We’ve been talking the last few posts about how to get a handle using Twitter to connect to potential clients as well as current customers. As John Sviokla outlines in his recent blog: "Twitter is/is not a serious marketing tool,” the first step is to understand the medium and what you want to get out of it. Likewise, Babson business professor Thomas Davenport has some advice, too: Don’t waste your time with this passing fad.
Which side are you on?
On Twitter: A Marketer’s Duct Tape, on Harvard Business Publishing, Sviokla says it’s only a matter of time before Google or Microsoft acquire Twitter, making the technology an integral part of how every business communicates. “Starting now will give you a jump on your competition,” says Sviokla.
But he encourages marketers to ponder three questions before embracing Twitter.
1. What are people saying about my brand? There are many tools that can help you track how people are talking about your company, customer complaints, or other issues your customers are thinking about.
2. How can I connect and build a direct communication between my firm and all the customers who want to follow our tweets — on their phone, computer, or other device? The key --- as mentioned in my commentary in “Keeping the end (tweet) in mind,” is to put thoughtful effort behind any social networking initiative.
3. What capabilities should my firm have so that we can use the right tools to track topics and conversations being tweeted about in my industry, product or service area, and target market?”
Meanwhile, Professor Babson calls Twitter a passing fad --- this year’s Second Life. He often tells marketers “Don’t waste your time”.
He further says, “Do serious marketers spend a lot of time and energy on Twitter campaigns? I doubt it. Sure, go ahead and play around with it — it doesn’t cost much. But I defy you to do serious brand management in 140-character messages. I defy you to prove that Twitter users are your typical customer — unless you sell bubble tea or something similar — or that their tweets are a true reflection of their relationship with your company.”
I think it’s off base to call Twitter a passing fad. To me (and many others) It has the feel of something sustainable, reflecting our growing need to connect with other people. But its business applications have not yet been developed.
So play around with Twitter. Ask your own customers if they find Twitter a useful tool, and how they would like you to use it to communicate with them. What kind of information would they like to get from you on Twitter?
One thing is certain: currently there are no rules, and it will cost little to try out some ideas and see if they work:
1. Establish a Twitter account for your company (with a company logo as the icon) and highlight it on your website, and print it on your business cards.
2. Ask for volunteers to manage a company ‘”Twitter tribe” to lead and monitor your company’s presence there.
3. Make any effort on Twitter part of an overall media effort, and don’t keep it in a silo by itself.
4. Solicit followers by using it to connect customers to unique resources, such as white papers, subject matter blogs, or research.
5. And if you are in the B2C sector (i.e. a restaurant) use it to distribute key word coupons and “Twitter Specials” to determine its effectiveness.
Is Twitter a marketing vehicle? Is it a great way to keep in touch with the shifting needs of customers?
Why not go find out for yourself?
“The most effective way to do it is to do it." -- Amelia Earhart, aviation pioneer