Six Ways I use Twitter in Marketing

April 29, 2010 By 11 Comments

1. I use it to monitor what’s being said.

By using custom ‘saved’ searches you can easily monitor in real-time any keyword or brand mention. For example if somebody mentions University of Saskatchewan or usask, I am always following to see what’s up in the twitverse.

2. I save time by having other people reccomend reading for me.

I’m interested in a few narrow topics: marketing and fly fishing. I love being connected to people who have similar tastes as I can stay on top of my reading by having my friends make recommendations to me. Nine times out of ten I enjoy the links that get shared.

3. I use it to share posts with my tweeps, hoping they will find value in what I share.

I also spend a fair amount of time reading content that I stumble upon. The odd time I share for others to enjoy too.

4. I help others build traffic by sharing their links and tweets.

Nothing adds value to your tweeps more than helping them spread their message. Retweeting is sometimes more fun than tweeting. Give unto others and they will give unto you.

5. I use it to build traffic for my blog posts.

My blog receives more than double the traffic when I post my links on Twitter. It’s definitely a great way to attract readers.

6. I use it for networking. Tweeps feel like ‘old friends’ when you run into them offline.

There is a kinship among tweeps. We are drawn to each other at conferences. We seek each other out at coffee shops. Online relationships turn into offline friends and colleagues.

PS – Sometimes I use it to tell people what I had for dinner. But, only if it was really, really delicious.

What do you use Twitter for? Leave a comment and add to the discussion.

Filed Under: Marketing Strategy
  • Lost

    I recently started to Tweet for business purposes, to create an online community of friends who like our product. One morning I woke up and just created an account without putting much thought how I am going to do it. Then I started to tweet and went through an identity crisis. Who am I? On the one hand, I represent our product. On the other hand, I am a real person with personal tastes and preferences. What is my identity? Another problem is that I am an introvert. Twitting turns the table around. I find that I am more invasive in my online world than in real life. Since I am not in my shoes, I don't think I am doing a good job online. I am lost. Any advise? Aside, in response to your questions, I find #1 extremely useful to see what people say about our product.

  • http://www.wanderlustandwords.blogspot.com Penny McKinlay

    I follow several gourmet food stores on Twitter; it's a great way to find out about new products or weekly specials. I also enjoy reading and posting thought-provoking quotes. I haven't used saved searches yet – thanks for the tip.

  • michaelklein

    I'm not sure that you need to separate your personal identity from your work-related Twitter account. It's even better if you are human and speak in an authentic personable way. Focus on trying to add value to your followers first. Once you accomplish that, then feel free to call upon your friends to help you.

  • http://twitter.com/dejong Chris de Jong

    Ways I use Twitter:

    - As a means of competitive intelligence.
    - As a sounding board for ideas.
    - As a source of long-tail information search.
    - As a way to connect with others in my field.
    - As the worlds more robust feedback system.
    - As a way of measuring trust.
    - The world's greatest music recommendation system.
    - As a way to discover great content that I would normally not find / share content I have found to by valuable.

    There are literally hundreds of ways to put Twitter to use either personally or professionally, these are just the first few that came to mind.

  • michaelklein

    Chris, thanks for your post. How are you using it to measure trust?

  • http://twitter.com/dejong Chris de Jong

    I guess 'measuring' trust might be a bit of a misnomer in this case since trust isn't exactly a quantifiable metric :)

    I try to leverage Twitter to gleam insight into what my social graph thinks about a particular brand or company based on their cumulative experiences. For example, if I see that multiple people recommend Canon cameras to others, I could infer that their trust in the brand is high enough they warrant a recommendation for someone else. Not the most scientific of methods, but it seems to do the trick.

    Here is a couple of great little tools for tracking what people on twitter think of brands:
    http://www.socialmention.com/
    http://www.tweetfeel.com/
    My personal favorite: http://www.brandkarma.com/

  • michaelklein

    Thanks Chris, that makes sense. I'll be sure to check out the links!

  • Kari

    Although I initially worried about the work/personal dichotomy, I think I've gotten over that. I use twitter (and FB) to bridge my professional and personal lives, sharing both work- and home-related stuff. My American colleagues find out a little about life in Saskatoon, and my Saskatoon tweeps hear a little about life at IBM. My single friends hear about parenting, and my square tweeps hear about punk. And I hear from all those groups in one place too.

  • deanfey

    Dear “Lost”: Like Mike said “be yourself,” I had the same problem. When I took Mike's advice, it was actually easier to post on my company's social profiles. Having said that, there is still a learning curve. Overall, I find this social market concept, both challenging AND fun.

  • michaelklein

    I think I must be one of your square tweeps…as I know nothing about punk! :)

  • Lost

    Thanks michaelklein, deanfey, and Kari for your helpful advise. I think I will be more relaxed now.