(or, How I Learned To Stop Blogging And Love Twitter)
What is it about Twitter that people like so much? Where is the utility? Let’s talk this out together…
Seth Godin says we visit social media sites for four reasons:
- Who likes me?
- Is everything okay?
- How can I become more popular?
- What’s new?
- I’m bored, let’s make some noise.
(I agree.)
He further asserts that Twitter delivers all five, instantly.
(I further agree.)
So let’s talk about how we marketers can use these five aspects of Twitter and other forms of social media to support the conversation that is taking place between us and our customers…
Who likes me?
Let’s face it, Twitter, Linkedin and Facebook are scorecards. As a marketer, it only makes sense to “follow,” “friend,” or otherwise link to those people who are customers… it could be one step in the journey from “consumer” to “brand advocate.” So invite people to follow you, and follow them back. Remember, people won’t care about your brand until you start giving them good reasons to.
Is everything okay?
In my “day job,” our industry has had the unfortunate distinction of announcing product recalls. Not a fun time for the company, and especially not for the consumer. By connecting through social media with your consumers, you can get the bad news (and yes, the good news too!) out faster. It also allows you to exercise some amount of control of the discussion of those events in those channels. At least you’ll be able to shape the beginning of the conversation and prevent some of the misinformation that could ensue in your absence.
How can I become more popular?
By connecting to your customers in social media, you’re also beginning to connect them to each other — people who have the same interests. Not a bad thing. They’re going to see who’s following you and they will find interesting people.
What’s new?
Let’s face it, email is on its way out. Your future customers (the under 20 crowd) aren’t using it. So if you want to tell them what’s new, you’d better be talking to them where they’re listening. That means they want to see about product updates or new products in their Twitterstream. They want to read about it on your Facebook wall.
I’m bored, let’s make some noise.
It’s not just showing up in social media, it’s enabling your brand advocates to sing your praises. So what can you do to equip them to “make some noise?”
Conclusion…
There are two things about social media that I can promise:
- It’s not going away.
- It’s going to look completely different in 3 years.
Having said that, it’s still the place to be. Go slow, think it through, and be a contributor (not a spammer).
(…and no, I’m not really going to stop blogging!)
