As a marketer, I am all atweet about using Twitter as a marketing tool. In the past, many were skeptical of using social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter for professional representation of their firm or non-profit organization. Nevertheless, like anything else with time the twitter facts speak for themselves. As of today, Twitter has over 302 million monthly active users. They have successfully launched sponsored and paid advertisements in some markets. More and more people, companies, organizations and causes are getting all atweet every day. Still not convinced?
Here are my top 8 reasons to utilize twitter to promote, connect and brand your company or organization. Why 8? There are a million reasons, but 8 is my favorite number, so 8 is enough!
- Client Connection & Interaction – your clients, customers, members and donors are using it. It is a great way to connect and interact with them. Sending a “congrats” or “atta boy” will let your target audience know you are interested in their lives and paying attention.
- Brand Awareness – Twitter offers a free platform on the web to present your brand. The platform is indexed by search engines and considered a trusted place to find information. (So yes, it helps with SEO… I know you care about that!)
- Feedback – Twitter is a searchable database. You can search twitter for client/customer comments, encourage client/customer feedback and use that feedback to provide better service.
- Marketing – If you and your clients are tweeting about you- you have just reduced the amount of marketing dollars you need to spend to get your message out there. Moreover, a marketing message is always more powerful when others say it about you.
- News – Yes, please… this was the original intent of Twitter, mainly because people naturally want to stay in the loop, and are impressed when you are in their loop. Use twitter to stay in the know and keep your clients in the know.
- Promotion – Use twitter to announce events, promote open positions or even announce a newly launch project. Again, this free platform is searchable and indexed by search engines.
- Spying on Competition – You can follow your competition and what others are saying about them to help build a competitive advantage.
- Brand Loyalty – While loyalty is rare in this day in age, twitter is a great place to flaunt, share and track your brand loyalty.
So why aren’t you utilizing this amazing mass communication tool that can take you’re branding efforts to another level?
Most people I speak with tell me “time and understanding”. They don’t have the time to set it up and maintain the line of communication. They also lack the understanding of the platform and how to get the page established in a way that represents their brand. These are very valid reasons; however, they should not deter you. Create a plan, hire a professional (hint hint) to establish your page and train you or a staff member on what to do. Then have a plan moving forward that is reasonable and achievable.
Tweet worthy thoughts:
- Just having a twitter account is not going to cut it, you have to use it, and keep it fresh.
- Coming up with a marketing campaign that helps you reach and exceed your strategic marketing goals is essential.
- Avoid sending random tweets; your posts should have a purpose – show your personality. (You have 140 characters to get the conversation going – it should be a good one.)
- Frequency of posts is important, due to the sure mass of information being digested through the news feeds per minute. (Tip: Try to post at least 3-4 times a day)
- Most marketers are using Twitter to simply drive more traffic to their web site. (Have a clear call to action with your posts.)
- Pin tweets you want to draw to your visitor’s attention and ensure they don’t miss your valuable content. (Promotions, Fundraising, Events, Membership Drives, etc.)
- Be sure your account is branded with a profile pic and header image. (For some this may be the first impression of your brand, so be sure make the most of this opportunity ensuring it is consistent with your overall brand strategy.)
- Use images in your tweets to extend your message past 140 characters, increase visible space in the news feed and gain more chances for engagement. (Research has shown that Tweets with photos get 313% more engagement.)
- The most commonly used tactics are direct linking to web pages, blogs or promotional pages. (This is a fine tactic, but knowing that is your goal is very important to success.)
- Savvy Marketers are using it to capture data and build their contact database. (Make a compelling posts that drives the visitor to a form that once filled out gives them the free valuable information they were looking for.)
- If one of your strategic goals is to connect with the next generation you must be using Twitter. (The next generation wants to feel engaged and that you are active in the conversation.)
- For both B2B and B2C over 40% of the marketers surveyed found more success using Twitter as a branding tool rather than a sales driver. (Keeping this in mind, you want to be sure the goals you have for this marketing tool fit the platform.)
- Twitter has excellent analytics to help you track your goals and measure the impact your efforts are making. (Make strategic adjustments based on data rather than guessing.)
- I encourage the use of a well-researched hashtag. They are quite useful and nothing is more rewarding than your # trending worldwide. (Insert yourself into a conversation by using advanced search results to find the #hashtag your target audience is using.)
- Use lists to declutter your stream and show you are a sophisticated Twitter user. (Segment your volunteers/donors/media/partners/clients/customers, etc. I could spend days just in the lists.)
If you need help coming up with a twitter campaign, ensuring your profile is representing your brand, please feel free to contact us. We would be happy to help kick off your twitter tactics to better target your clients, customers or donors.
