31 Oct, 2011

Confessions of a Twitter Voyeur: Becoming Part of the Conversation

Posted by Rich Fleck | Categories: Twitter | Tags: Social Networks

I must confess – I do more looking than contributing when it comes to Twitter.  And when you have tweeting machines like #mashable – it’s easy for us to stand on the sidelines and watch the steady stream of interesting facts, latest trends, hot topics.  (A great example of weaving dialog into the fabric of your business and marketing strategy.)  So as marketers and business leaders, if we want to truly integrate social into our marketing strategy, it’s time to become part of the Twitter dialog. 

It’s easy to lose sight of Twitter with all the attention that Facebook gets.  No apps to discuss.  140 characters.  No pictures of friends.  It’s just not as sexy.  However, Twitter is becoming an increasingly important consumer engagement vehicle – and, correspondingly, a potentially powerful tool for marketers. 250 million tweets per day. 100 million active users. 50 million log in every day.  A big and influential audience. 

From a social CRM perspective, here are five ideas to consider as you engage with your Twitter audience. 

  1. Do your research.  Twitter dialog provides an opportunity to identify trending topics that can help inform marketing content (search, display, site, social).  For a client project, Twitter data integrated into email content recently drove 68% lift in conversion rate.
  2. Don’t be afraid of micro-segments.  Big isn’t necessarily better.  Niche audiences are powerful audiences and Twitter provides some great opportunities to identify these segments. 
  3. Identify engaged followers, track influencers, measure results.  The Twitter data layer enables marketers to better track engagement, identify influencers.
  4. Be responsive.  If you start a Twitter dialog, you’re setting an expectation with your audience that you will engage.  You don’t want to put it out there until you’re ready to engage.
  5. 140 characters.  Don’t cram your email message or search theme into 140 characters.  Spend the time to create a unique way to tell the story – with a crisp Twitter message. 

So, no more standing on the sidelines.  It’s time to contribute to the conversation to engage your social audience.