for Business: 101
Twitter for Business: 101
• What is Twitter?• Why is it valuable?• How does it work?• How should a business get started?• What does it make possible?• Some examples• Your fears and concerns• Learning more…
What is Twitter?
What Are You Doing?
~20 million monthly uniques(x5.7 since Nov 08)
125 million monthly visits(x4.3 since Nov 08)
20% of online adults 25-34
23% of social network users
27% of bloggers
December 2008
Why is it valuable?
http://twitpic.com/135xa
How does it work?
What Are You Doing?
“Use it Where You Think Best”
-IBM ThinkPad
The User Multiface
Browser • SMS • IM • RSS reader • FriendFeed •
Facebook • blogs • widgets • desktop, iPhone, Blackberry,
and SMS clients
The User Multiface
Browser • SMS • IM • RSS reader
Clients: iPhone • Blackberry • desktop • SMS
Lifestream aggregator, Facebook, blogs
…
The User Multiface
Browser • SMS • IM • RSS reader
Clients: iPhone • Blackberry • desktop • SMS
Lifestream aggregator, Facebook, blogs
…
The User Multiface
Browser • SMS • IM • RSS reader
Clients: iPhone • Blackberry • desktop • SMS
Lifestream aggregator, Facebook, blogs
…
The User Multiface
Browser • SMS • IM • RSS reader
Clients: iPhone • Blackberry • desktop • SMS
Lifestream aggregator, Facebook, blogs
…
The User Multiface
Browser • SMS • IM • RSS reader
Clients: iPhone • Blackberry • desktop • SMS
Lifestream aggregator, Facebook, blogs
…
The User Multiface
Browser • SMS • IM • RSS reader
Clients: iPhone • Blackberry • desktop • SMS
Lifestream aggregator, Facebook, blogs
…
The User Multiface
Browser • SMS • IM • RSS reader • FriendFeed •
Facebook • blogs • widgets • desktop, iPhone, Blackberry,
and SMS clients
Anyone
• Develop dynamic and engaging “behind the scenes” personalities, content, sneak-previews and other genuinely engaging content
Individuals
• Build your network, access better professional relationships, faster knowledge-sharing and leveraged problem-solving
• Particularly valuable for Executives, sales and marketing professionals, consultants, freelancers and celebrities.
Companies and Brands
• Engage more deeply with consumers and markets in strategic and powerful ways
• Drive productivity, value, innovation and human capital growth through better networking and idea-exchange
Externally
Customer service
Market awareness
News
Innovation
Understanding
Extending reach
Relationships
Branding
Direct sales
SEO
Driving traffic
Networking
Internally
Sales Teams
Event Planning
Project Status
News
Coordination
Interface
Decentralized teams
Employee Support
Mentoring
Problem-solving
Purely Social
VALUE.
visibility
relevance
relationships
social capital
community
ideas
trust
research
marketing
networking
customer
service
traffic
news
sales
SEO
Influence (was)
Attracting attention to yourself
Influence (is)
Providing attention and value to others
Social Media is Nothing New
Photo Credit: (cc) jerryfletcher on flickr.com
Social Media is Knowledge
Knowledge is Socially Mediated
Knowledge is Socially Mediated
Photo Credit: (cc) fredoalvarez on flickr.com
Knowledge is Socially Mediated
Knowledge is Socially Mediated
Markets are Socially Mediated
Photo Credit: (cc) gregor_y on flickr.com
Markets are Socially Mediated
Markets are Socially Mediated
Photo Credit: (cc) matrianklw on flickr.com
How should a business get started?
Manners 101
• Dress nicely– Background graphic, avatar
• Introduce yourself– Fill out profile completely– Mention your Twitter on your site
• Be a good conversationalist– Listen, respond– Contribute relevant, useful material
How Best to Approach?
Cultivate standards of
• Excellence
• Authenticity
• Engagement
What will work for your organization?
Twitter Campaigns?
not so much.
Twitter literacy
Business Objectives
Measured by the most appropriate standards for the objective
Bearing in Mind…
• Twitter can be a great vehicle for a brand extension– if you are willing to produce feeds of cool, useful things
• Publish & subscribe environment– The self-serving will flounder. The useful will flourish.
• Brands need to work to not be rejected as spam
Advanced Twitter for Business
• Twitter as a serious B-to-B Tool?
• What if my customers are NOT there yet?
• How do I prevent wasted time?
• Best branding lessons
• Big picture trends
“Off-Platform” Benefits
Off-Platform Benefits
• SEO• Research• Content Generation Engine• Word of Mouth• PR Gravity
SEO
• Google the word “pistachio” or “dough”• Common words, but the Twitter IDs
DOMINATE
• What Google Adsense word would you spend your last dollar on?
• Incorporate your Name too for additional words
Research
• Passive - free and paid listening tools• Active - ask questions, use #tags,
“recruit” groups• Live - create real-time focus groups,
polls, surveys
Word of Mouth
• @DellOutlet -- $500,000 of computers to HOW many followers?
• Disproportionately influencers, still• Journalists and bloggers, especially• “Passs-along” ethic
Content Generation Engine
• Let’s say you’re Madonna…• ABC News during Obama’s speech• Many ways to slice this
“PR Gravity”
• Forbes, NYT Magazine, Newsweek, BusinessWeek, Inc.com, Entrepreneur Magazine
• Publish, become known, be helpful
How…
• BE USEFULTurn the message inside-out!
• Offer things
• Talk about what you do
Applicability
• Listening• Innovation• Research• Measurement
Measurement
Most of all:
Measure the desired business objective the way you always measure that
desired business objective
Measurement
• Follower numbers -- yes, but.• Follower engagement• Measurable links
– Clickthroughs– Conversations– Context
• Ripples in the water– Retweets, reposting your links– Others pointing towards what you do
Preventing “Time Suck”
Efficiency
• Tools• Objectives• Discipline
Branding Lessons
Outlook
Outlook
• Landscape for business use of Twitter and microsharing generally
• How to think about brand opportunities in microsharing
• What’s on the horizon? What trends should we watch for next?
“We see an ecosystem of developers swarming around the Twitter API like moths around a flame”
-TechCrunch.com
Learning more…
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