2. Objective
Twitter is well established as a communication tool for news, social interaction and
celebrity following. However, one of the most frequently asked questions around
Twitter is
“is it right for business?” and more specifically “is it right for MY business?”.
We’re going to look at how to leverage Twitter for Business to
• find marketing opportunities,
• promote brand,
• increase your general online presence, and
• engage directly with your customers, generating leads & improving sales.
Who’s in the room
A strategic approach
Improving your
Twitter return on
investment &
HootSuite training
Urban Element Social
Media Proposal
Seminar Overview
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3. Urban Element
Core Services
- Web design(Consultancy, Graphic Design, E-Commerce, Content Management, Mobile)
- Online marketing(SEO, Social Media, Copywriting, Newsletters)
…and most importantly providing our clients a measurable return on investment
5. A Strategic Approach to your
Online Marketing
• Do you have a business plan?
• Do you have a marketing plan?
• Is your website and online marketing part of the plan?
• Is it more than a sentence / paragraph?
• Is the part about the Online Marketing SMART?
(Specific / Measurable / Attainable / Realistic / Time bound)?
• How often and how long do you spend reviewing your website / online
presence plan?
• Do you have a budget (money and time)?
• Have you implemented your plan?
• Are your staff, suppliers, clients (stakeholders) On Board?
6. Let’s assume we have a plan.
What’s next?
Roger Harrop ‘Staying in the Helicopter®’
Are you a market leader? Are you aiming to be?
“Market leaders need to be leaders in one of three basic disciplines:
• Operational Excellence
• Product Leadership
• Customer Intimacy
They must aim to be leader in one – but just one – and they need to be at least
‘industry average’ in all three.
7. Quick Summary
Before you can think about having a
successful online marketing campaign (using Twitter) you need:
A strategy / plan / goals
A good website
Focussed content (market leader)
But still, why should you bother?
8. Where did Twitter begin?
• Twitter started in 2006
• Podcasting company Odeo realized they needed to reinvent themselves and began
brainstorming new creative ideas.
• Jack Dorsey introduced the idea of creating an SMS (short message service) that
would allow a user to communicate with a small group of people.
• Twitter was first called "status" but was launched as twttr
9. Photo by Gustavo Minas www.flickr.com
There are over 500 million tweets per day
from 241 million users.
10. Photo by Gustavo Minas www.flickr.com
There are over 500 million tweets per day
from 241 million users.
Twitter users send over a billion tweets
every 48 hours
11. Photo by Gustavo Minas www.flickr.com
There are over 500 million tweets per day
from 241 million users.
Twitter users send over a billion tweets
every 48 hours
More than 80% of SMEs recommend
Twitter for business – Nielson SMB Survey Nov 2013
13. How Twitter Is Unique
Facebook: A tweet is like a short Facebook status update. However, with Twitter, every tweet
arrives at every follower’s feed
Pinterest: Twitter allows you to share photographs and provide commentary in your tweet.
However, with Twitter, it’s much easier to have conversation around a shared image than with
the comment feature on Pinterest.
LinkedIn: A tweet is like a short LinkedIn status update. While LinkedIn is based on trust
relationships (and two-way agreements), Twitter allows you to follow anyone, including
strangers. This is helpful when you target potential customers.
Google+: A tweet is like a short Google+ status update. Twitter also allows you to organize people
into lists that organize conversations similar to Google+ groups.
YouTube: A tweet can contain a link to a video. However, Twitter doesn’t allow you to create a
channel or organize your videos for easy location and commentary.
14. So how does this make you feel
about Twitter?
• Excited
• Daunted
• Confused
• Not sure where to start?
• What about running my business?
• Who does this (me, the team, outsource)?
• How much is this going to cost?
• Is this going to give us a return on investment?
15. Twitter: Terminology
• Tweets
Each message you send out to your followers through Twitter is called a “tweet.”
• Hashtag (#)
Insert “hashtags” into tweets to provide context, and to make them easily searchable for people
looking for updates on a specific topic. A hashtag is simply a keyword preceded by the hash
symbol, like #marketing. Include it in your tweet and anyone who searches for that hashtag will see
your updates
• @’s
You direct public messages to other Twitter users by inserting an “@” sign immediately followed by
their username. For example, “@DigitalMattG Hi there.” You may also mention a user using their
@ handle.
• Followers / Following
On Twitter, you “follow” another user to see his or her updates on your Twitter home page, and
they follow you to see yours. This is the basic social relationship of Twitter. If you have more
followers, your updates reach and potentially influence more people.
Social connections on Twitter are not symmetrical — that is, even if you follow someone he or she
may choose not to follow you back.
16. Twitter: Terminology
• Lists
A list is a way for you to keep track of the people you follow by grouping similar types into lists.
These can be public or private.
• DM (Direct Message)
“DM” is short for “Direct Message,” a private message between two Twitter users. Unlike the public
@Mentions, DMs are private and do not appear to anyone besides their specified recipients
You can only send a DM to someone who’s following you. They’re still limited to 140 characters.
• Retweet
Twitter is all about sharing things that your followers might find useful, interesting, or entertaining.
The “retweet” is a manifestation of this. When you see a tweet that you think your followers would
be interested in, you can click the “retweet” button to make that tweet appear in your followers’
home pages. They’ll know you were the one who shared it.
• Trending
When a term is extremely popular on Twitter at any given moment, it’s “trending.” Twitter’s home
page offers a list of trending terms, and even lets you view terms trending in certain locations as
opposed to the whole world.
17. What are @replies and mentions?
What is an @reply?
An @reply is any update posted by clicking the Reply button on a Tweet.
Any Tweet that is an @reply to you begins with your username and will show
up in your Mentions tab on the Notifications page.
What is a mention?
A mention is any Twitter update that contains "@username" anywhere in the
body of the Tweet. (Yes, this means that @replies are also considered
mentions.)
You collect these messages, as well as all your @replies, in the Mentions tab
on the Notifications page.
If you include more than one person's name in your Tweet and you use the
@username format, all of those people will see the Tweet in
their Mentions tab.
18. What are @replies and mentions?
Things to note:
Visiting another user's profile page on Twitter will not display Tweets that
mention them. However, you can search for all Tweets mentioning their
username in the search box. Search for "@username" to view results.
People will only see others' @replies in their home timeline if they
are following both the sender and recipient of the @reply.
People will see any mentions posted by someone they follow (all mentions are
treated like regular Tweets).
If someone sends you an @reply and you are not following the user, the reply
will not appear on your Tweets timeline. Instead, the reply will appear in
your Mentions tab. You can click People you follow at the top of the Mentions
timeline to only display mentions from users you are following.
19. What can I use Twitter for?
• Announce Deals
• Competitions
• Customer Service
• Ask Questions
• Monitoring your brand
• Awareness
• Thought leadership
• Networking
So much more!
20. Where to begin with Twitter?
• It's hard to know what to do with Twitter when you first sign up.
• Do you write something?
• Do you follow someone?
Even Twitter's founders didn't know what to do with Twitter at first. Here's the first tweet ever
written by the site's co-founder, Jack Dorsey.
21. Step #1: Present Your Brand
Your Twitter account and profile are the foundation of your Twitter experience.
It’s your chance to tell your business story to the Twitter community.
It is important that your Twitter presence have the same look and feel as your other online tools. This helps people
identify your business and builds trust. Choose an account name and images consistent with your other
online presences and your brand.
A. Choose Your Username
This is your first opportunity expresses your brand on. Your This name appears next to all of your tweets
22. Step #1: Present Your Brand
B. Choose Your Unique Twitter Handle
Choose a good Twitter handle carefully. While you can change it later, no one will be notified automatically about
the change
23. Step #1: Present Your Brand
C. Imagery
Twitter uses two different images to represent your account. It’s important that you take advantage of both of
these images to tell your business story. You upload these images under Profile in your account settings, or
by clicking the edit profile button on your “Me” page.
• Your Twitter profile photo is a square photo that appears next to every tweet you send. You can use either
your company logo or your headshot for your profile photo.
• Your Twitter profile header is a large background photo where you can tell a story about your business
24. Step #1: Present Your Brand
C. Write a strong bioTells people WHY they should be interested in what you have to say, and feel free to
change if you want to promote a new message. This does not need to be static! Give potential followers more
than just your job title and company.
25. Step #2: Complete your profile
It’s important that you complete your Twitter account profile completely. Each feature gives more details about
your business that contribute to your business story, and makes you more relevant and “findable”
26. Step #3: Start Following
When you follow another Twitter user, you subscribe to read what they share. So be selective about whom you
follow, especially at first
Start following relevant people
• Your customers
• Your business partners, suppliers, contractors and vendors
• Your competitors or peers (Their followers!)
• Trade organizations or professional organizations for your industry (Their followers!)
• Businesses in your target location
• Businesses run by people you know (your professional network)
27. Step #3: Start Following
• Twitter can help you find people you know by scanning your email address book.
• Twitter will also make suggestions based on your recent follows >>
• Use Twitter searches to find relevant people based on #hastags or advanced searches >>
• Lists - a great way to find people in a specific niche, and when you find a relevant list, you have a collection
of people who might be good to follow
• Third party tools and directories
28. Step #4: Start Talking
In general, there are five types of Twitter messages
1. Tweet: a message you send out to everyone who follows you. This is the heart of Twitter communication.
2.@Reply: a message you send out as a reply to a message you received. The @reply is a public message that
mentions the Twitter username of the person. It shows up in the tweet stream of everyone who follows both of
you
29. Step #4: Start Talking
In general, there are five types of Twitter messages
3. Mention: a message you send out that mentions another Twitter username.
4. Retweet (RT): a message created and sent by someone else that you share with the people who follow you
5. Direct Message:
Private between you and a follower.
30. Step #5: Start Talking - the Plan
• Develop and use your Twitter communication plan
• Find the balance between what your target audience wants to hear and conversation that promotes your
business
• Give people useful information and answer their questions,
• Become a valuable member of your audience’s community. That’s an important first step to winning a new
customer.
• Experiment with different ways to say the same thing, and see what gets the most response
• Drive Traffic to Your Website and Blog
Twitter is a great tool for driving traffic to your website and blog. To do this, you create a tweet around a link,
writing a message that compels people to click to learn more
31. Plan and measure
• Set Targets
• Research Keywords and
topics
• Produce/ refresh content
on your website or blog to
support plan and vice versa
• Measure using
Google Analytics
Twitter Analytics
• Competitor analysis
• Set Timescales and
checkpoints for assessment
32. Guidelines and Policy
• Tweet regularly
• Keep it interesting
• Engage with followers
• Give others credit
• Don’t use images without
permission
• Do not criticise
• Do not blanket follow /
unfollow
33. Guidelines and Policy
• Tweet regularly
• Keep it interesting
• Engage with followers
• Give others credit
• Don’t use images without
permission
• Do not criticise
• Do not blanket follow /
unfollow
These guidelines apply to (COMPANY) employees or contractors who create or
contribute to blogs, wikis, social networks, virtual worlds, or any other kind of Social
Media. Whether you log into Twitter, Yelp, Wikipedia, MySpace or Facebook pages, or
comment on online media stories — these guidelines are for you.
While all (COMPANY) employees are welcome to participate in Social Media, we expect
everyone who participates in online commentary to understand and to follow these
simple but important guidelines. These rules might sound strict and contain a bit of
legal-sounding jargon but please keep in mind that our overall goal is simple: to
participate online in a respectful, relevant way that protects our reputation and of course
follows the letter and spirit of the law.
1. Be transparent and state that you work at (COMPANY). Your honesty will be noted in
the Social Media environment. If you are writing about (COMPANY) or a competitor,
use your real name, identify that you work for (COMPANY), and be clear about your
role. If you have a vested interest in what you are discussing, be the first to say so.
2. Never represent yourself or (COMPANY) in a false or misleading way. All
statements must be true and not misleading; all claims must be substantiated.
3. Post meaningful, respectful comments — in other words, please, no spam and no
remarks that are off-topic or offensive.
4. Use common sense and common courtesy: for example, it’s best to ask permission
to publish or report on conversations that are meant to be private or internal to
(COMPANY). Make sure your efforts to be transparent don't violate (COMPANY)'s
privacy, confidentiality, and legal guidelines for external commercial speech.
5. Stick to your area of expertise and do feel free to provide unique, individual
perspectives on non-confidential activities at (COMPANY).
6. When disagreeing with others' opinions, keep it appropriate and polite. If you find
yourself in a situation online that looks as if it’s becoming antagonistic, do not …..
34. Schedule of focus
• Identify seasonal
requirements
• Plan in tandem with other
marketing channels
• Schedule where possible
Hootsuite
TweetDeck
Klout
Buffer
• Plan focused campaigns,
for short, medium and
long term gains
35. How to use Favourites
You can Favourite any tweet on Twitter.com by hovering over the tweet and selecting ‘Favourite’.
Anyone can read your Favourites and you can read anyone else’s
• Read later– Use to capture tweets that you wish to read later.
Tweets are only displayed in Twitter Search results for about 8 days after they are first published so old tweets
can be hard to find.
• View other people’s Favourites –
Find links to useful articles, interesting news stories and handy tools.
You can also gain insights into your competitors
• Interact when Favourited –
When someone Favourites one of your tweets this is displayed on your Notifications tab – select
Connect/Interactions. You can often use this as a conversation starter as someone has shown an interest in one
of your tweets. You might want to recognise the interest they’ve shown in you by following them.
• Start a conversation - The reverse of above. Use to subtly bring yourself to someone’s attention; perhaps a
potential client or someone you’d like to work with. This can be a good tactic to grow your Twitter followers
• Use to store testimonials - If someone recommends you or compliments you on your product or service,
Favourite their tweet. Repeat the process to build up a bank of positive feedback on your business. From time to
time you can then tweet a link to your Favourties. For example, “See what our customers have been saying
about us this month. http://twitter.com/<account name>/favourites.”
36. When to Tweet?
1.Test and use your data Experiment and pay attention to the data about when your audience is most receptive
2.Use toolsThere are numerous tools that look at your follows, when they are most active and suggest good
posting times
Tweriod, Klout, Followerwonk
3.Seek data and researchNumerous reports of best time to Tweet for various sectors and Call To Actions
37. Creating a successful # Campaign
Hashtags can be used to advertise new products and campaigns, to run competitions and contests, to ask fans for
their input about a company development, and to associate a brand with a popular news item. The best thing about
hashtag campaigns, however, is they can be completely free.
1.Promote It:
If you’re about to run a hashtag campaign then make sure the public know about it. Feature your hashtag in
print and media advertising, or run a larger campaign with a featured hashtag. By promoting your hashtag as
widely as possible, you can make sure that people will start talking about it.
2.Make It Interactive
Use a hashtag that will encourage debate – a phrase that invites the public to give their opinion or make a joke.
You don’t even need to get involved in the conversation: Matalan advertised the hashtag #MatalanSummerTips
on Twitter recently so that fans could exchange tips and hints on the site.
3.Be Topical:
Create a hashtag campaign that is themed around a big event or news story. During Wimbledon, for example,
sports brand adidas introduced two hashtags into the Twittersphere: #AllinforMurray and #Hitthewinner, the
latter of which was also used by entrants for an online competition. #AllinforMurray was tweeted over 20,000
times during the weekend
38. HootSuite
- Create an account
- Setting up your channels
- Dashboard
- Schedule posts
- Analytics