By now you’ve heard of Twitter, the micro-blogging service that lets people write about anything at all in posts, called “tweets”, of up to 140 characters. Twitter has been in the news this year for several very different reasons. First, celebrities such as Ashton Kutcher and Oprah Winfrey have become very public users of Twitter. Second, Twitter users “broke” the story of USAir 1549’s emergency landing in the Hudson River in January. Over the summer, protesters in Iran used Twitter extensively to communicate with each other and with the outside world. Even the recent “Balloon Boy” incident was followed extensively on Twitter.
Businesses are using Twitter, too, and we will be blogging from time to time about how community-based businesses can benefit from the tool. Like any marketing medium, Twitter should be used as part of a comprehensive, integrated strategy. It’s hard to develop a strategy that involves Twitter, however, without some knowledge of what it is and how it works.
The Twitter logo
Our advice is to jump in and join up. Create a personal rather than a business account at first. Twitter lets you search for both people and topics. Usernames are preceded by the “at” sign (we are “@Zavee”). Topics are usually designated by “hashtags” consisting of the topic preceded by a pound sign (search “#balloonboy” to see tweets about the balloon flight and its aftermath). When you find a user whose tweets you’d like to see regularly you can click a button to “follow” that user. Other users can follow you, too, and will be able to see all of your tweets (there are privacy settings that let you control this). If you see a tweet you really like you can “retweet” it – it’s a little like forwarding an email. Remember, like all social media, Twitter is a public forum, so think before you tweet.
Twitter isn’t complicated, but it takes a little getting used to. One unusual aspect of Twitter is the wide variety of third-party applications that make Twitter easier and more productive to use. The most helpful discussion of these applications that we have seen is this summary of 63 tools and applications from Valeria Maltoni’s always thought-provoking Conversation Agent blog. For a truly staggering compendium of information about Twitter and how to use it, check out the indispensable Mashable. @Mashable should also be one of the first users you follow on Twitter.
We are big believers in Twitter’s potential for marketing and customer engagement. We invite you to follow @Zavee on Twitter and hope that our experience using Twitter for our business helps you use Twitter for yours.
How is Twitter working for you?
