Launched in 2006, the 'Twitter trade' rapidly climbed the popularity ranks amongst organizations and celebrities through it's ability to create conversations and movements around people and topics all over the world. Today, there is an ongoing debate whether Twitter will disappear into social media abyss as many technologies in the past. According to a recent article in the New Yorker titled, 'The End of Twitter', Joshua Topolsky dives into the 'cracks in the Twitter facade' including the growing number of hateful users, and it's lack of clear direction and differentiation in the social media marketplace.
But, as we continue to become inundated with information through mobile, tablets, and laptops – we find ourselves submerged in the world of technology and - inevitably Twitter and Twitter marketing. With over 320 million monthly users and 1 billion monthly visits to sites with embedded tweets, Twitter still has a stronghold and rightful place in the sales, marketing, and social engagement arena. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending a Brainstorming session hosted and created by Kyle Bailey, CEO and marketing enthusiast behind Frontburner Marketing. #1 Best-Selling Author and Top 100 Social Media Influencer, John Sparks was the guest speaker of honor, and he explained the reasons why Twitter for business still works. Sparks is a Top 100 Social Media Influencer in the Nation according to statsocial.com, and has built his personal brand to over 300,000 followers on Twitter.
Whether you believe the Twitter trend is dying or not, these 8 tools can help leverage your brand on Twitter (for as long as Twitter exists) ...
The following 8 reasons and tools will help you navigate the Twitter world in which we still live in.
1) Life isn't about comfort, it's about character (140 characters to be exact)
Tool: Bit.ly. Unleash the power of the link
When limited to 140 characters, every letter matters, and here is where Bit.ly and other link-shortening websites come into play. Simply copy your desired link into the Bit.ly tool bar and you will have a shortened link within seconds. Bit.ly has expanded and is used not only as a link-shortening tool, but a data analytics tool as well.
2) Build up an international rolodex
Flitter allows you to filter through and do some strategic competitor stalking. You can create lists of people following your competitors and go in and follow those people. It also lets you set parameters for unfollow. ie. you can set an 8 day time-frame for someone to follow you back, if they don't - goodbye! There is an enabled 'POWERPOST' feature that tracks analytics to provide data on when is the best time to tweet under specific parameters. John Sparks, mentioned above as one of the top 100 social media influencers in the country, suggests adding approximately 125 new people/day for a brand or personal account that is just starting out, and the ideal 'add-range' varies with current user base.Tool: Flitter. The go-to prospecting tool for twitter
3) Define buyer personas into lists of potential influencers, buyers, subject matter experts
Tool: Twellow. Welcome to the Yellow Pages of Twitter.
'Twellowhood' allows you to search through different category descriptions including industry, city location, tags, etc. You can find people to follow in your target market, and after finding new people within your buyer persona, you can seperate them into lists.
4) Schedule your social outreach sweet spot
Tool: Klout, Be known for what you love
Scheduling tweets is a perfect way to minimize time and effort and maximize outreach. You will receive a 'Klout Score' which is a determination of your current online impact ranging from 1-100 with an average around 40. Use Klout to customize your posts, create campaigns, follow influencers in your industry, easily retweet, and schedule content for the next day, week, or month. See also - 5 Austin Women Making Metrics Their Mantra.
5) Become a thought leader by creating a stream of curated content
Tool: Twibble, bring your blog to life through twitter
Similar to Twitterfeed, Twibble enables you to stream relevant content through RSS feeds directly to your Twitter account. This content can be from a personal blog or from industry specific sites such as Techcrunch, MASHABLE, VICE, Austin Business Journal, Forbes, etc.
6) The birthplace for brand ambassadors
Tool: Great Content and a diversified Twitter posting style
Twitter is the ideal platform to ask questions and create an environment of collaboration and content in one place. At the end of the day, the goal is to create brand advocates for your business - people you truly care about and people who truly care about you and your brand. John Sparks mentioned the ability to use Twitter as a platform to create conversations by establishing yourself as a thought leader of subject matter expert (SME) in your field.
Using different styles of tweets can lead to increased lead generation as well as increased visibility through re-tweets. You can use an endorsement tweet:Click to tweet: "No one cares how much you know - until they KNOW how much you care." @LCMSSolutions @IamJohnSparks #LCMSolutions #JohnSparks
Or, maybe add an inspiring quote if you're looking to encourage job seekers or employers to keep searching for the right talent/employer:
"[QUOTE]" - @TwitterHandle #quote
"[QUOTE]" - [NAME OF PERSON NOT ON TWITTER] #quote
Testing different tweet styles is a great way to figure out what your followers are responding to and what resonates with them.
7) See who's following you & HOW
Tool: Tweetchup - track your followers
Tweetchup allows you to track how often your followers mention you, and gives you an insight into how they are actually reacting to your tweets. You can then go into those retweets and define what verbose or content created the most buzz with your followers.
8) Twitter is what you make of it
In 2011, Jack Dorsey told the audience at the Wall Street Journal’s AllThingsD conference that, when people ask what Twitter is, “We don’t have an answer, and that’s O.K.” When he said it, he meant it as a positive: Twitter, like everything in life, is what you make of it. Although Twitter has an up-hill battle to face, with competitors like SnapChat, Facebook, YikYak, and Periscope, it still holds a relevant place in the market for one reason: it is a platform for conversation. In 2016, Twitter must work to rebuild, pivot, and strategize to harness the value within its powerful userbase.
