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Next issue, we'll be talking about Blogs. Maybe our resident "Mad Man" will make a special appearance. Stay tuned!
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| Welcome to the Claymanite. |
Greetings!
A couple of weeks ago, we reviewed a study that reported that 40% of what is found on Twitter is "pointless babble." This raised a lot of questions in our minds. If 40% of what's on Twitter is babble, does that mean that 60%, or more than half, is not useless babble? Does that mean that 60% of what you find on Twitter is valuable? Who is responsible for defining what might be "pointless babble" or what might be really valuable information?
According to the study, about 40% of the posts on Twitter are people posting minute-by-minute, sometimes second-by-second updates about their lives. This is how the researchers defined pointless babble. Who cares that you are standing in line at the grocery store? Does anyone really need to know that you are cooking dinner? Unfortunately, many people not yet immersed in Twitter equate it with this kind of inane posting and thus cannot even begin to imagine how Twitter could possibly be useful as a business tool.
In this e-newsletter, we're going to focus on the 60% of the posts that are not "pointless babble." We hope this helps illustrate how Twitter can be used in the business world and why so many companies are already experiencing success tweeting to their customers.
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 What is Twitter and How Do You Tweet?
You probably have run into quite a few descriptions of Twitter by now. "It answers the question 'what are you doing.'" It's that thing you use where you have to fit your thoughts into 140 characters. It's that thing people are using on their phones. But what is it really?
Honestly, the world of Twitter is hard to grasp until you actually go ahead and jump in. We won't lie. Twitter can be downright intimidating that first time you sign in with your new account. You'll see posts with the # sign. You'll see the abbreviation RT. You'll see posts that begin with the @ sign and then a name. It takes a little while to get comfortable with everything that is going on. With that in mind, here is some information that might give you a head start.
First, we found this pretty useful little tutorial about Twitter that might help clarify what Twitter is and why so many people find it appealing.
Of course, this tutorial is only about personal, day-to-day use rather than business use, but the general jist is that Twitter is about connecting with people through posts that individually might not seem important, but that all together create a more detailed picture of who you are and what your interests may be.
Now, about some of the confusing Twitter language. Because Twitter limits posts to just 140 characters (including spaces and punctuation), people have come up with creative ways to fit a lot of information into a very short post. Here are some key tools to get you started.
@: If you want to mention someone in your post and you want them to know that you mentioned them, put this symbol before their username. When they sign into Twitter, they will see that you linked to their name and they will be led right to your post. They can then respond to your post by putting the @ symbol right before your name. Everyone who can see your page can see who you are talking to and what you are saying, so be careful!
#: Called a hash tag in the world of Twitter, this little symbol has become an integral part of trending what topics are hot in Twitter-land. Here's how it works. Let's say you presented a webinar on walnuts and you want to get a lot of feedback from people following you on Twitter. What you can do is ask people to post their questions beginning with #walnutswebinar. This enables you to see in one fell swoop all of the people asking you questions about your specific webinar. People using Twitter also use the hash tag if there is a hot topic that a lot of people are discussing. For example, today a lot of people are posting #Black Friday because they want to see how many people actually went shopping that day. When Michael Jackson died, many tweets began #Michael Jackson. Even without an account, you can go to Twitter.com and see what the most discussed topics are, all because of the use of this little symbol.
Tiny URL: There is a website called tinyurl.com, and it has one simple task. It takes a regular URL and assigns it a much shorter "tiny" URL. This, of course, is perfect for Twitter. Because many URLs are close to 140 characters all by themselves, it was originally difficult to link people to important information. A tiny URL uses up far fewer characters, making it easy to post links along with a short comment. Most of the links you see on Twitter will be directed through tinyurl.com
RT: RT stands for ReTweet. In a way, you can think of this as forwarding an interesting email. Let's say that your friend, TwitterMaster, posted something that you thought was really interesting and you want to send the same information to all of your followers. What you can do is create a post that begins like this: RT@TwitterMaster. Then you can just copy and paste TwitterMaster's post. This does a couple of things. First, it enables you to pass on information you find valuable. It also lets TwitterMaster know that you valued his or her post and that you also credited him or her for that post.
The most important thing to remember about Twitter is that if you use any of these short cuts or symbols, you are not sending a private message to a single person. Even when you use the @ symbol, your post is 100% public. The only way to send a private message on Twitter is to send a "direct" message, which is more like an email. This will not show up on anyone's page.
This kind of open communication can make Twitter an extremely powerful marketing tool. If not used carefully, it is also what can make Twitter your worst nightmare.
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 What Did You Say About Me? Imagine this scenario. A person well-known in the world of media launches a website, a blog, a Twitter account, a Facebook page, and a YouTube channel all about how your company should die. What would you do? For Comcast, who faced such an attack from media guru Bob Garfield, the answer was to create a Twitter account.
Why would Comcast choose Twitter? We are pretty sure the Twitter search function played a major role.
Unlike any other social media sites, you can easily search Twitter posts even if you don't have an account. The Twitter homepage has a readily available search bar. By searching for a term, a name, or anything else, you can see in seconds all of the posts mentioning what you were searching for. How would this help a company trying to save its public image? Comcast sales personnel have the ability to search for "Comcast" in the search bar and see all of the people mentioning their company. If there is a post mentioning poor customer service or displeasure with a Comcast product, Comcast personnel can swoop right in and respond directly. To help direct these efforts, Comcast created a special Twitter account (which you can link to here) called Comcast Cares.
An approach like this can have its risks. If you visit the Comcast Twitter page, you can see that a lot of the posts are responses to problems. On the one hand, this could make it seem like Comcast is having just as many problems as it always did. However, there is another way to look at a Twitter page like Comcast Cares, too. Namely, there are posts from a Comcast employee who is taking the time to openly respond directly to individual problems. Customer service is not only being offered, it is being put on show. Whether the response is a possible solution or a suggestion to email the Comcast help network with more detail, Comcast is answering customer concerns in real time.
The search function in Twitter does not have to be used exclusively to assist in customer service, although for Business-to-Consumer companies this certainly makes a great deal of sense. On the positive side, you might find someone who is writing glowing reviews of your product. It is also important to note that you are not limited to just searching for your company. You can also search for your competitors and their product names. Are there a lot of negative posts about your competitors? Are your competitors getting mentioned more than you? Twitter offers you a very direct, very real-time way to enter into and begin to control the conversation about your company, your products, and even your competitors.
It is true that other Social Media sites have search functions, and there are other listening tools that can help yield similar results. What makes Twitter particularly advantageous for businesses is that people who tweet tend to be very open and you do not need to be directly connected to someone to be able to communicate with them. You can use the @ sign to respond to someone even if they are not "following you" (or watching your updates) and they will see your response. You can use the # symbol to guide your customers to discuss certain products or ideas. You can even retweet a positive customer review or a good idea. This process is far more difficult with Facebook or LinkedIn because they focus more on building social networks rather than sharing information. Twitter's main focus is sharing as much information as possible with whomever might listen. In short, Twitter not only answers the question "What are you saying about me?" but it also allows you to respond with ease in this very public forum. |
With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility
 As is the case with all forms of Social Media, or really with anything in life or business, Twitter has a dark side to it. Twitter can give you the ability to talk to thousands of people at once. It can let you eavesdrop on millions of people to see what is being said about you and your company. As we have already mentioned, however, the open nature of Twitter can also represent a danger.
Who are you? Really? In late 2008, a woman with a page customized to represent the Exxon-Mobil brand began posting tweets. The tweets were informative and the account gathered up to 300 followers. There was just one small problem. The person tweeting as a representative of Exxon-Mobil was not actually authorized to tweet on behalf of Exxon-Mobil. In fact, Exxon was not 100% sure the Tweeter was or ever had been an employee (read more about this story here). The search function we discuss above can help you keep control of situations like this. If posts are coming up that look like they are from your company and yet you know no one from your company is tweeting, you need to take action swiftly.
Some People Are Just Plain Creepy. In the case of Exxon-Mobil, its quasi-tweeter, in the end, did not do any harm. This is not always the case. It is just as easy for a person to create a username very similar to your company name, customize a page to look exactly like your company page, and, worst of all, make malicious posts that play off of your actual posts. This kind of scenario can be both a customer service nightmare and a catch-22. By letting your customers know that someone is out there twisting your words, you are actually giving that "troll" attention, which is likely what he or she wants. On the other hand, if you try to ignore the person, your customers may direct a lot of their anger your way. Again, the search function can help you keep track of these kinds of malicious tweeters. This is also another reason why it is extremely important on a corporate level to know everyone who is engaging in Social Media for your company. Everyone needs to be aware of who is legitimate and who is not.
Don't Put Your Foot In Your Mouth. We've said it several times already, but it bears repeating. Twitter is very public, and even if you are not directly connected to a person or a company, they can easily find out what you are saying about them, much like you can find out what people are saying about you. We came across a story about a fellow who was due to give a big presentation to FedEx. When the guy arrived in the town where he was going to make his presentation, he got on Twitter and commented that if he had to live in that town, he'd want to die. Several FedEx employees saw the post. Not surprisingly, the presentation was not at all warmly received. In trying to control the conversation about your company and your products, it is important to remember that what you say is public, and there is no "delete" button. Once you make a post, it is written as if engraved in granite. It is searchable through the Twitter homepage and even through Google.
Through an organized strategy, due diligence, and a touch of dedication, Twitter can indeed be an extremely powerful marketing tool. But, like with the other Social Media sites we've discussed up to this point, a lack of strategy, a lack of corporate understanding, or even a little carelessness can be disastrous. |
Continuing Blogs from a Mad Man
Healthcare. How did we get to where we are now? Check out Larry's blog and voice your opinions! |
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Celebrating 55 Years of Marketing Service!
Sincerely,
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