Posts Tagged twitter

There are many forms of media that can be utilized as tools for an effective marketing campaign. There are billboards, magazines, websites, email campaigns, brochures, direct mail pieces, posters, television ads, newspapers, radio spots,  promotional items such as your company slogan on a coffee mug, and lastly, social media sites like Twitter. We will refer to these tools as forms of media. All of them can be effective when used properly. Over time the tools in our toolbox may change, but the laws of marketing do not and must be applied to every tool in our  marketer’s tool belt. When a new tool appears it does not change the laws of marketing, it just changes how we reach the customer. It is merely a channel.

Here is a quick breakdown of the 4 laws of marketing that are used without such tools as Twitter and other forms of social media:

1. Locate Your Customer

First we must create a profile of the ideal customer. We need to determine  such things as their age, race, gender, yearly income, location, and educational level to name a few. We also need to know how and where they spend their time. Whether it’s when they are online, at work, or in a store. The data that we are gathering at this stage is commonly known as demographics.

2. Create Your Campaign

Once we know who our customer is, then we must reach them with the best tool or tools in our tool belt. For example, if you know that women who go to a certain mall purchase high end purses, then a billboard closely located to the mall featuring your high end purse would be the proper tool to use to help influence the desired purchase, even if you sold solely through an 800 number, and did not have a store in the mall.

3. Track the Campaign

You need to know what your sales numbers are before and after the campaign in order to measure the results effectively. It’s obvious that if net profits increased then the campaign was a success, and if they went down, we need to analyze the campaign to determine why. Once the campaign was run, we then must make adjustments to the campaign even if we had a net profit. With just a few little tweeks, we may be able to make more money from an already successful campaign.

4. Survey Your Customers

Poll your customers to find out where they saw your ads. Continue to put the most marketing dollars into the highest performing ads while closely monitoring the lesser performing ads. Don’t cancel the weaker ads immediately. Be sure to give them a little time before you declare them a success or failure.

When you go to Twitter.com, you will notice that you can send Tweets and DMs on the homepage, but you are restricted in what you can view on your screen.  Twitter only allows you to view a couple of tweets at a time. You can set up groups, but if you are following a lot of people or companies, then you will miss out on a lot of tweets because of the limited screen space.

What many people choose to do is to use free software that is readily available online. By doing so, you will have increased control to read, post and reply to tweets. Some of the more popular free solutions out there are:

Spaz – Which offers a mobile version and changeable skins. They also offer a desktop version of their application as well.

Tweetdeck – Allows you to create groups, auto shortens URLs for you, runs on Mac and PC, and you can organize everything into columns.

Twhirl – This application can be downloaded and run on your computer. It allows you to handle a few Twitter accounts at the same time. Twhirl also lets you update other social media accounts such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and MySpace to name a few.

With any of these free Twitter interface solutions, your Twitter experience will be more enjoyable and more productive.

Back in the good old days of marketing (which we will define as preinternet ), companies would broadcast their marketing message to the masses as much as possible. The idea here was to get your message heard or seen by as many people as possible while feeding them the benefits of your product or service. This method worked for a very long time because there were less products and services available to the market, there were less channels in which to get your message out to the public, and the buyer did not have much of a voice either. This model of marketing was basically one way. The message was broadcast from the business through the channel to the consumer. Then came the internet and that has changed everything, when it comes to marketing your company message.

With the internet, the tables have been turned. Now, the consumer has gained the upper hand when it comes to the message being broadcast about a product or service. People are talking to other people about their experiences for the better or worse. They are sharing product deficiencies, offering each other buying tips and tricks, recommending alternative products, and posting reviews. Companies cannot control all the channels of the web. There are just too many sites, blogs, forums, and social sites (and Twitter is one of them) to control and that is the whole point here. Companies have lost control of their brand message and the consumer is now broadcasting that message for better or worse.

Here are a couple of quick examples of companies using Twitter for customer service, business-to-consumer marketing, business-to-business marketing, and public relations:

Customer Service – The massively popular online shoe store, Zappos.com, takes customer service to an all new level of buying utilizing Twitter as a line of communication with its customers.

Business to Consumer Marketing – The Ford Motor Company is posting in 140 characters or less to promote their new Fiesta model. You can learn more about it at www.fiestamovement.com.

Business to Business Marketing – Duct Tape Marketing started a few years ago with their book and website that catered to helping small businesses get more customers. Now, they use Twitter as part of their marketing tool belt to reach out to businesses that need their services.

Public Relations – The company that sets the standard in womens’ and mens’ accessories, Louis Vuitton,  uses Twitter to reach out to bloggers in the Paris fashion industry.

These are just a few examples of using Twitter for business. Be sure to take a look online for more examples of how you can use Twitter for your business.

One of the best ways to start building a following in Twitter is to start sharing news, stories, and tips within your industry. By doing this, you will become the go-to source for your prospective clients, and you can continue to nurture your relationship with existing clients. By sharing great content with the Twitter community, you can begin building and increasing consumer confidence in your brand. Of course, as you are sharing news, stories, and tips, you can also mix in links to your own content such as  press releases, articles, blog posts, book marks, new web site content, videos etc… Giving out great free content is one of the best ways to gain loyal followers on Twitter. Just make sure that you do not beat them over the head with your sales message when sharing your links and content.

In addition to posting news, stories, and tips within your industry, make sure you tell your brand’s story as well. Share insights into your company’s successes, challenges, pitfalls, and decisions. Also, do not forget to keep a human element to the posts. That way readers feel like they are dealing with people and not some impersonal corporation.