Twitter: early birds will catch the worms

Almost everyone has heard of Twitter, mainly down to the fact that the traditional media has covered it extensively over the past year. It’s huge, but it’s also something that, as yet, hasn’t developed a way of earning proper money. A hot topic amongst new media commentators is: how will Twitter make its millions? Oh, it will make them, you’d better believe it (Second Life mark 2 this is not); it’s just a matter of how…

One of the reasons Google Adwords was so successful is that the “little guys” can easily create an advert and decide on how much they are willing to pay to appear for a keyword – it’s accessible even if your budget is £10 a day. Today at the ‘NMA Live: How brands should use Twitter’ conference, a smart and funny marketer called Ciaran referenced the Google Adwords model when someone asked him for his thoughts on how Twitter will monetise its service. Ciaran’s assertion was that Twitter might look to the Google Adwords model of making itself accessible for small businesses to make some real moulah. One idea he mooted was two sets of trending topics (this is the way Twitter shows what are the most talked about subjects): one ‘sponsored’ and one ‘natural’, similar to the rankings on Google. Not sure about that, but an interesting idea nonetheless…

I wonder if Twitter will start to charge businesses for using Twitter in other ways. Specifically, for including links in your business Tweets, and measuring the amount to be charged by the amount of traffic your site gets already (I am not sure how this would work but I know it’s possible).

However Twitter decides to monetise its service, one thing is for sure: for now, the platform is 100% free, so get involved and reap the rewards that come from promoting your small business on there.

It’s worth adding a note here that whilst it is free to have a Twitter account, it is not free to invest time in Twitter. It sounds obvious, but it’s your time, be that one employee’s or six employees’ time – ten minutes in the morning or one day a week – that costs money.

Besides benefitting from the financial savings to be made potentially by beginning to Twitter now rather than in a year’s time, it also makes sense from a strategic point of view. In these relatively early days it is OK to make a little mistake or two – believe me when I say that even the big brands are still very much on a learning curve. Add to this the fact that the relatively early adopters will be more inclined to grow their followers organically rather than in a blind panic to look ‘big’ (classic mistake), and it makes even more sense to be an early bird on Twitter.

Is social media marketing relevant for the over 60s?

Just a quick one today… but on a subject that comes up quite often… “Is social media relevant for the over 60s?” – it’s a good question and one that I think deserves a little attention. To start off, let’s talk about my Nana. She is an extraordinary woman in many ways. One of the ways she is extraordinary is that she is 74 and a regular Facebook user. Now, whilst the majority of 74 year olds do not use social media, many of their grandsons, daughters, neighbours and friends do. These people are influencers; often they hold significant sway with their loved ones. If you are anything like my boyfriend you like to express your opinion quite vociferously to your mother / father etc about what new laptop they should get, or who they should fly with to get the best deals.

When EasyJet (God forbid it’s Ryanair!) or Dell operate on a social scale with their marketing they are not only talking to people like my boyfriend, people on Facebook, Twitter, forums, blogs and so on – but they are by proxy talking to their loved ones too. It is no different for small businesses.

Example: a local artist blogs that they are having a print sale this Saturday in the city centre. Jim, a 28 year old art director who follows the blog, sees the post and tells his colleague. His colleague’s mother is looking for a 40th anniversary present for her husband. He tells mum, mum buys print for dad.

It’s not rocket science, is it?

On the other hand, the over 60s group do use social networking, just not in the vast numbers their younger co-humans do. 64% of British pensioners want to network online, according to lifestyle60.com, a social networking site for over 60s.

In summary, keep in mind that your message will go further than the people who you directly talk to in social media. Never mind Retweeting, forwarding, and extending reach in this way. Good old fashioned word of mouth and talking is often the way most social media marketing is passed on. Also don’t forget that, especially if your target audence is the over 60s, they are a growing group within social media themselves and they are not to be discounted.

Email newsletters and social media: send less and say more

Social media can be a great mix with email marketing. I am working with a large well known international brand who send out their email newsletters by the bucketload. We suggested to them that they send out less, but more consistent email newsletters with more in them – and in between send the individual news items via RSS feeds and Twitter. This would mean that:

a) The individual news items go out when they are ready so they are more timely. An item may normally have to wait until all the other news items are also ready so they can go out in a job lot.

b) The news item is offered to the audience in a method that many of them may prefer (a percentage of them might not like having to receive essential news via email).

I don’t know about you, but I receive hundreds of emails a week from companies whose newsletters I subscribe to. The ones I am more likely to open and act on are the companies who send less to me, but tell me lots when they do get in touch.

Have a weekly or monthly (depending on how much news you have) roundup email and in that include the headlines or news that you have fed out during that week / month via RSS feed or Twitter. That way you are servicing the audience who is already engaged with social media, and also those that prefer to receive an email.

One thing you may notice is a drop in email open rates, as some of the audience will move over entirely to RSS or Twitter – theses people may even unsubscribe from your email list. But, you should recognise that this is not a bad thing; the moveover of such people should be made evident by your stats on RSS subscriptions and Twitter followers / referrers to your site etc.

Using social media in this gentle and easy to understand way shows you to be an innovator: to the guys who already use social media they will be pleased to see you offering them something useful – news in a format they prefer. For the people who do not use social media you are introducing it to them in a way that they can see the benefit of – news delivery. Who knows, you might be the company who introduces them the joys or Twitter or RSS feeds?

How to use Twitter #3: to grow your brand

One of the best things about Twitter is that it is by nature an informal and chatty medium. As well as being great for trafficking your blog, and for having conversations with customers and contemporaries, it is also a tool for establishing, enhancing and growing your brand.

Every business has a personality. If your business was a person, what type of person would it be? Whether you are a retro coffee shop, a stylish hairdressers or a professional accountant, you should have a strong sense of the image and brand you want to promote. I’ve already talked about having conversations using Twitter, but in a wider sense, how do make sure you communicate your brand successfully in the Twitter community?

Here are a few ways:

- Make your page look like it belongs to your business.
Your logo, your background and also your Twitter name – it all matters, even if you aren’t Starbucks. It’s worth investing time yourself, or asking someone more able in the old Photoshop department, making your page look good. Not only does this tell people that you are taking your Twitter presence seriously, but it also reinforces who you are – and this makes you more memorable and likeable.

- Choose your brand voice.
Just as you would when writing copy for a leaflet or website, decide on the tone of voice you want to use when Tweeting. If you are an accountant you probably will be more serious and businesslike than a retro cafe might be. Will your Twitter account be one person or several people? If it is the latter then it is worth deciding on what type of collective vibe you want to send out when Tweeting. If your Tweeting is serious one minute and fun and quirky then next then people will get a confused sense of who your company is. Decide the overall voice you want to Tweet in and stick to it.

- Choose your followers carefully.
Even though it makes you look popular to have 5000 followers, if a large portion of them are spammers, porn sites, or not a ‘desirable’ match for your brand then block them. Quality, not quantity is what you are looking for.

- Hang out with the right people.
Similarly, don’t follow people just because they have followed you. It is tempting, especially when you are starting out, but try to be selective about who you follow back. It is fine to have a bit of a nosey at them and scope out the type of person they are. If you then decide they don’t fit with the type of community you are trying to build for your brand’s Twitter page, then that is fine, they will not care.

- Make everything you say useful or informative.
My personal Twitter is also the one I use for my SMfSB Twitter. I made that decision because I am blogging as me, Rachel. My profile on TWitter isn’t used to chat with friends very much. Rather, I use it to connect with contemporaries and people I am interested in in my field of work. So, my Tweets aren’t always about social media. As a small business owner with an account specifically for your business, I would advise against rambling about the Hobnob you just ate with your cuppa. Keep it relevant; in the main stick to conversations with customers and contemporaries, or include a link to your site to an offer / event. This isn’t to say you must always talk shop; just make sure what you do talk about is related to your business.

Twitter is just another medium that shows the world what your business does and what it stands for. If you get it right it can be an outstanding tool for growing a strong sense of brand, if you get it wrong it can be potentially damaging. Use it wisely!

How I ended up with ginger hair after seeing an offer on Twitter

I was browsing Twitter the other day, when I saw an offer via @didsburylife (a local magazine website whom I persuaded to go on Twitter). It was for a local hairdressers Mcleod Bradley – free cut when you get a colour. So, I called them up, making sure I mentioned that I saw the advert on Twitter. The owner was shocked that it worked. I was happy to be the proof that it did. So I had my blonde curls dyed “copper”, my inspiration being Kirsten Dunst in Spiderman…

My hair? It sort of worked; I may not look like Kirsten, but I certainly stand out!

A short video on social media for small business

If you prefer to watch than read… spend four minutes watching this and you might learn something helpful. Do it!

Social Media Marketing Basics for Small Business from Steve Gaines on Vimeo.

How to use Twitter #2: to have conversations

One of the reasons Twitter is so popular with businesses is that it offers a great opportunity to chat with potential and existing customers. More informal and instantaneous than email, Twitter’s 140 character limit means exchanges are short and to the point.

Why would you want to have conversations with your customers? Here are a few reasons:

• For customer service.
• To tell them about news, events etc.
• To get to know them better.
• To build strong foundations for your business and engender loyalty.

Conversation is a two way street, so as well as you telling your followers things that are useful and interesting, you must also engage with them! Scroll through your followers and see what they are talking about, if it’s relevant to you then get involved, if they ask a question, answer it! If they say something interesting why not ReTweet their post? When people see that you are engaging with your customers, contemporaries and even competitors (why not?) it  shows you to be a dynamic and interesting (and interested) company.

Here is an example of what might happen to put in into context for you:

Someone you follow comments that she is looking forward to the weekend but isn’t sure what to do. You, a restaurant owner, reply to her that there is a great offer on for Sunday lunch, so why not come on down to take advantage. She ReTweets the offer and 15 of her friends see it, 2 of which visit your website as a result and make a booking.

This is a great outcome. However, conversations aren’t always just about driving traffic and extending reach of offers (though they are two great reasons to use Twitter). Sometimes it’s worth it just because you made a personal connection with that woman, and she will remember that fact. Without wanting to sounds like a hippy, just because you own a business doesn’t make human interaction any less important. Twitter can help you make meaningful connections with your customers through having a great conversational facility – so take advantage today and start bonding with your customers!