, build communities and promote their products and services.
Here are suggestions on what your company should Tweet about:
- Announce special offers and sales instantly to a large audience.
- Write live updates on events, such as conferences and trade shows. Twitter is a great last-minute marketing tool.
- Provide links to blog posts from your company officers and employees.
- Highlight URLs to relevant articles from respected industry sources.
- Retweet brand followers to show that you listen to them and respect their opinions.
- Offer rewards to customers who tweet about your brand.
- Engage in real-time conversations with key influencers to establish your brand as an industry source for bloggers and other media people.
- Create valuable webinars to generate leads and promote them through tweets.
- Post photos and videos from your offices, stores and warehouses.
- Ask questions and get opinions. Twitter is like a real-time focus group; it’s great for feedback. This can be especially helpful for market research and product development.
- Answer questions, especially about your brand. Show that you are listening.
- Set up a Twitter account that acts solely as a Help Desk. Have experts ready 24/7 to respond to inquiries.
- Share sneak peeks of projects or events in development.
- Recommend sites and events that your customers might enjoy from which they might benefit.
- Comment on industry issues.
- Congratulate employees on promotions and other achievements.
- Publicize customer success stories.
Conclusion
Twitter eliminates the middleman and allows brands to listen and speak directly with their customers. Many companies like Dell, Home Depot, Starbucks, Jet Blue, Whole Foods, and Southwest Airlines – to name just a few – have already developed successful Twitter strategies. Follow them. Listen to them. Engage with them. Learn from them, and then just do it.
About the Author. Shari Weiss is a writer, teacher, editor, and marketing consultant who is working full-time on All Things Social Media. With a journalism degree from Northwestern University and a master’s in PR from Kent State, Shari has taught college courses in journalism, marketing and English for 20 years. In addition, she has edited an array of publications from Harcourt Brace Jovanovich trade magazines to a city-wide student newspaper.
Currently, she is the Chief Blogger for SHARISAX IS OUT THERE, in which she writes articles on a variety of social media categories, including How-To Lessons for social media beginners; Interviews with industry professionals; reports on meeting presentations; and strategies for social media marketing. She is also the Community Manager for Performance Social Media and leads workshops for entrepreneurs, small businesses, and university students. Her website is http://shairsax.com.
Enter your email address to subscribe to our CompuKol Connection blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.
Thanks for the helpful tips about Twitter, The same brevity (140 characters or less) is sort of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it is easy to catch someone's attention with a good tweet and your message will be over before they lose interest. On the other hand, it is sometimes difficult to stay within the boundaries of only 140 characters. I guess it is a good thing that there is not a limit to the number of times one can Tweet.
I like what you say about learning from the major brands who use Twitter successfully and I especially like your last sentence: "Just do it". Sometimes people over analyze before taking action and sometimes that over analysis leads to inactivity. "just do it" – great
Julie, when I first started to use Twitter, I wanted to "say everything" on every Tweet, so I tried writing a sentence long hand — and then posted the second half with the first half immediately following.
I was assuming everyone would read both of my Tweets together. But, alas, that is not the way Twitter works, so we must "contain" ourselves. And, if we need to go longer, there are never-ending opportunities on other online platforms.
My second assumption: YOU are "doing it"?
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Social Media Marketing Questions & Answers
Subject: New comment (1) on "What to Tweet About to Become a Brand All-Star"
You want to think about developing a real personality for your brand…and be consistent with it. @Scottmonty at Ford does that and so does Frank Eliason @comcastcares. I tweet about marketing, what's working and what's not, and where I'm travelling each week.
In some of my audiences, people will come up to me and tell me about things I tweeted months ago!
Posted by Lois K. Geller
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Search Engine Strategies Conference & Expo
Subject: New comment (2) on "What to Tweet About to Become a Brand All-Star"
your absolutely right, twitter is ad tool which can reap profit to companies , if it is utilized in a right way
Posted by Naveen Srikantaiah
I have just started Tweeting. Does this work as well with book promotion, and do you have any recommendations on how to do it effectively? Thanks.
The Best Practices for all social media engagements [tweeting, updating, blogging, etc.] is to be just "that," i.e. engaging. Provide value and don't be a blatant sell, sell , seller.
Good Luck with the book. Quotes from your book would be great. Readers should Tweet, and you cn RT them.
Hi Shari,
That is funny about your "assumption" – in reality – as you know – the second you hit "submit" there are tons of other tweets that follow yours right? Yes, I am "doing it" – but can always improve and learn ways to "do it" better
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Social Media Marketing Questions & Answers
Discussion: What to Tweet About to Become a Brand All-Star
I'm somewhat new to the evolutuion of Social Marketing. My goal is to try to understand what works for me and what does not. My business life has always been about creating and nourishing relationships face to face, Slowly, as I connect the dots, I realize how much more valuable my business and especially personal time is. It's important to find that vehicle that will allow me to do both effectively. Knowledge is welcomed here.
Posted by Mike Latiolais
Mike, you are definitely in good company. As a marketing professor for more than 20 years, I suspect it was easier for me to get to the "table" a bit sooner than most of my generation.
You do have the right attitude when you ask yourself, "How will any of this work for me and my business." Of course, as you have written, the Knowledge of just what IS available is necessary to make your decisions. And, in the beginning, with all things new, there is so much to learn that it can be intimidating.
Most people like to suggest that "newbies" go slow, i.e. "listen" and then try things. If you make mistakes, that's really OK. That's how we learn.
Good luck
Thanks Shari for your advice about using quotes from my books. I'm really timid about pushing my writing and painting. I will "pay attention" and heed your advice. Best to you.