Add Twitter to Your Internet Marketing Toolbox: Using Social Network Websites in Social Media Marketing Campaigns
If you’re researching social media & social networks, chances are good you’ve stumbled across Twitter in recent months. Twitter is an online community of people writing text-based, miniature-scale (max 140 character) blog posts about moments in their lives.
But Twitter isn’t just for individuals. Twitter holds great potential for improved online communication, collaboration and relationship building for business. Early adopters in social media marketing are picking up and running with Twitter, adding it to their client’s overall online media marketing mix.
Twitter offers unique opportunties for the enhancement & expansion of traditional marketing and social media marketing campaigns. We see companies and savvy Internet marketers coming up with new ways to use Twitter to their advantage. A few ways you might consider using Twitter in your online PR and Internet marketing strategies include:
- building relationships with prospective clients
- promoting events
- providing insight and commentary on an event in real time
- promoting special offers or daily specials
- facilitating collaborative experience
- building conversation
- sending press releases
- opening dialogue between promoter and promotion participants
- website traffic generation
Here’s a random sample of companies using Twitter as part of their social media marketing efforts:
- Amazon
- Dell
- Woot
- MTV Music Video Awards
- Mac Rumors
- ESPN
- Carnival Cruise lines
- Intel Software
- CNN
- Delta Airlines
- Eleven Marketing
And here’s a few news sites using Twitter to their advantage:
What ways have you seen or tried using Twitter for online marketing or communication for your company or clients? Do you see a future for Twitter or is it just another passing social media fad to be replaced by a bigger-and-better social network or instant messenger mashup within the year?
Want to experiment with Twitter? Sign up for an account at twitter.com then make a plan for integrating it into your daily routine. Install Twitbin or Twitterific to keep updated. Explore this comprehensive list of Twitter applications.
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October 19th, 2007 at 10:45 am
Nice post…it’s amazing how supposingly trivial applications can evolve to find themselves being used for more interesting and serious stuff..
Thanks for the post and the list of examples
March 7th, 2008 at 1:42 am
I’m excited to see how businesses are using Twitter I’m a big fan myself. My biggest fear though is that companies ruin it like they did ebay. It use to be a good place to sell and then corporate America destroyed it. I hate to see Twitter get to the point were its all ads from copanies posting their specials. Twitted is all about the community and developing credibility. I hate going on there and seeing some company throw up a URL and then see you later.
December 29th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
Great post to get marketers’ minds starting to think about potential Twitter uses.
Like anything, however, the company has to genuinely participate, share information (even if not about itself), contribute to those who follow it, and be personable.
Twitter is NOT another one-way communication vehicle like print or other ads. There are plenty of examples of companies in social media who view it as traditional marketing and their efforts stink with no or very poor ROI. IT IS NOT traditional marketing. Social media marketing it’s sociable and about relationships and connections.
-Mike
March 26th, 2010 at 1:22 am
I think Twitter’s simplicity will keep it around for a while but as people’s followers and followings increase business messages can easily get lost amongst the mass of other comments. It’s a bit like running an ad campaign by talking (without a microphone) about your product to 30,000 while they’re at the superbowl - you’re going to struggle to get heard!
May 13th, 2010 at 5:03 pm
This post appears almost prophetic in retrospect