Twitter Ads
Twitter Launches Promoted Trends
I read an article recently about Twitter selling ad space, back in April Twitter introduced Promoted Tweets, a platform to allow businesses to promote themselves within the Twitter stream. Now it seems Twitter has launched Promoted Trends, a feature that will allow advertisers to insert their own trends into Twitter’s trending topics.
Twitter’s Value
Twitter’s value was released the other day at one billion dollars, impressive, but only one tenth of Facebook’s reported value. At some point Twitter will need to find a way to monetize their site, without
making it a pay service. I don’t have a problem with the paid placement of tweets and trends; I think it would be an excellent addition to any Internet or Social Media Marketing Plan.
How Twitter Needs to Handle Placed Trends
Here is what I want to see Twitter do with the paid placements. If they are allowing a company to pay to place an ad within the stream, call it out; make sure everyone understands someone paid to put that ad in their stream. As far as the Promoted Trends, I want to be able to ignore this feature, because the whole point of Twitter’s trending topics it to see in real time what is happening in the “twitterverse”. You can already choose between worldwide, by country even by city. I don’t want to see the trending topics “polluted” with a paid placement.
By creating a competition for the top trending spot, with a Google AdWords type auction, it would created a nice competition and help Twitter make money from selling the ads. As Twitter continues to grow they have got to find a non-intrusive way to bring in advertising dollars while still being able to create enough awareness of the ads.
Mobile Application
More people are logging on to Social Media; Twitter specifically, using their mobile devices. If you use an iPhone and a free Twitter app you most likely have to deal with some sort of ad placement now, so by adding ads to the main Twitter page should be too much of a problem.
| Number of Mobile Subscribers Accessing Twitter via Mobile Browser | 3 – month average ending Jan. 2010 vs. Jan. 2009 | Total U.S. Age 13+ | |
| Total Audience | |||
| Jan-09 | Jan-10 | % of Change | |
| Twitter.com | 1,051,000 | 4,700,000 | 347 |
| Source: comScore MobiLens | |||
– brian tudor
follow @briantudor on twitter
iPhone 4 Will Change Communications Forever, Forever
How will iPhone 4 change communications? Simple. Apple’s new ‘Face Time’ feature coming out with the new iPhone, set to be released on June 24, 2010, will for the first time ever provide a viable real-time mobile video chat option. With the addition of a forward facing camera, iPhone 4 users will be able to connect visually with each other no matter where in the world they are, as long as there is a Wi-Fi network to join. According to Apple, “People have been dreaming about video calling for decades. iPhone 4 makes it a reality. With the tap of a button, you can wave hello to your kids, share a smile from across the globe, or watch your best friend laugh at your stories. No other phone makes staying in touch this much fun.”
Let’s not get caught up in this one feature though, Apple is finally bringing Multitasking to the iOS 4 firmware upgrade, what does this mean? It means you no longer will have to exit out of your favorite app to make a phone call or change your music playlist. By allowing third-party apps to now continue to run in the background iOS 4 
means you can keep you Tom Tom GPS app running all the way from Michigan to Missouri and not miss a beat. Phone call? No problem. Update your Twitter status (Hey! Look at me, multitasking on my iPhone without getting lost on a road trip.)? No problem.
So the new iPhone will be out at the end of June 2010, and it is the second drastic redesign from the original iPhone, it is now more sleek and powerful than ever before. With a sleek new stainless steal frame that acts as an antenna to improve call quality and durability. Another great new feature is a new technique called Retina Display, everything you see and do on iPhone 4 looks amazing. Text in books, web pages, and email is crisp at any size. Images in movies and photos are stunning at almost any angle. That’s because the Retina display’s pixel density is so high, your eye is unable to distinguish individual pixels.
Aside from the biggies (Multitasking, Face Time and Retina Display), Apple is adding or upgrading a slew of
new features. Features like Folders, where you can stack your apps into one folder that the iPhone will name based on the types of apps in the folders. The camera was upgraded to 5 mega pixels with an LED flash, and can now shoot video in HD. With all of the new features, Apple keeps refining the iPhone into an indispensable tool, both personal and professional.
The iPhone 4 from Apple will be release in the United States on June 24, 2010, with the iOS 4 firmware upgrade coming three days earlier on June 21, 2010 for existing iPhone 3G and iPhone 3Gs owners.
- brian tudor
follow @briantudor on twitter
Ways to use Twitter to Build your Business
Twitter is one of the social networking sites with a ton of interest and excitement, but a lot of people struggle with how to use it. Having clear marketing goals and objectives is KEY to success in twitter. Knowing what your marketing goals are and who you are trying to reach is vital to successfully using twitter. As you start to explore twitter as a business building tool here are some different marketing objectives that twitter can help you achieve:
Customer Service - Connect with customers who have issues or concerns and provide immediate support for your customers. JetBlue does a great job of responding to travel issues and questions – and you don’t have to call and wait on hold.
Company News – Use your twitter account to let customers know about changes to your product or news pertaining to your company. If you do share news through twitter be prepared to answer questions and discuss the changes with your audience – it isn’t a one way street.
Feedback – Twitter can be a great tool to get honest feedback from your customers. Ask them about upcoming product changes or new services that you are considering. Be sure to provide them with an honest explanation of why you choose to take or not take their advice.
Build Equity – You can build equity for your brand by using twitter to talk about things that are of interest to your audience. Provide them with valuable information about something they are interested in or passionate about related to your brand. For example, if you sell laundry detergent you can tweet about stain removal tips (just make sure that your detergent isn’t always the answer – people want honest and useful advice).
Be a Thought Leader – Especially if you are a BtoB brand you can use twitter to showcase your thought leadership and expertise. Share trends, data and perspective on the industry to position your organziation as a leader in your field.
Syndicate Your Blog – For many bloggers twitter is one of the top ways that they drive traffic to their blogs. Post your blog post (you can set this up to happen automatically) on twitter and use twitter as a way to share your latest bog posts.
Get Help – Twitter can be a powerful tool to get help with something. Earlier this week I asked for a google voice invite and I got 10 offers in a matter of minutes. When I need a new service provider I will often solicit my twitter friends for recommendations. You have to build trust and relationships for this to work (don’t come out of the gate asking for things) but once you have cultivated relationships twitter can be a powerful resource.
Humanize Your Brand – It is easy to trash a brand. It is harder to trash a real live person. By being human on twitter you can connect with people on a deeper level. This means that you will have an army of advocates if you run in to trouble. You’ll also have credibility when you talk to people who have a problem with your business.
Selling Stuff – You can use twitter as a direct sales mechanism as long as you are upfront about it. The Dell Outlet has sold over $3 million on twitter. They don’t pretend to build relationships – they are clear – this is a feed of GREAT deals from Dell. They built a following by providing great offers. If you are using twitter to sell be upfront about it.
How are you using twitter to build your business? What other uses have we missed in this post?
Industry News: Twitter Trends Data
Twitter is all the rage these days, and a few individuals and organizations have done some great research on twitter trends and how twitter is being used.
2% of Tweets Match Google Trending Topics
First, Techcrunch recently reported that only 2% of all tweets match trending topics on google. So what? Why does this matter? What does this mean?
Well at a base level it means that people don’t tweet about the same things that they search for. I just pulled twitter trends and google trends. As you can see there is some overlap, but not much.
What people are searching for and what they are talking about are not necessarily the same thing. Twitter trending topics tend to be more focused on popular culture (MusicMonday/MM, New Moon), technology (google wave) and general things going on (Christmas and Thanksgiving).
As Twitter Search continues to attract attention from major search engines it will be interesting to see more data on how search and conversation overlap.
Vik Singh’s Twitter Analysis
Vik Singh (the engineer behind Yahoo Boss) conducted an analysis of 10 million tweets and shared some trends and findings.
9 Ways to Use Twitter for your Business
Marketers all all-a-flutter over twitter – as it continues to grow and gain popularity more and more businesses are flocking to twitter. Despite all the hype, many businesses struggle with how to actually use twitter for their businesses.
Why? They don’t start with strategy or business purpose. Just like any other marketing tool, a sound strategy is required to be successful. It isn’t as simple as “joining twitter” – that would be like saying the key to advertising is to “get on TV”. Success requires a strong strategy and a great execution of the strategy.
So, when considering getting started on twitter and considering different business purposes, here are some examples of how twitter can be used to build your business. These uses include examples of companies using twitter effectively.
1. Customer Service
Customer service is a popular way for companies to use twitter. People on twitter often talk about the problems and issues with different products, and by responding directly on twitter and solving the problem, companies can earn a lot of goodwilll from customers.
Companies who do this well include:
@jetblue – a typical tweet may include “@melissaleon TrueBlue points are not transferable, but the True Passes are!”
@wholefoods – uses the account for multiple purposes, one of which is customer service and responding to people who mention their brand. In addition to traditional customer service they provide resources for general comments. An example of a typical tweet includes
“@theseason Which store do you shop? I’d love to pass your feedback along to our IT team so we can look into your issues w/ the system.” or
“@richh41 Thanks for your interest in having a Whole Foods Market in your town. Please leave feedback at http://bit.ly/suggeststore. Thanks!:
2. Selling Stuff
If you sell stuff online twitter can be a great way to drive sales. There are a number of different ways that companies do this. Some share deals and special offers and others search for people talking about their category and offer a solution.
Some examples:
@delloutlet - the delloutlet has sold over a million dollars by tweeting about specific deals and discounts for their users a typical tweet may include “15% off any Outlet Studio One 19 PC. Enter code at checkout: ZG193MHV517SF7 http://bit.ly/Tuuk6 Exp. 9/21 or after 500 uses, whichever’s 1st”
@debbas uses his twitter account to both communicate with people and to selectively promote his products and company. By combining personal and soft-selling business he has grown a large twitter following. Sample selling tweets include “We have launched a new affiliate program, join it here : http://bit.ly/18CcAY”
3. Building Equity
Twitter can be used by brands to build equity – to talk to consumers about things that they are passionate about surrounding their brand, not just talking about their brand. Social media is conversational, and people may not want to talk directly about your product. Brands can build equity and engage with consumers by talking about things that their customers are interested in beyond the brand.
Some examples of brands that do this well:
@ford – ford uses their twitter account in a variety of ways; to respond to and interact with customers as well as to share information that may be of interest to drivers. An example of a typical tweet is “Some interesting statistics on gender differences in parallel parking here. How do you stack up? http://bit.ly/3WA3S“
@homedepot also does a good job of this by sharing tips related to home improvement. This is an example of a typical tweet “Flood Tip: List of resources & Where to Turn for Flood Help http://bit.ly/129VTO (via @ajc)”
@freshbooks makes great use of their twitter account by communicating with their customers and positioning themselves as a brand that really cares. A sample tweet includes “We’re pretty laid back around here, but sometimes we just gotta dress to impress (ourselves): http://twitpic.com/i7j1w” or “@ivynova Hilarious! Did you know that Joey was too young to have his driver’s license and nearly ran over the rest of the New Kids?”
4. Positioning as a Thought Leader
This is related to equity but slightly different. Brands and people can use social media and twitter as a way to position themselves as a thought leader in their field or industry. By sharing thoughts and perspective on relevant industry events this can be a powerful tool to both build equity and awareness.
Some examples include:
@empowermm – A local ad agency that tweets about interesting industry news and trends, showcasing their knowledge and expertise in the area. A typical tweet may include: “New study: Video games are the fastest growing ad market http://bit.ly/8Tk7N (via @eMarketer)”
@unmarketing - Scott Stratten from Toronto joined twitter and quickly built a large following and a strong reputation by tweeting about interesting trends in the industry. He has used twitter to build a strong reputation for himself. Typical tweets include “RT @mashable Top 5 Business Blogging Mistakes and How to Avoid Them http://bit.ly/18×03R“
5. Building Awareness
Twitter is a broadcasting tool – you can send messages to a large number of people. In addition, unlike typical social networks like Facebook, Myspace or LinkedIN, twitter allows you to communicate and connect with people outside of your network. Examples of brands using twitter to generate awareness include:
@threadless - Threadless runs contests from their twitter account which allows them to meet and engage with new users. A sample of a twitter contest includes “Goodbye summer, HELLO #ZIPTEMBER! All threadless hoodies only $30 all week! (please RT for a chance to win one!) http://thrdl.es/“. By having their fans retweet the message for a chance to win they are able to generate awareness for a new product. Threadless now has over a million twitter followers.
@photojojo - This photo blog and newsletter uses twitter to build awareness with twitter contests like this tweet “We’re giving away 10 sweet Kodak Cameras this week! Check out http://bit.ly/25KnH9 for how you can win today’s giveaway.”
@kodakcb (kodak chief blogger) uses their twitter account to run promotions and talk about things that are of interest to the photo community. Examples include: “Is selective photo cropping fakery? Interesting thoughts. http://bit.ly/13rLL3” and “The Kodak SmileMeter is up to 285 on Facebook today – we need more smiles! http://bit.ly/11Vcy8“
6. To Communicate with your Customers or Members
Twitter can be a great tool to use to communicate wit\h your existing customers or members. This can increase loyalty and ultimately drive sales or encourage word of mouth. An advantage of communicating with existing customers via twitter is the extended reach – every time they talk back to your brand they are publicising your brand to all of their followers.
Some examples of brands doing this well:
@cincinnatiama – Tweets about upcoming events to help drive attendance. A sample tweet may include “Come to “Northern Kentucky B2B SIG” Friday, September 25 from 7:45 am to 9:00 am. The Business-to-Business SIG… http://bit.ly/i1Gga“
@allstate - The allstate twitter account focuses on their new products and promotions and keeps people who are interested in allstate informed. A typical tweet includes “Are you prepared for the bad weather? Free Allstate Home Inventory Software http://bit.ly/BCjuA” or “Have you listened to Allstate’s new Vehicle Vibes Radio show? Listen to past shows and see schedule for guests here: http://bit.ly/G9LWD“
7. To Syndicate your Content
Twitter is a great tool to syndicate content and drive readership. Many bloggers report twitter as one of their top sources of traffic. Beyond your initial tweet of your content twitter can result in many retweets.
Some examples include:
@nytimes - The NY times recently said that : “At its current growth rate, Twitter is, or will soon move into, the top 10 in terms of referrals to NYTimes.com.” The NYTIMES only uses twitter to syndicate content – they don’t respond or @reply – it is just a feed of news articles. Sample tweets include “Census Data Show Recession-Driven Changes http://bit.ly/4ltTO6“
@adrants uses their twitter account exclusively to syndicate content – it includes headlines from the blog like “Kleenex Lectures Us on Brand Identity With Grammar Fail: Love the comments we get from readers. http://bit.ly/179OYk“. AdRants writer @stevehall has his own twitter account which is used to communicate with friends and industry members. “Oh yea. It’s an ad week party! http://twitpic.com/in26r“
8. To Reserve Your Name for the Future
Some people and companies have set up “placeholder” twitter accounts to reserve their names for possible future use. If you are using twitter as a placeholder it is important to communicate the intended use so as not to confuse users. Examples include:
@sethgodin – The bio on the account says “Seth is not active on Twitter. This is a placeholder”.
@amd - This is a guys name, and he got it before the company AMD tried to get a twitter name. A recent tweet from him reads: “Note to twitter : “amd” is my name. Don’t take my account, please.”
9. To listen to consumers and learn about issues
Twitter is a great tool to use to listen to consumers and learn about their issues. Many of the clients that we work with have learned about issues that they weren’t aware of by monitoring twitter. Examples of this include:
@sharethis uses twitter to respond to technical issues that consumers are having. A typical tweet may include “@campmobile Thanks for the heads up. Our dev team is looking into it!” or “@ThePhoenixSun we are aware of some issues and are working through them. Can u email feedback@ShareThis.com with details of your issue? Thx!”
The best way to use twitter for companies is a mix
Most companies that successfully use twitter use it for a mix of purposes. Twitter accounts don’t have to be singular in their purpose, and most accounts include a variety of equity building, awareness and self-promotion.
