Ketchum Interactive Strategies Group@nancy_martira

@jonbellinger

Question: Is Twitter completely revolutionizing the internet, or is it just a passing fad?

Answer: Yes

Twitter is a social network where web users post short blurbs about stuff

Some of these blurbs are fascinating and culturally important:

Others are………….well...

Twitter has been the single most talked-about Web site since Facebook, and grew 1,382% in the past year.

Source: “Twitter Now Growing at a Staggering 1,382 Percent” Mashable, March 16, 2009

And last month, something happened that caused Twitter to grow another 43 percent in a matter of days…

People who never really used the internet very much before are creating Twitter profiles

And the media is obsessed with the platform, building it into its programming & structure

So who’s actually using Twitter?Still a lot of media types, but it’s broadening quickly

Heavy users include bloggers, reporters, celebrities, spammers, pyramid schemers, brands and

consultants (in no particular order)

But are people staying with Twitter? Or is it just an idle curiosity?

But wait…where did Twitter come from?

Twitter began as a broadcast medium…a way for groups of friends to push each other real-time information about their activities & whereabouts…

It’s founders envisioned that the primary user interface would be the mobile handset…so that’s why you can only use 140

characters

Early adopters were mostly media types, and for a long time, not too many people paid attention.

The site was buggy, and crashed whenever too many people logged in to tweet (whenever there was anything actually worth tweeting about)

But then some interesting things started to happen…

First, Twitter’s early user base developed its own digital vernacular, filling in holes to make a pure broadcast medium into something more social...

It was a fascinating collective hack that began to change how Twitter thought of itself

@replyThis is how you direct a comment to a single user, but in a way that’s visible to everyone

And when people use @reply, it makes it easier to search for mentions of specific users

DMShort for “Direct Message,” this is how you communicate with someone privately. It goes directly to your Twitter and personal email inbox, and can’t be seen by anyone but you.

RT“Retweeting” is how you share / repeat something that someone else already posted

This one is important, because it’s how you give people credit for good ideas / great finds on Twitter. It’s a good tool

for gaining visibility, and a prerequisite for playing nice.

URL ShorteningMost URLs are really long, and obviously won’t fit within 140 characters. So there are several services that allow you to shorten a long URL into a Tweet-friendly format.

URL ShorteningMost URLs are really long, and obviously won’t fit within 140 characters. So there are several services that allow you to shorten a long URL into a Tweet-friendly format.

#HashtagsThese category tags are how people track conversations about specific topics across the fast & furious mess that is Twitter. They’re essential if you want to have an organized, trackable discussion. You can use an existing one, or make up your own.

#SwineFlu

Then, after a few months, unexpected people started using Twitter in new ways…

Then, after a few months, unexpected people started using Twitter in new ways…

Then, after a few months, unexpected people started using Twitter in new ways…

Then, after a few months, unexpected people started using Twitter in new ways…

Then, after a few months, unexpected people started using Twitter in new ways…

And users began organically developing things that made Twitter way more social than its designers had imagined…

And users began organically developing things that made Twitter way more social than its designers had imagined…

And users began organically developing things that made Twitter way more social than its designers had imagined…

And users began organically developing things that made Twitter way more social than its designers had imagined…

And users began organically developing things that made Twitter way more social than its designers had imagined…

So what is it about this simple question that’s gotten so many people so excited?

It’s easy to use

It’s low maintenance / easier than blogging

It’s voyeuristic

Famous people hang out there

Everyone says you have to use it RIGHT NOW

Twitter can be whatever you want (sort of)

Step OneCreate an Account

And if you plan on Tweeting about anything work-related, make sure you fully disclose your agency affiliation

Step TwoUh Oh…now what? This is as far as most people get.

• Don’t protect your updates• Ignore Twitter’s question• Talk before you follow • Start by following people you

actually know and people you’ll never know

• Just start writing…it will make sense

Step ThreeDecide what to write about

Step FourDecide who you’d like to follow

How can you tell who’s “important enough” for you to follow? At the moment, it’s an imprecise pseudoscience...

You can compare objective data, like followers : updates, but like with long-form blogs, influential users aren’t always the most-followed…

So once you’ve got the rules down, there are a number of ways to customize & interface with Twitter.

And almost all of these tools are free, and were created by third parties using Twitter’s free & open API

Ok, so that’s all awesome information…but what about brands?

Like other social media channels, most brands view Twitter as a great new tool for broadcasting their messages…

And treat it like a gift from the Silicon Valley gods, with millions of users eager to receive their marketing in a novel 140 character package…

But this ignores the fact that Twitter’s users have turned it from a broadcast platform into something more social

As a result, Twitter is most often a programming afterthought, treated as another place to regurgitate ad slogans, post branded

links and get bloggers to talk about your products.

Despite the fact that internet users have dozens of tools like Twitter at their fingertips, it’s not the tools or channels themselves that are people like to use. It’s the conversations and stories the tools enable.

So before a brand jumps in to “experiment,” it needs to ask itself a question…

Are you here because there are metrics to be earned? Or are you here to win hearts and minds?

So what can brands do on Twitter? A lot, in both the short & long terms

• Put a canary into the coal mine• Offer customer service• Answer questions• Distribute product samples• Communicate with media• Have one-on-one conversations with consumers• Drive traffic to URLs• Build a more diversified brand identity• Leverage ongoing conversations• Whatever they want (sort of)

Your brand is not interesting enough to command a Twitter feed. But your brand’s perspective on a topic of interest might be…

And every brand has perspectives on multiple topics within its industry that have a built-in

audience already using Twitter

Twitter is like a cocktail party. If you show up and only talk about yourself, you’ll be ostracized. Maintain a healthy 80 / 20 split.

Twitter isn’t a broadcast platform, it’s an engagement vehicle. So give people more than just content. Give them something to do.

Twitter is perhaps most valuable as a listening platform. Rather than telling, listen, then answer. And don’t plan too far ahead.

So how do we listen to the organic voice of Twitter?

Having “the conversation” with your clients

• We can’t write your feeds for you (either in the short or the long term)– Clients must be prepared internally to

manage an active, healthy feed• Know before you start what story you

want to tell / what POV you want to adopt– Wait a second…is “the story” about your new

product or message map? If so, then we need to find something bigger

• Is that story or POV already out there? If so, how can you as a brand add unique value?– Wait a second….CAN you add value? I mean, beyond words? Can you

put something on the table? • Clients must be prepared to operationalize their communications• Consult an interactive strategist early & often

@nancy_martira646.935.4151

@jonbellinger312.228.6894