Insights and Ingenuity

Twitter Central

I subscribe to a great number of RSS feeds via a reader, but there are several businesses and organizations from which I receive traditional e-letters.  Today I was surprised to find that I received two emails from two separate companies–and the subject of each newsletter was Twitter.  Hmm.

Three Types of Twitterers

I guess it should come as no surprise, really.  I’ve been doing some research to identify corporate (a specific sector) and cause-type brands on Twitter and discovered that a surprising number have a presence. The variety of use cases for Twitter by these brands, as I discovered, spans a range that feels similar to rungs of the Forrester Technographics ladder, shown below.

Some of these are obviously using their Twitter username exclusively for automatic career or press release postings.  I’d call that the corporate equivalent of the “joiner” rung (see below).  Some are using Twitter to comment about sponsored events, classes, or “inside” goings-on.  That might make those brands the “critics” equivalent.  Another variation on this theme is to tweet links to Facebook group pages featuring RSS, posted video, and testimonials.  I’d call those brands the “creators.”

Twitter-thentic

Some of these brands have created nicely branded backgrounds and profile graphics for their Twitter home page.  In some cases, their 160 character biography rings true to my perception of their image.  Most bio URL’s lead to the company’s home page.

Twitter Lessons

So all this examination of corporate Twitter users has really got me thinking.  There are already a number of good “how to” posts already out there, like this one from Search Engine Guide, and this one from Ogilvy, (actually part of a series) and this great one from Chris Brogan, also this one from the Small Business Website Marketing blog.  So I’m not going to launch into the mechanics of setting up a user persona or go into the community etiquette (but I wholly endorse reading these and other great resources before jumping off the Twitter pier–there’s a right way, and a wrong way to use Twitter.  And there’s no saving you if you annoy, irritate, confuse, or offend people because you neglected do due diligence.)  Amber Naslund beautifully writes what a whole lot of Twitterers think about “those users,” and it’s easy to tell from the comments her post receives that the sentiment is widely shared.  Beth Harte is right there with her (plus she’s funny).

The Chirp of the Matter

My contribution to the topic?  Be very intentional about embarking on the micro-blogging tour, whether with Twitter, Pownce, etc.  By “intentional” I mean make sure that your organization is fully “onboarded,” and is well aware of the reach and viral effect made possible by Twitter for your brand messages.  Some old-timers could raise eyebrows and not understand the value of direct engagement. Things spread like wildfire.  That can be good and, uh not so good.  If your brand consciously commits to Twitter, success can only be cultivated through diligence, persistence, commitment, reading, volunteering, commenting.  Yes, I’m saying Time (duration), Energy, and Manhours.  Not a nite gig.

Beyond the Tweet

But it’s not all about work!  The beauty comes from watching your analytics and learning that generous, thoughtful contributions to your Twitter community can drive brand awareness and interest that could lead audiences right to your site.  Depending on what your corporate goals are, the interest can be funneled and converted as part of a multi-tier strategy.  To that end, I’d recommend a PURL be used to receive traffic from your Twitter home page (instead of the home page of your corporate site).

• Direct interested traffic to a special page with targeted content that reflects Twitter as a source (audience reassurance + nice measurement)
• Include messaging to express how your brand engages with Twitter (see Jerimiah Owyang’s advisory post to his followers)
• Share text that humanizes or expresses your brand personality (what’s a compelling reason to follow your brand?) and reinforces why you’re different
• Include links to related content or industry news sources (show you’re in it for your followers to grow, not sheer self-interest)
• Post information and registration forms for classes or events your brand may host (offer opportunities to engage and learn more)

In a nutshell, I think Twitter can be thought out a little better, to really create a good user experience.

So what do you guys think about Twitter, what hasn’t been written or covered yet?  Would love to hear thoughts from those who live and breathe!

Tags: Twitter Microblogging Brand

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 11th, 2008 at 2:37 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.