Twitter

At Metablocks we wear both developer and marketing hats! Most of our business revolves around user interface and application design, especially social media applications, but we also have a growing consultancy business around social media marketing.

One of the new social media marketing tools that has gained popularity and momentum in recent months is Twitter and a growing number of new media marketers have become big “Twitter Marketing” fans (IgnitePR, Citizen Agency,TechnoSailor, i.e.)

What is Twitter, you ask? Twitter defines itself as a tool for “staying in touch and keeping up with friends no matter where you are or what you’re doing.” (more…) Marketers have reinterpreted that as a way for companies and brands to stay in touch with customers or prospective customers no matter where they are! For those interested, I recently added a page on our Wiki with a list of Twitter marketing related resources including articles and success stories.

Here are some practical applications of “outgoing” Twitter marketing in action:

  • A TV show or music network automatically updating viewers and fans via Twitter about upcoming episodes
  • A news network distributing news headlines regularly on Twitter
  • A corporate blogger automatically updating their Twitter feed with links to their latest news, events or blog posts
  • A local government sending weather and other alerts (such as Amber alerts) to their residents via Twitter

Here are some “incoming” Twitter marketing applications:

  • A cable company using Twitter to identify customers with support needs or issues
  • A technology company using Twitter for find information about competitors
  • A marketing company using Twitter to gauge the “buzz” or interested around a Brand
  • A reporter using Twitter to find out what the “Topic De Jour” (topic of the day) happens to be

Another interesting “application” (verb) of Twitter is to actually integrate it into desktop and web-based applications (noun) to automatically share information about a users activities or interests (with their permission of course).  Here are some examples

  • Your cable set top box automatically “tweets” the TV shows you are currently watching
  • Each time you sell an item on eBay, Craigslist or vFlyer, it show up on your Twitter feed
  • Videos or photos you share on sites like YouTube and Flickr instantaneously get reflected in your Twitter feed
  • Blog posts, news and events you create automatically show up in your Twitter feed

Too much information (TMI)? Perhaps, but a growing number of people are now living “Twitter-enhanced” lives and marketers are realizing that Twitter may indeed be that best way to reach them!

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