Business Strategy and Twitter

Like any tool, there are greater and lesser reasons to use Twitter in a business setting. The articles on this page are focused on delivering strategic thought about Twitter for business use.

• Everyone loves a bullet list so here’s your list of 50, courtesy Chris Brogan.
• Integrating Twitter into a business culture courtesy of Jerry Owyang.
• Another one from Owyang about strategic use of Twitter so it doesn’t overrun your life.
• If your strategy is enhanced by being perceived as a guru, this post quickly walks you through the listen-network-be-a-guru process.
• Laura Fitton has a great reading list about using Twitter for business.
• Elliot Ng of UpTake discusses the process his company went through in determining their business use of Twitter. Includes thoughts on corporate Twitter handle vs personal Twitter handles aka Personal Brands.
• A discussion of the difference between having a lot of followers vs having less but more loyal followers, using High School as an anti-metaphor.
• If you’re using a variety of social media channels already, you may be interested to know what Twitter disrupts. Laura Fitton’s research should help you out.

If you’re ready to begin, check out the Getting Started with Twitter for Business page. If you’re looking for something more detailed or specific, perhaps you’ll find it on the main Twitter for Business page.

Feel free to use the comments to let me know about other business strategy and Twitter articles.

Getting Started with Twitter for Business

As with any buzzwordy new hip trend, the barrier to entry for using Twitter is probably just sitting down and playing with it. If you have ten minutes, scan one of these articles and just give Twitter a try.

Wrapping your head around Twitter

If are looking for some specific uses of what you might do with Twitter, read some of the use case scenarios for Twitter that are available on the Twitter for Business page. Or you could just read this one article over on Mashable that gives a wide variety of little benefits accrued through Twitter use.

Sometimes you just need some ideas and pointers about what a piece of software is. How can use it for marketing? Or other business tasks? Is it like text messaging but not? Here are some articles to help get you started in understanding what Twitter is and how Twitter works.

• The Pioneer Press ran this excellent article about Twitter that includes business use cases in real estate (lead management), retail (customer service), corporate (business intelligence) and television (media/content). Includes actual Twitter content and strategy/tactics.
• Here’s a Wall Street Journal Online article about Twitter.
• Eric Bramlett has a brief post on applying Twitter technology to real estate.
• Geekestate gives a quick overview of what Twitter is and how it works.
• Nik over at MyTechOpinion gives a great, quick rundown of a variety of business and personal uses for Twitter along with some good starter advice. Comes with a podcast even! If you’re in a rush skip down to the bullet lists.
• Champlain College professor Elaine Young describes how she uses both Twitter and another microblogging platform, Plurk.

Twitter: Get Started

If you’re wanting some ideas and help to get going with microblogging and Twitter, you’re on the right page. There are plenty of articles that give you a good “here’s how to start using twitter” overviews. Some in a narrative style, some with bulleted lists. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Daniel Rothamel gives you the nuts and bolts of starting in his post about social media and Twitter.
• Prefer to watch a 4 minute 20 second video on getting started using Twitter? Ryan Martin delivers.
• Laura Fitton has several step by step articles for getting started using Twitter.
• A few thoughts on getting started with Twitter by someone who’s getting started.

Find people to follow

Once you have your account, you’ll want to start using it. It starts with you following (i.e. listening to) other people. Here are some articles with ideas about following and increasing your followers:

• Wondering who to follow on Twitter? Mashable has a rundown of 15 different Twitter directories. (Of course, if you’re in the real estate industry, please check our Twitter for Real Estate article).
• Rands in Repose gives a great explanation on how to get value from the people you follow or follow you on Twitter.
• The Brain Leaders and Learners blog gives a great rundown of things you can do to increase your followership AKA don’t just tell us what you had for lunch.
• One of the bummer realities of the internet is the presence of spam. Spam is also on Twitter. Here’s a method to help reduce your spam content on Twitter.
• It’s not just spammers that are obnoxious, real people can be pretty annoying too! Here’s a top 10 list of types of people to stop following on Twitter. If someone is dragging you down, unfollow them.

Start posting on Twitter

You’ve got your twitter account. You have started following some people. Maybe some people have started following you, even. Now it’s time to start posting on Twitter. Here are some resources to help you get the most out of posting on Twitter.

• How to write kickass Twitter posts gives you a great list of guidelines to give the most with your tweeting and prevents you from being dull.
• Get the most out of 140 characters by following this excellent six point plan.
• Sooner or later you’re going to want to control and manage your usage of Twitter better. Nicole Nikolay gives us a great 5 point tactical plan for using Twitter.
• Wondering what to post? Why not start with a brief statement of purpose, a Twesumé.

Articles to help you navigate etiquette and other social issues on Twitter

Image via Wikipedia

Sometimes you just want to fit in. Is it okay to post every five minutes with your latest and greatest deal? Should you really talk about your cat twice a day? When is it alright to approach someone with an offer? Here are some articles to give you a sense of the kind of communication people are expecting to have via Twitter.

You’ll find that it’s a lot like going to a cocktail party. If you’d feel awkward saying something at a cocktail party hosted by your best friend, then don’t post it on Twitter. Here are some more thoughts on getting along in Twitterland:

• Sarah Evans has created a post of things to Do and a post of things to Don’t to help you grow your Twitter-based community.
• Dooley, a social media-ist, gives an overview of what she thinks Twitter is great for, what stuff you should put in your profile along with some great tips on Twitter etiquette.
• Not understanding the strange lingo that is sometimes used on Twitter? Shannon Yelland has made an excellent dictionary of Twitter jargon and slang.
• Still need a little help figuring out how to maintain your sincerity and play nice in Twitter? AgentGenius gives you some great social media etiquette and business tips

Twitter: Cautionary Tales

We can probably all remember the first time we sent a “reply all” email when we really didn’t mean to send a message to everyone. If not, we know someone who has. These are the sorts of gaffes that scare us and prevent us from using a new technology. No one wants to look foolish. Below are some posts that help you avoid blunders and other cautionary tales as you use Twitter. But also remember, you still use email even though you sent that embarrassing message that one time.

• A must read, by Peter Shankman, for anyone who uses Twitter, highlighting the importance of always remembering that Twitter is a public forum and sometimes seemingly simple things can be taken very seriously… by your clients.
• A cautionary tale of poor use of Twitter by real estate agents is found at Real Central VA.
• A list of some actual “tweets,” most of them embarassing for the Twit. Consider it a list of cautionary twitter tales.
• How not to use Twitter, via Brad Coy.
• More of the cautionary tales, in the form of 20 Commandments of Social Media. Not Twitter specific but very much related. If you’re just starting out, give this a quick review and think of it when you interact with someone who is obnoxious in their use of social media.

Alright. You’re ready to start using Twitter for your business. Head on over to the Twitter for Lead Generation page or go to the main Twitter for Business page and find a use case that’s relevant for your business. In real estate and not sure who to follow? Try the Twitter for Real Estate: Who to Follow? article.

Feel free to use the comments to let me know about other good articles for beginning Twitter use.

Twitter for Lead Generation

If your business involves meeting people and selling them your service or product directly, then you can use Twitter to help you locate those people who need your service or product. A classic example of a lead generation business is Real Estate. Here are a few examples of businesspeople using Twitter to generate leads:

• Jeremy Hart at NRVLiving generates real estate leads using Twitter.
• AgentGenius.com let’s us know about Twitter connecting a buyer with an agent before there was even the hint of a transaction.
• Property Minder Blog has a short and sweet piece on closing more sales with Twitter. Includes some best practices for real estate.
• Jay Thompson gives a quick post about how he has generated at least one lead with Twitter.
• Many of the readers of this blog are in real estate. If you’re looking for a few examples of “good behavior” real estate agents to follow (to see how they use Twitter), There’s a list of ten great realtor Twitterers on Tom Carpenter’s blog.
• The Notorious ROB has a quick piece running the numbers on whether Twitter is worthwhile for lead generation. The ensuing comment thread is well worth checking out.

If you’re using Twitter to generate leads, I recommend you also look into the Twitter Tools for Listening page. There you will find reviews of some tools to help you locate people who want or can use what you have to offer. Want more? Head to the complete Twitter for Business page or maybe try Twitter for Reputation Management.

Feel free to use the comments to let me know about other good articles for lead generation via Twitter.

Twitter for Reputation Management

You don’t ever have to say a word on Twitter to get value from the technology. In fact you might not even need to register an account. People are talking about brands and products in many different ways. Twitter is one of them. Here are some articles about using this fact for your business.

• Example of reputation management from 37Signals at the Twitter blog.
• Chris Brogan gives a quick example of using Twitter to listen and then gives a brief plug for Radian6, an analytics packages for social media.
• One of my favorite sites, Read/Write/Web, describes customer service teams at Comcast, Dell and others using Twitter to close the loop on Reputation Management and actually solve customer issues, via Twitter. Mmmmm listening leading to action, got to love that. Bonus link to a comment that Comcast left on a blog regarding the practice.

If this is an activity you think would benefit your business, you may want to review the Twitter Tools for Listening page to find additional resources. If you want more information perhaps you can look for it on the main Twitter for Business page or if you want to try something else, check out the Twitter for Communication page.

Feel free to use the comments to let me know about other good articles about lead generation and Twitter.

Twitter for Communication

Twitter is all about communication. Nice, short digestible chunks that you can consume quickly and get on with your day. But you don’t have to just talk about your cat or tell us about the bus you’re waiting for.

Enhancing offline communication: Twitter at Conferences

One of the most common and useful ways of using Twitter for business communication is for conferences. Often, a conference will have a hashtag and then those present will be “micro reporting” the events. This means that if you aren’t at the event but know the hashtag, you can get some of the insights of being there. Very handy if you can’t get the boss to fund your travel to a good conference. Also, Twitter is used between participants who are present at a conference to help co-ordinate lunches/parties/after-parties/after-after-parties etc. Here are a few items on using Twitter to communicate at conferences:

• Chris Brogan talks about an insight he got from Radian6’s David Alston about how many conferences now have two simultaneous audiences: those present and those following via Twitter (and sometimes one person can be in both audiences).
• Using Twitter to Stay in Touch at Connect gives a nice little rundown plus one use for the technology: keeping in touch during conferences.
• Transparent Real Estate has more Twitter for Conferences information.

If you’re interested in conference use of Twitter specifically you might also enjoy reading an early post on this blog about getting the most out of conferences.

Amplifying your message: Twitter for Broadcasting

Then there’s Twitter for communicating between people in general. Both as a broadcast medium (”hey check out my new blog post”) and as a conversational medium (”Great to hear about your new gig! How’d you get it?”). Below are a few links about using Twitter for broadcast-style communication.

• One of the powerful social customs of the twitter community is the “retweet.” When you say something others find useful they will repeat it–increasing the reach of your message. Here are four tips to send links out via Twitter that help with retweeting.
• Once you get a group of people following your Twitter feed, perhaps Information Week’s suggestion for using it as a broadcast medium will be useful.
• Transparent RE puts forth a good summary of Twitter use for mainstream media as well as responding to some frequent complaints about Twitter.
• There are a variety of ways to automate your Twitter feed to broadcast blog posts etc. Brad Carol from Dakno provides a real world example of a point discussed by Jeff Turner at Blogger Connect NYC 2009: automation may not be so good for increasing your relevance with your audience.

If you think you might want to use Twitter primarily as a tool for communicating, try out the Twitter Tools for Communicating page. If you want to try something else, head to the Twitter for Trendwatching page or go to the main Twitter for Business page.

Feel free to use the comments to let me know about other good articles about communicating with Twitter.

Twitter for Trendwatching

People talk about all sorts of things on Twitter. If your business is closely aligned with a particular topic perhaps you can find others who are talking about it via Twitter. Or you could use various tools to just see what is currently buzzworthy on Twitter.

• One of the simple-but-powerful aspects of Twitter is the ability to quickly spread a message using the “retweet” feature. Jeremiah Owyang describes the feature as well as how you might factor it in to your chatter-watching activities.
• Jessica Swesey is using Twitter to listen to general chatter about the real estate market. From there she can get a sense of boots-on-the-ground activity in the Twittersphere (insert buzzword apology here).
• Joseph Ferrar gives us information on Twist, a buzz measurement tool.

If you’re looking for other ways to use Twitter you might enjoy the Twitter for Business main page.

Feel free to use the comments to let me know about other good articles about using Twitter for trendwatching.

Twitter for Everything Else

This is a resource containing links to articles about all sorts of things you might do with Twitter, that I haven’t included in other sections of the Twitter for Business resource.

• Find bargains on Twitter. You’ll never have to clip coupons again.
• A guy was arrested in Egypt during a protest, who was able to notify friends around the world and ultimately helped get him out jail.
• A laundry list of uses and examples can be found at Examples of Twitter Providing Business Benefits.
• Business benefits and basic usage suggestions are at Twitter: Where’s it @ for Business.
• Jessica Swesey lets us in on monetizing your Twitter account by selling it.
• Here’s a list of unusual uses for Twitter, including quitting smoking, reading books and watering your plants.
• Here’s a short blog post about how Twitter can be used to enhance education.
• Twitter can be used as an investment tool (includes great description of improving your personal status).
• Lance Armstrong used Twitter to try and get back his one-of-a-kind bicycle after it was stolen. No word on if it was successful or not.

If you’re looking for something more tangible to do with Twitter, try heading to the Twitter for Business page. If you’re looking for a reason to not use Twitter, the Twitter Naysaying page is your destination.

Feel free to use the comments to let me know what I missed.

Twitter Tools for Listening

One of the absolutely best things you can do with Twitter is listen. Even if you don’t ever say anything using the service, you can listen. In this post I’ve separated the tools out into two kinds of listening: General Listening and a specialized form of listening called reputation management.

Listening to Twitter for new trends and topics

I think pretty much any marketer (internet or traditional) will agree that knowing what everyone is talking about is useful. Usually you can use this information to try and position your product or service in relation to current events/trends/fads and so on. And the ability to position your offerings well is often the difference between success and failure in your marketing objectives.

Here are some tools to help you do some general listening and monitoring of the Twittersphere

• Set Up Twitter to come to you as an RSS Feed (via Sellsius)
• Summize is a tool to search the Twittersphere.
• A short review of Twittervision.
• Joel Burslem, the real estate internet marketing guru, pointed out the Twist trendwatching application.
• Conversations go both ways and you usually profit more by listening. Time to read Jeff Turner’s Active Rain post about TwitterLocal.
• What’s TwitterLocal you ask? Look no further than PR 2.0 post “Twitter Local Connects You to Local Voices.”
• Alan Wolk has outlined a simple method for using Twitter to create a customized live news feed.

Twitter Tools for Reputation Management

A specific kind of listening, referred to as reputation management, involves listening specifically to what others are saying about you and/or your brand or company. It’s important to listen to this specific kind of chatter because you want to know if people are satisfied with your work. Using reputation management tools on Twitter allows you to quickly take action when someone is having a bad time (and telling the world about it). Also, if people are very happy with your work and talking to the world about it you can thank them for spreading the word about your business. Here are some tools to help you with reputation management via Twitter:

• AgentGenius Lani Anglin-Rosales has an excellent roundup of 10 Twitter Tools for Managing Your Reputation.
• How much are people talking about you, your business or your topics? You can measure it: Measuring the conversation.
• Joel Burslem’s Using Twitter to Listen to your Customers reviews the excellent Reputation Management tool TweetScan. Includes examples.
• Tweetbeep is a tool for keeping tabs on the chatter. Read the TweetBeep review at Sellsius.
• Determine your social media relevance on Twitter by measuring click-through rate on your Tweets.

If you’re looking for more tools and ways to use Twitter check out the Twitter for Business page.

Feel free to use the comments to let me know what I missed.

Twitter Tools for Communicating

Twitter is, at its heart, a communication tool. You can use these tools to improve conference experiences, communicate with your team or your clients or with others who are interested in your business topic.

Some enterprises and corporations are beginning to explore using Twitter for internal group communication as well.

• If you need threaded conversations and private groups TwitterWorks, reviewed by AgentGenius, might be just the ticket.
• Here’s a quick review of GroupTweet (for mass twittering), TweetScan (Twitter search engine), Twubble (find more followers based on the followers you currently have), TwitterAnswers (ask and answer questions via Twitter) and Straw Poll (diversion poll).
• Encourage your blog audience to promote your posts via twitter with Twit This.
• As the Twitter style of communication starts to seep into corporate environments, Twhirl integrates with a self-hosted solution. Chris Brogan covers it.

If you’re looking for more tools and ways to use Twitter check out the Twitter for Business page.

Feel free to use the comments to let me know what I missed.

Twitter Naysaying

It can’t all be as good and fun and useful as people say. Twitter will not bring about world peace, solve global warming or any of those things. In the interest of providing some balanced discourse, here are some anti-Twitter posts.

• “I’m Over Twitter” by Misha Cornes brings up three significant shortcomings of Twitter. Her summation of Twitter should serve as a warning:
  

  Tweets, if you can consider them personal communications at all, are a declaration of existence rather than an invitation to engage in a conversation.

• Mark from Court’s Internet Marketing School explains why Twitter is Stupid. If you want to read just one post to dissuade you from using Twitter for marketing, this is the one.
• Jeff Brown over at the Bloodhound Blog considers Twitter not worth the effort.
• A. Grey’s ActiveRain posts about why Twitter is no good for Real Estate (i.e. Lead Generation).
• Andy Beard tells us that, for business, Twitter is unethical.
• Marc Davisson of 1000Watt Consulting considers the unvetted nature of Tweets in the journalism and business spheres to be troubling.
• Not strictly naysaying, but Why Twitter is Doomed to Fail certainly points out the big problem with Twitter: all the people using Twitter.
• Ray Wert posts on Jalopnik about why Twitter doesn’t have enough car buyers to warrant the attention of a Ford employee even during the auto bailout discussions etc. Also bemoans an echo-chamber effect surrounding Twitter.

So there you have it. If you aren’t fully dissuaded yet, head visit the Twitter for Business page and find out reasons why you might want to use Twitter as well as tools and examples.

Did someone else write a great article on why Twitter is an absolute waste of time? Let me know in the comments, please.

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