2. TWITTER FACTS
Twitter was launched in 2008
Average age of Tweeters = 39
It is an OPEN network / micro-blogging site
Micro-blog using updates of no more than 140 characters
In theory, all updates are responses to the question ‘What
are you doing? / What’s happening?
3. WHAT IS TWITTER GOOD FOR?
Growing your network of influencers
This is an ‘open’ network
Expanded reach – anyone can follow anybody
Business conversations
It’s a business channel allowing companies to engage with their
‘influencers’ (customers, stakeholders, ambassadors).
It gives businesses the ability to monitor what people think about their
product, respond to customer requests, and make money from promotions!
It’s a good tool for permission-based marketing
4. WHAT IS TWITTER GOOD FOR?
Breaking news and shared experiences
It provides a real-time newspaper
It has caused a shift towards content generated by the ‘public’
This includes emergencies, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, celebrity
It’s a powerful tool when organising events, conferences, concerts
Sharing news and general commentary
It allows people to easily share what they are reading, watching, listening to,
and thinking about – with links
It facilitates the distribution of ideas, comments, expertise
6. BUSINESS TWEETING – CAUTION!
Companies tend to ‘push out information’
But Twitter should be more about conversations rather than
making announcements
You should spend time understanding the way people are
talking about you
Go in search of people tweeting about your products, brand,
company and industry
7. BUSINESS PROFILES
Business Profiles often come across as faceless and overly
corporate
Recommend you reveal the person behind the Twitter
And the personality and humanness behind your organisation
#Tip – Setting up your Business Profile:
Name field = company
Bio field = person (or people) behind the account (max 160 characters)
Example: ‘I’m Sarah Marketing Director at xxx. I love to chat about the who-what-
when-where of xxx’
Custom background for further info, photo, etc
8. WHAT TO TWEET?
Variety!
Expertise / thought leadership
Third party links
Promotions
Resources and tips
Questions
Personal updates (the human side of your organisation)
Remember 75% on topic, maximum 10% promotional
9. STATUS UPDATES
140 characters
Most importantly, can contain URL links
11. TRIMMING MESSAGES
Message too long?
#Tip: Use a plus sign (+) instead of ‘and’ or ‘&’
Leave out full stops/unnecessary punctuation
Use common abbreviations
#Tip: Shrink URL links (bit.ly, tinyurl)
#Tip: Shrink prose – 140it.com
13. FOLLOW OR BE FOLLOWED?
Following shows you are ‘listening’
Following opens up a world of shared knowledge to you
Following gets PR outreach
Following grows followers
#Tip: Manage via www.friendorfollow.com
14. WHO TO FOLLOW?
Your existing database / customers
Cool people in your industry (or related)
Followers of ‘cool people’
Peers and thought leaders
Your competitors
Others that your target group/s may be influenced by
Inspiring brands
Interest groups
Journalists/influential bloggers
15. BUILDING YOUR OWN FOLLOWING
Be interesting – everywhere (consistently)
Link/promote Twitter account:
Website
Blog
Newsletter
Business cards and other printed material
The more ‘influencers’ you get to follow you – the greater the
number who have given you ‘permission’ to market to them
16. TWEETDECK
Tweetdeck is a Twitter ‘client’
Tweetdeck.com
Others include Hootsuite
18. RETWEETS (RT)
Retweeting is the simple act of reposting someone
else’s interesting, insightful or useful tweet and
giving them credit
It creates the ‘linking’ element of the Twitter
network system
Try to always personalise! Explain why you are
spreading this tweet?
22. ASKING/ANSWERING QUESTIONS
Twitter is a giant Q&A machine
“Who’s the best barber in New York?”
“Where can I find.....?”
“Is the film X any good?”
Reply @questioner with answer
23. TWITTER AND PR
Twitter is home to thousands of journalists, media workers
and PR people
Follow the media people who cover your sector
Respond to requests
