Facebook is often the first tool we think of when people say “social media.” But we shouldn’t forget its quick and nimble nephew – Twitter.
For those who don’t know Twitter, think of it as blogging lite. You broadcast messages (‘tweet’) to other users who choose to follow you. Similarly, you can choose to follow other Twitter users whose comments interest you. But there’s a catch – you only have 140 characters in which to craft your thoughts, brilliant or not. Twitter also lets you re-broadcast someone else’s message, or send a direct message back to them. Many people use Twitter as a way to share links to web sites, articles etc.
You’ve probably already heard that Twitter helped elect a President (and it wasn’t Taft). You may be surprised to learn that several major companies (including Starbucks, Ford and Best Buy) maintain a constant Twitter presence, broadcasting special promotions and news and even directly messaging consumers. Why? Several reasons: tweets sent out by a real person (even if it’s, say, Ford’s PR guy) help humanize the brand. And Twitter’s share-able and bite-sized nature makes it very easy for consumers to engage with a brand they like. (See their tweets here: Ford, Starbucks, Best Buy)
But wait – there’s more. Much more. Twitter offers us even greater communications potential thanks to the ability to create a ‘hashtag’ topic.
To ‘hashtag’ simply means to append a word with a # (for example, #haiti) that you would then place at the start of your tweet. When you do this, the hashtag signals to Twitter that your tweet is part of a current and popular topic. Twitter can then take all tweets, from every user, with the same hashtag and stream them together, making them easier for everyone to find and creating an impromptu community.
To see how much involvement this can generate, simply go to the twitter home page and type #haiti or #ipad into the search field, and see what comes up (Don’t worry, you don’t have to sign in).
By hashtagging your tweet, you have the potential to ensure a much larger number of people see it. And if your topic represents a powerful enough idea, you have the opportunity to create a social movement as other Twitter users apply the same hash tag to their tweets on the same topic.
Could we create such a movement for Benylin, by inviting people to share their sick day stories with #BenylinDay as the hashtag? Unite Kraft Dinner lovers with #GottaBeKD? Encourage the sharing of positive messages about Sick Kids Hospital with #SickKidsStories?
Obviously, there’s the matter of letting people know about the hashtag you create (Land Rover actually paid people to use the #LRNY hashtag when they tweeted about the company’s New York auto show debut). And, as with any campaign, hashtags would represent just one part of the initiative. But they can be a very powerful part, as long as there’s a powerful idea behind them.
Bonus Links:
40 of the more successful Twitter brands (and why).
And let’s not forget how many celebrities tweet to their fans. Follow everyone’s favourite B list actress, Alyssa Milano, on Twitter.
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