Main Point of Twitter? Re-Tweeting.

Shoot. What’s the point of Twitter? I have caught myself numerous times at meetings, seminars, and in casual conversations not being able to answer that question.

It goes something like this:

“Uh, well I use it for information gathering and well… some people use it to keep up to date with friends.. Yah, ya know… You might as well use it for 30 days and just figure out what it can do for you.”

Stupid answer. I know.

I have been debating this for awhile now and have even written about the concept of Twitter not having much of a brand identity (which I will write about later). I was reading a new post from David Armano of Logic+Emotion called Tapping Twitter’s Viral Nature and he has been talking about the “viral value” of re-tweeting. The main point of Twitter? I would lke to think so.

What are the two main marketing tools small business owners would love to have working on their side: Word-of-Mouth Marketing and Viral Marketing. When you are using Twitter the most valuable tool you have are the friends/followers who will re-tweet the information you are sharing.This is viral marketing at it’s finest.

Why is Re-Tweeting So Important?

1. Your followers are sharing the information you provided with the people following them. Your Twitter name gets shared, as well as your information. The link you provided or little nugget of information will be shared numerous times between (potentially) hundreds of people.

2. In my opinion, Re-Tweeting is the backbone of Twitter. It gives users the ability to combine information, share and converse on topics with hundreds of people at once.

Is there business value to Re-Tweeting and Twitter?

The business value of Twitter and re-tweeting could be a completely seperate post. The biz value of Twitter is all dependent on your goals when using social media as a marketing solution.

Do you feel Twitter and re-tweeting has business value? Is sharing content of your blog and other related information give you a return on investment for your time spent sharing information?

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Personalize Your Twitter Page with BubbleTweet!

I love this tool. I love it so much… I just had to share about it. First, check out the link to my new BUBBLETWEET PAGE. Pretty cool huh? I probably could have spent more time recording a nice message but Jay-Z, a pen, and a pad is good enough for me.
Can you think of a better way to personalize your Twitter page even more than a customized background? YOU should go check out BubbleTweet and get one for your Twitter page.

How should you use it?

Give a personalized greeting. You have about a minute to record whatever response you would want a user to hear when entering your Twitter page.

What do I suggest?

My first suggestion is to NOT do what I did. I would doubt that the majority of your users (both potential and current) would enjoy watching you dance to Rhianna and Jay-Z. You never know though.

Thank them for coming by your page. Tell them a quick snippet about yourself. This is a great way to be transparent and show some social media authenticity!

UMBREL. ELLA.. ELLA… ELLA

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A Look Into The Brand of Twitter

Today’s guest post is by Jon Gatrell of Spatially Relevant

———————————————————

I’m always appreciative to meet good folks and develop relationships with folks online and this post is by way of one of those relationships. Kyle was kind enough to reciprocate with an opportunity to do a guest post in a response to my offer which started as part of my examining my Twitter network. Yup, Kyle and I met virtually by way of Twitter, so I think I have to make a confession based on the recent content around here. I use an Auto-DM capability which isn’t high on Kyle’s respectometer, but I do this for two reasons:

• I’m fairly confident folks just click and add with no additional context, so I want to engage them in some fashion so they can potentially start a conversation. Net-Net – It works.
• I travel a good deal, do a fairly large amount of tweeting from my phone, so I’m not always able to engage “in person” for a while and Auto-DM’s help validate that I’m “there”, if not in person.

The important point is I’m not trying to sell anything, just provide a snapshot into my views and to provide access to me while providing an introductory insight into my personality. In the end, I agree that it is about emotion, which is why Twitter is such an interesting topic for many.

Twitter is essentially an ecosystem with continuous growth and increasing capabilities which are core to the platform, but also market driven by the users. Twitter more so than any other online community does generate emotional responses from some and I think the graphics help do this while reinforcing the brand. That little bird is just something we all want to be free, open and happy. Right?

The Bird is the Brand

Brand is the culmination of many things, but it is often considered what is conjured up in your mind when you think about a brand. For Twitter, at least for me, it is the bird. I suspect I’m not alone and that this imagery is intentional. When you think of twitter there are probably 3 images you think of and probably in this order, depending on when you started using twitter:

• The Bird
• The Whale
• The Robot – I think the robot is gone, so here is what it looked like

While I cite three different images, the common theme in all of these images is a bird. Twitter has from the beginning focused on delivering a simplified user interface and a single visual. The bird has become so integrated that the developer community has embrace iterations of the bird. Magpie (arrgh), Tweetlater, Twitterfeed, Twittad and Qwitter all have integrated a bird into their core visuals and UI. You go to these sites and the first thing you know is they do something for Twitter, you don’t even need to read a thing. Each of these platforms and their use of birds are riding the brand tails of Twitter and the promise of Twitter.

At some point in time, Ev and folks made a conscious decision: Develop a single creative which can represent the community and integrate it throughout the user/community experience. This isn’t an accident. Creative represents a key brand element that if contemplated as part of the original brand roll out and subsequent activities can drive increased visibility of the brand and develop a promise visually. While I don’t know what the official brand promise is for Twitter, I will take a guess based on what I think of:

• Quick, easy and simple – “Effortless enagement, like a bird in flight”
• We try real hard – “look our birds are trying to pick up a whale”We are different – “I know that teal/weird blue is odd, but the bird looks better in this color and we respect our bird”
• We are everywhere – web, SMS, mobile apps. “No matter where you go you can see/hear a bird”
• We are open and free – API and dev community. “When was the last time a caged bird sang?”

Brand and creative go hand and hand, so as you look to develop a brand, you also need to put together a strategic creative roadmap/plan.

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Social Media Marketing is about Emotion not Automation

Doug Karr at the Marketing Tech Blog has a post this morning called You Know Your a Smippy When…

Before we get started into the Smippy world. I’ve known Doug for quite awhile and would count him as THE one that helped me get into social media specifically blogging. I pretty much take everything Doug says as fact and trust his judgment without fault. He is def. one of my SM mentors.

Part of his post is a rebuttal against my Twitter Auto DM Petition.

Now… I am not going to take offense to the Smippy comment. I actually think it is pretty hilarious. The beauty of social media is that you can freely express your opinions and other people have the right to disagree.

There is one thing I am NOT against and that is social media marketing. My company’s future is built off the concept that you can use social media for brand exposure, as well as, increased sales. Though I think there is a fine line with taking a marketing medium and bastardizing it by setting up direct responses without any regards to the person on the other end.

I’m going to cite an article by Seth Godin called  The Rapid Growth (and destruction) and Growth of Marketing.

Social media, it turns out, isn’t about aggregating audiences so you can yell at them about the junk you want to sell. Social media, in fact, is a basic human need, revealed digitally online. We want to be connected, to make a difference, to matter, to be missed. We want to belong, and yes, we want to be led.

The business owners and marketers that were focused in mass marketing in the past try to systematize processes, “How can we take this tool and automate it to get the most BANG for the BUCK?” When you use Twitter Auto DMs you are not respecting the fact that I chose to follow you. I don’t want to know about your new e-book. I will find it on my own if you were that compelling to follow in the first place.

Any product that automates social media tools is slowly sucking the personality out of your brand (personal or corporate). You cannot try and automate a tool that is rooted in permission based marketing.

If you aren’t taking the time to personally thank people for following you…

Aren’t you just collecting another mailing list?

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My Twitter Auto DM Petition. Sign up!

I am not a huge fan of Auto DMs. To be honest with you I hate them. There are a few times when Auto DMs on Twitter should be used but most of the time the answer is no. I wanted to start a Twitter Auto DM petition.

Reasons Why You Would Sign

1. You find Auto DMs completely void of personality.

2. You find Auto DMs are not genuine.

3. You just dislike Auto DMs in general.

Sign below in the comment form if you dislike Auto DMs. Steal the logo and put it on your page. Spread the wealth. Spread the info.

Or if you completely disagree with what WE are doing..

That works too.

Sign below in the comment form.

Why I Hate Twitter Auto-Response And Why You Should Too.

I am fairly new at using Twitter. The concept and usefulness of the tool is by far one of the best on the web. I have been noticing an increasing trend in something I find completely worthless: Auto-Response. Whether you are using an @reply or a DM auto response I would prefer not to get them in my Inbox.

The beauty of social media is that (when used right) it turns into a BRILLIANT permission based marketing tool. Do you know what Auto-Response tools bring to social media? Nothing. An Auto-Response tool is simple a selfish method of promoting yourself or saving YOURSELF time. Notice a trend? Yourself.

I don’t care how much time you save using an AR tool. I wasted MY time reading your anti-relationship building response tool.

I don’t have much patience for someone who cannot take the time to type out a DM or a @reply. They are either:

A) Just using twitter as a marketing tool and don’t care about anything else.
B) They are extremely busy and wont be using Twitter much anyway.

Both reasons are enough for me to unfollow someone who uses an automated response system. Social Media is built on authentic communication and relationship building. If you want to break that down…Break it down somewhere else.

If you want to send me an auto-response be prepared to find my name in your Qwitter box shortly afterwards.

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What Twitter Needs To Go Mainstream

Image via CrunchBaseI can never explain it and I am always asked.

Public: “What is Twatter? Wait. Is it Twittered. You sure? No.. it must be Tweaker.”

Me: “You mean Twitter? Oh it’s just a micro-blogging network where you post information and updates in 140 characters or less.”

Public: “……… So… It’s like a Facebook Status Update”

Me: “Kind of but people use it for all types of learning, sharing, and development.”

Public: “… I don’t want to know or let people know I am taking a shower, seeing a movie, or eating corn puffs.”

Me: “It’s not really….. just try it. If you can’t figure it out for yourself in 30 days …move on.”

This is an example of conversations I have on a daily basis about the use of Twitter and the definition of this awesome tool.

This problem might be a good thing for the current users of Twitter who would rather not have to deal with millions of people. On the other hand, the developers of Twitter have a slight problem with identity that needs resolved (in my humble opinion).

You cannot achieve growth without some semblance of an identity, a universal definition of the tool. Is this right? Are we seeing a shift from a centralized definition of the tool to a massive brand with hundreds or thousands of identities and definitions? Is this a good thing for growth?

The question I have is this:

Do you think the slow mainstream adoption of Twitter is the direct result of our inability to truly define the tool?

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The Beauty of Viral and FriendFeed

I am a frequent follower of Mike Fruchter’s Shares on Google Reader via his FriendFeed stream. I am inaudated hourly with Mike’s recent blog favorites. He shared a blog post today called: There is a Down Side To Viral Marketing from the people at the Social Marketing Journal. The central concept of the post: you can’t control viral marketing. If you try to control it you fail. If you ignore it, you fail.

The Three Down Sides of Viral Marketing according to the Social Marketing Journal:

1. Viral Marketing is Hit and Miss

2. Viral Marketing Has No Control Measure

3. Viral Marketing Can Go Negative

After reading the post, I found myself thinking about the concept of viral marketing and conversations on FriendFeed. Usually the conversation wildfire is centered around politics (most recently a convo started by Alex Scoble around 9/11.. I think we are approaching 60 some comments?). There is a massive viral opportunity on FriendFeed for the Tech community to embrace. The best example I have of a viral campaign in the works is my post recently on FriendFeed regarding the new social media site, Yokway.

I had received an email from Stephan Osmont at Yokway inviting me to try out the service. I had no idea who he was or how he had my email. I decided to post to FriendFeed to ask if anyone had heard of Yokway. Here is what happened.

Louis Gray picked up the conversation (after making fun of me, mind you) and eventually Stephan from Yokway had joined the conversation. A simple question had turned into a firestorm of debate over social media services. With Stephan defending the Yokway…. way.

What would have happened if Stephan had not joined the conversation? I probably would have still checked out the site (thanks to Louis) but the rest of the group involved in the conversation would have been left with questions.

Whether we are talking about FriendFeed, Twitter, Rejaw, Strands, Plaxo, LinkedIn, or Facebook, (not to mention the 30000 other networks in existance) it is important to remember to be IN the conversation. If your demographic frequents any social network GET INVOLVED. This might mean hiring a part time employee or spending some extra time yourself. SUCK IT UP. This is not something to be ignored and as we approach the next couple of years, it will become an even stronger force.

Honestly, you don’t have to suck it up. Maybe I was a little harsh? You could keep on ignoring the conversations and drive your brand into the ground. Your choice.

I’ll buy you a shovel but don’t expect me to help you dig.

Taking Advantage of Twitter and NOT Getting Arrested

Hat tip to Shel Israel on his post, 7 New Tips for New Twitter Users

Social Media can be cumbersome for some to understand. Most of the questions center around large sites like Facebook, Myspace, or LinkedIn (especially in my small business environment). Recently, there has been an increase in questions regarding Twitter. Most of them center around, “What the hell is the purpose of Twitter?” or “I just don’t understand why I would want to know what you are thinking 24 hours a day.” OR “Why waste my time? Does it help my business?”

It took me awhile to finally understand the importance of Twitter. Other than the daily updates from friends and business acquaintances, I started seeing importance in community development. After using the tool over a couple of months I started forming relationships with the people I was following. I would be driving down the road and get an update on where someone was nearby. I’d stop. Talk. Relationship strengthened.

For those of you wanting to get into the Twitterific world, or what Shel refers to as Twitterville, here are a few steps you can take to get acquainted!

My opinion of Shel’s Most Important Twitter Guidelines:

3. Celebrities don’t count. You can always start by getting followed by a few celebrity Tweeters like Scoble, Calacanis and Loic. But they give you no credibility at all because they simply follow everyone. Their purpose is to be a new media star and it works well for them.

5.Have favorites. When you are new to Twitterville, you may not even notice that little star icon to the right of each tweet. You can use it to make that post a “favorite.” ….. It shows your sense of humor and your passion points.

6. Take your time. Twitterville works like any other neighborhood. People start by chatting about weather, lunch–silly little things. Sometimes the conversation goes nowhere, tapering off into cyberspace. Other times, the conversation deepens. It evolves into a real friendship or a business opportunity.

My 3 Tips of Using Twitter

1. Mix Personal and Business: The Social Media world is huge on the concept of being authentic on the Internet, whether it is blogging or having a profile in a social media community. Twitter is a form of micro-blogging and it deserves the same respect. When I decide to follow you or vice-versa I expect meaningful content. I don’t need to read a feed about your latest sales pitch. If I wanted sold I would walk into a Cutco Knife Convention. People want some authentic. They want to feel the personal side and the professional side. “Oh he has a business and a dog! That’s nice.”

2. Tweet and Meet. I take advantage of using twitter as a social stream and a information stream. I have met a couple of people off of twitter. I met BradJWard yesterday at Paradise Cafe! When you combing the online and off-line you gain an even HIGHER rate of relationship growth. I had never met Brad but felt like I knew him.

3. Relationship Building Leads to Business: In every aspect of business networking, a strong relationship usually leads to referrals and project collaboration. Why not use Twitter as a one of the relationship building tools? Start to follow your friends and you will run into like minded people.

Shel is a freaking genius, read the rest of his post for the rest of the 7 tips.