intro to using twitter for business
DESCRIPTION
Using Twitter for Business (Yet Another Workshop!) Basics of Twitter use and etiquette, case studies, business applications & best practices. Great for beginning Twitterers and companies.TRANSCRIPT
Using TwitterFor Business
An Introduction & Workshop
The Disney Entrepreneur CenterOrlando, Florida
June 24, 2009
Presented by:
This workshop draws inspirations, ideas, knowledge from:
pistachio
The Social Media Sphere
Source: The Conversation,Brian Solis and JESS3
What is Twitter?
• Twitter is a social networking and micro-blogging service that allows its users to send and read other user's updates (known as "tweets"), text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length.
Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter
Anatomy of a Twitter Page
Anatomy of a Twitter Page
Your Brand Visuals(also company status)
The most popularTopics & meetingsOn Twitter
Public time line
Twitter stats
Where you “tweet”
Who you are
Why YOUR business will benefit from Twitter and Social Media
You don’t need to be a Techno-Geek to Use it…
Not Just for Kids….
• Average age is 30-55 years old
• Average person using only using a few months
Engage Directly with Customer/Prospects…Anywhere
Social Media Tools are FREE
• No middleman marketing fees– No advertising search
(PPC) costs
– No email fees (mail lists, mail send fees)
Twitter Survey (May 2009)
Twitter Perception Survey, May 2009 by @warrenss & @researchguy
Twitter Survey (May 2009)
Twitter Perception Survey, May 2009 by @warrenss & @researchguy
Serious Brands Taking Twitter Seriously
Over 100 CEOs including those fromlarge F500 companies are On Twitter regularly. (Source: ExecTweets.com)
Twitter’s “Wow!” Factor
Examples courtesy of @msrogue’s 5/26 blogpost & Exectweets.com
What is Twitter’s appeal?
• A digital water cooler
• A stream you dip into
• A (32 million person) cocktail party
• A virtual office
• What knowledge management always wanted to be
• Networking for Agoraphobics
(List courtesy of Martin Weller)
Just a Few Twitter tools
The Big Picture: The Way It Was
Source: David//Armano davidarmano.com
The Big Picture: 1994-1995
Source: David//Armano davidarmano.com
The Big Picture: Web 2.0
Source: David//Armano davidarmano.com
BusinessCase Studies
Image_Source: Danny Brown
Return on Investment?
Interaction !
Dell Computer• Uses:
– Exclusive Coupon offers– Fast-paced contests
• Reported over $3 million in Twitter-related sales in June 2009.
Dell now has 12 “Twitter channels”
Zappos.com shoes online +• Best Practice Twitter-Using Company:
– CEO and half of company using – Company is twittering with over 7 M customers
Zappos.com• Financial Performance
– $1 Bn sales
– 85% Repeat Customers
• Best Known for
– Best Practice Use of Twitter
– “Powered by Twitter”
But what about small companies?
Kogi Taco Truck mobile lunch Los Angeles
The Kogi Taco Truck in L.A. uses Twitterto broadcast locations… hundreds show up.
52Teas Wichita, Kansas
• Offers a different blend of tea each week. In addition, they post alerts to store specials.
• Before Twitter: Typically typically shipping 1-2 packages every 2-3 weeks
• After Joining Twitter: Now they are shipping 40 to 50 packages.
CPA for Small Business Nashville
• 75% of Leads from Twitter & SM
• Great example of building a Twitter lead generation engine, leveraging an existing strong blog.
• Conventional advertising (Yellow Pages) now only accounts for 25% of his leads.
Coffee Grounds Houston, TX
• First to have a to-go order placed through Twitter.
• Twitter doubled this coffee shop’s clientele
Charity:Water fund raising
• Asking for $2 donation from each of her followers, Pistachio Consulting raised $25,000 in 3 weeks.
• 3-day Twestival (200+ city participation) raised $250,000.
• Simply by re-tweeting, one Twitterer friend of Pistachio raised $2500 in 5 minutes!
Business Applications of Twitter
• Marketing/ Public Relations
• Virtual Office
• Customer Service
Marketing Uses for Twitter
• Track your Brand
• Advertising
• Market Research
• Instant Focus Groups
• Promotional Contests/Coupons
• Product Research (CrowdSourcing)
Twitter Contest Promotion
Coupon Marketing
CrowdSourcing
Virtual Office Uses for Twitter
– Knowledge Sharing
– Group Meetings
Customer Service
Customer Service
Twitter Etiquette 101
• Listen. Respond. Be personal.
• Contribute relevant information (not just product/service info)
• ReTweet…
• Show your business personality; humanize your company
Finding Followers
List o resources
• Put your twitter name in your email signature
• Put a link to your twitter account on your company’s home page
• “Find People”
Listening Tools
• Search.twitter.com
• Twist
• Twitturly
• Monitter
Measuring Tools
• TwitterAnalyzer
• Grader
• Twinfluence
• Tweetstats
Warning:Some things are not cool to do on Twitter…
Don’t make your messages private
Don’t broadcast product messages only.
Don’t use auto direct messages (generally)
Don’t put Twitter exclusively in the hands of your Summer Intern…
…“Twitter is only as good as the person typing those 140 characters.”….
From @aerocles Blog: “Is it really a good idea to hire a college intern to manage A major international brand?
Just like the Internet in 1994,Social Media is changing the
game…
Forget Page Rank, Improve your Company’s Social Rank
Where you want to be!
The Way it Was (Web 1.0)
Your website/blog
Google Adwords
Banner Ads in E-Zines
Email fees Directory Listings
Web 2.0: Turning your Brand Inside-Out
Your website/blog
Twitter is a bridge to being Everywhere.
“Your brand is now the sum of the conversations about it.“
Marcel LeBrun in Business Week.
http://bit.ly/19AqBz
Bozell.com’s quasi tag-cloud of 200 random conversations.
Best Practices Checklist
• Designate who near at the TOP of your company is participating.
• Listen to what your audience is telling you about your company. (Priceless!)
• Be Authentic. (NOT 80’s “Dressed for Success”).
• Reach out to followers in your niche (eg. Twitter directories)
• Change/embrace social media tools in your day-to-day operations. • Be flexible. There is no “plug and play” formula for Twitter success
• Be inventive!
Best Practice: Seaworld
Best Practice: Health 2.0
Hello Health, a paperless “concierge” practice based in Brooklyn that utilizes e-mail, instant messaging, IPhone and video chat for coordinating patient care.
A la WebMD, info from doctor and medicalResearchers but also patient testimonials that have had medical conditions.
But Before Your Company Starts Tweeting….
Think about your Marketing Strategy
1. What is your brand about today? Price? Quality? Customer Service?
2. What do you want to accomplish?
3. Who is your audience?
4. What is your social media inventory today?
5. How will you measure progress toward your goal while using social media?
What’s Next?
How do you know a technology is game-changing?
• Open.
• Accessible from many platforms (phone, web, Blackberry, software platforms).
• Easy to use.
• Adds value over the way you currently do business at a much lower cost.
Additional Resources
• http://www.delicious.com/lthorell– Intro Twitter tips and articles– Case studies of Social Media and Twitter use– List of Social Media & Twitter books
Since this presentation was given, Twitter launched Twitter 101, a guidechock full of business uses, case studies and how-to-dos.
http://business.twitter.com/twitter101/
Questions?
Direct message:
Lisa Thorell @lisat2
Penney Fox @foxinteractive
Mary Recchia @MRBorl