Twitter:How 140 Characters Changed

Business

Who is this kid?

• Mitchell Hislop• 20• I have been doing

social media for…• Cool (intl)• <codename> LINGO• www.mitchellhislop.co

m

Twitter?

• Twttr– 21 March, 2006– SMS dispatch service– E.g. I am at this awesome club in SF– First message: “just setting up my twttr”

• (http://twitter.com/jack/status/20)

HOW DID THIS “SMS DISPATCH” CHANGE BUSINESS?

SXSWi

2007

Usage tripled

THE way to find your way around the festival

Twitter hits the mainstream

• Everyone could use it• Everyone knew about

it• The demographic of

users caused the change

@,#,D?

• Users drove innovation• @ replies• Hashtags• Direct Messages

Where is Twitter now?

• ~60 Million accounts• Public IM• Crowdsourcing• Business Tool• NOT a direct marketing channel

HOW CAN BUSINESSES BENEFIT FROM TWITTER?

Takeaway #1

Twitter and business:Two main camps

• Marketing/PR– Increase awareness– Run promos– Gauge interest– Tap the “pulse”

• See: @BajaSol

• Customer Service– Stop rants– Get public opinion– Help customers

resolve issues

• See: @ComcastCares

Twitter for Business 101

• Be Organic• Be Organic• Be Organic• You need a human manning it, not bots &

feeds• Integrate it into your overall strategy• Essential in times of needing fast

communication

101 cont.

• Join the conversation around your brand– Note: You are NOT

controlling it

• Monitor your online reputation

TIPS FROM SOMEONE IN THE KNOW

On the ground, in the trenches,

Twitter Clients

• Seesmic Desktop• Tweetdeck• CoTweet• Tweetie• UberTwitter• Twitterberry• CETwit

Twitter Policy

Pros

• CYA• Keep everyone on the

same page• Keep the corporate

message

Cons

• Cuts down on organic conversation

• Can cause issues if you make it too strict

WHAT TWITTER REALLY MEANS FOR BUSINESS.

Now forget everything

What Twitter has done

• Changed the structure of communications between brands and the masses

• Made users want more things real-time• Gave users an output for their thoughts on

a brand

Changed the structure

• Everyone is equal• 1:1

Café-shaped conversations

Real-time

• Wildfires• Wildfires

USERS CAN TALK ABOUT YOU, IN ANY WAY, AT ANY TIME, TO LOTS OF PEOPLE

The biggest change…

Why Twitter?

• First• Best• SXSW• Winner of the microblogging format war

TWITTER DOESN’T MATTERIt’s changes matter, but

It could be any service

• It just so happens to be Twitter right now• Twitter could change tomorrow• Users will stay the same• Users will want the same

What Twitter means for business

• A paradigm shift• A new channel for interacting• A new part of your marketing mix

Contact us for resources

Any Questions? Q&A at the end.

Want to tweet about me?

@mitchellhislop

@coolintl

@codenamelingo