I was really bummed I couldn’t make it to the WOMMA (Word of Mouth Marketing Association) Summit that took place a couple weeks ago, but John Moore of Brand Autopsy was nice enough to catalog over 150 “talkable tweets” that attendees posted during the three-day conference.
If you weren’t able attend, take a stroll through this slideshare deck and soak in all of the big thinking that was going on.
We had an interesting conversation about managing a brand’s Twitter account. Some of the questions that came up:
My conclusion was that every brand needs a Twitter filter. A Twitter filter is a list of subjects and guidelines that allows anyone and everyone within the organization to understand exactly what to post/plug/mention/discuss on Twitter.
Here are a few things I would recommend considering when writing your Twitter Filter:
By the way, in my opinion, a lot of people should put their personal Twitter account through some of these same filters. Just sayin’.
I’m sure there is more to add to this list, so what would you add?
I’m taking part in a panel discussion this weekend at DePaul University’s Kellstad Marketing Group Symposium. Our topic of discussion is: Social Media – It’s Not a Fad Anymore.
Really? We’re already SURE that it’s not a fad?
But what’s your definition of “social media?” Is it just blogs, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc? Or is it the intersection of online interactions, sharing and conversations?
If it’s just the current online networks like Twitter, then I say it’ going to be a fad because the technology isn’t going to stop and there will always be new “networks” that break on the scene. Think about MTV 20 years ago vs the MTV of today. It’s not nearly as relevant or important now as it was back then and I see social media networks sorting out much like television networks of the past 30 years.
Let’s look at the numbers. Here are a few examples (as of 4/21/09) of how many people are following some HUGE brands:
With big brands like those still talking to small numbers like that, I’m just not ready to declare that Twitter will be around forever. A brand like Rubbermaid could still go have meaningful conversations with 3000 consumers in one day AT the point of purchase without spending much money.
Maybe the real issue is that mass media is a fad? Maybe marketers are finally coming to the realization that anything that doesn’t include conversation is a waste of money.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all over Twitter and Facebook. But I’m also all over talking to consumers any way that I can, which includes at email, retail, at events and anywhere else I can have a meaningful conversation.
A lot has been made about Twitter and whether it’s a fad, sustainable and all that stuff. I think the only way it is sustainable is if people dedicate themselves to adding more value than they take. If it becomes something where people just sit back and wait for others to post something smart or where they just post meaningless bullshit, it’s going to fail.
Adding Value on Twitter:
Good links, thoughtful tweets, reporting news, sharing interesting life experiences
Taking Value on Twitter:
Constant ego tweets, incomplete sentence @replies, spam, repetition
But isn’t the add/take equation the key to the sustainability of anything? If everyone tries to game the system it don’t most things fail? I’m not really sure if Twitter can do anything to guard against this. It’s really up to us. We’re the one that will decide if it develops into a community of givers or takers?
My only advice: don’t follow the takers. And if you really think about it, some of the takers are the biggest names out there.
A question hit me tonight: Why is ESPN just barking out headlines on Twitter? Why is the Denver Post doing the same thing?
If you’re a sportsfan, wouldn’t have been cool to interact with someone at ESPN about the Super Bowl today? And if it’s too much for one person, then segment it by sport (or subject in the case of the Denver Post, or any other newspaper).
This isn’t anything revolutionary, but being barked at is boring. Having a conversation is way more fun.
I ran across an interesting “tweet” a couple weeks ago. (For those of you not in to the whole Twitter thing, a “tweet” is a message posted on the micro-blogging website called Twitter.)
The tweet directed us to a website called howtousetwitterformarketingandpr.com. Being the curious marketer I am, I checked it out and found out that the website simply says “Don’t.”
I beg to differ.
There certainly is a way for companies and brands to use Twitter. Southwest (@southwestair) and JetBlue (@jetblue) Airlines have successfully used Twitter to announce new routes, flight delays and have conversations with their consumers. Comcast (@comcastcares) has used Twitter to help their customers troubleshoot technical issues and have a meaningful conversation in the process. Whole Foods (@wholefoods) is using Twitter to answer product questions and have conversations with their customers.
See the trend here? The brands that are effectively using Twitter are the ones that are using it to have meaningful conversations. The ones that are using it to simply make announcements are Sturgeon fishing in Lake Michigan. It’s just not going to work. Having meaningful conversations with your customers or consumers doesn’t just apply to Twitter. Creating opportunities to have conversations should be the common thread in every marketing tactic.
Maybe that website’s URL should have been: http://www.howtoactivatemarketingprogramsthatdontallowconversationswithconsumers.com. THEN, the answer could be “Don’t” and I’d totally agree with it.
We had a little snafu on Twitter today. And believe me, it was small, but there’s something to learn here, so I wanted to share.
One of our first Twitter posts of the day was to announce a contest where we were going to reward our 2000th Twitter follower. Seems like a good idea to boost interest, right?
Not really. Almost immediately, our loyal Twitter followers started calling us out for not rewarding the “early adopters” and trying to figure out a way to game the system. So we had to think fast. We had to figure out a way to avoid letting our loyal followers walking away feeling like we were just using them to build our consumer base.
We acted fast:
The result: Appreciation and respect from out Twitter community. They liked the fact that we were listening.
The lesson: If you want to use Twitter as a marketing and promotion tool, you gotta monitor the reaction and feedback. You can’t just post something, walk away and expect everything to run smooth. And if you need to change something, you must have alternate tools to fix the situation. A blog worked perfectly for us since we could post it immediately and tweet the link.
I love Social Media. And if you’re here reading MY blog, you must too, because I’m not exactly at the top of them thar Google pages.
And, if you love social media, I’m willing to bet you’re on Facebook, Twitter, have posted some YouTube videos, occasionally save stuff to Delicious and maybe even write a blog of your own. In other words, you understand social media and how it has become an important way to connect with consumers.
But how do you make sense of social media to other people? How do you “sell” it as an important part of your marketing plan? I think it’s totally fair for people to ask the question, and it’s our job to prove its value. Here’s how I’m doing that:
I was lucky enough to represent Flying Dog Brewery in a recent article that highlighted us as “Twitter All-Stars”. Click here to see the article.
After reading the final product (which I think is well-written and highlights some great uses of Twitter), I came up with a few additional thoughts.
One final thought: Twitter is still really new and looks really stupid to the people that are just finding out about it. If you’re one of these people that doesn’t really get it, but is curious about all the Twitter talk – take the 30 day challenge. Open an account and post at least one tweet, everyday for a month. Don’t force yourself to do anything more than that and you’ll get a feel as to whether it’s right for you or not. And if it’s not right for you, it probably not right for your brand – yet.
Epic Fu (a Revision 3 show) covers Twitter and gives you the low-down on a bunch of apps.
My personal faves are: twitterfeed, tweetdeck, twitterfon, twitterlator.
