Twitter for Business - Florida Direct Marketing Association

www.healthofyourbusiness.comJeff Yaniga

Using Twitter for BusinessUsing Twitter for Business

Florida Direct Marketing Association

May 21, 2009

Jeff YanigaPitney Bowes Management Services

www.healthofyourbusiness.com


By the end of this session…

I. Navigate TwitterII. Speak “Twitter”III. Learn how the big brands are using TwitterIV. Find Tweeple locally – friends, prospects,

customers and competitorsV. Have ideas for things to postVI. Know some of the do’s and don’ts VII. Have an outline for a daily “Twitter” Plan


What is Twitter?

I. It’s a one way mirror.II. Networking Event that you can attend while

wearing your Snuggie. III. Beachcombing for those one or two really

good shells.IV. Your own personal “I Have A Dream”

speech. V. A place to sell your Sham Wow, your Slap

Chop or your Scooter Chair. VI. A newspaper filled with only the articles you

like.




“Cisco just offered me a job! Now I have to weigh the utility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commute to San Jose and hating the work.”

FRIENDLY REMINDER


“Who is the hiring manager? I’m sure they would love to know that you will hate the work. We here at Cisco are versed in the web.”

FRIENDLY REMINDER


Navigating Twitter

• Five Things You Need to Know:– How to sign up– How to set up your account – minimum– How to follow others– How to reply to others– How to post

• BONUS: How to shorten URL’s to make them more Twitter friendly.


How to sign up: Start at www.twitter.com








How to set up account: Minimum








Following Others on Twitter

• When you follow others, their posts are fed to your Twitter home page.

• You can choose to “Un-Follow” at any time.

• Many feel it is good form to automatically follow those who follow you. (Many don’t)

• EDITORIAL: If someone follows you, check out their “voice” and then decide.

• The mechanics of “following” and “reply”:




Back to Business…..the Reply


Starting Conversations


Building rapport …


Building rapport …




RT @ChuckColton “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” (1820)

FRIENDLY REMINDER


The ReTweet – a.k.a. RT

• Once you follow others, you will get a steady stream of relevant feeds.

• Selectively “ReTweet” relevant content. • Copy and Paste the post you like into your

Update box along with the letters RT and @ORIGINALPOSTER


The “ReTweet”


Finding People to Follow


Finding People to Follow


Case Studies

Gartner Research• Direct – the company uses Twitter as a

Marketing or Public Relations channel.

• Indirect – employees post as individuals, the company reaps the “benefit”.

• Internal – employees communicate with each other on internal projects.

• Inbound Signaling – Savvy companies use Twitter signals to get early feedback about issues and ideas.


Case Studies

• Starbucks• Carnival Cruise• Comcast• Oprah


Carnival Cruise

• Method: Direct, Internal Signaling• Tweets: Customer Service,

Announcement, Crisis Management. (Imagine running Cruise site during H1N1.)

• Personality: Fun and on-brand.• Staffed by: Social Media Strategist


Carnival Cruise

• Metrics: Referrals, Conversions• Other Social Media Channels: Forums,

Blogs, FaceBook, You Tube Channel, etc.• Twitter Followers – January 2009: 691• Twitter Followers – May 2009: 5,925


Converse with customers … and sell


Communications


Separate signal from noise


Starbucks

• Method: Direct, Internal Signaling• Tweets: Fire fighting, problem solving,

announcements, idea collection

• Personality: Attentive, caffeinated. • Staffed by*: Former Barista, Brad Nelson• Origin: My Starbucks Idea• Twitter Followers – January 2009: 30,270• Twitter Followers – May 2009: 181,766


Idea Collection


Communications


15 Minutes Per Day - Checklist

I. Take a genuine interest in others by reading their feeds, looking at their websites and praising publicly. Criticize privately.

II. Virtual Coffee: Twitter Search your competition for ideas at the start of every day. Follow if available.

III. Beat the Lunch Coma. Twitter Search your 80 / 20 Customers (or Customer’s Industry) EVERY DAY at noon. Follow if available.

IV. Every time you search via Google, search via Twitter. Tweet questions if Twitter search yield results.


15 Minutes Per Day - Checklist

V. Find your related Association on Twitter and spend five minutes per day reading posts and articles.

VI. Find Associations related to your customers and follow them.

VII. READ YOUR TWITTER FEED. You have now taken the time to follow others for good reasons. Spend time every day reading what they post and commenting when you have something relevant to add.


Thank You!Thank You!

• Interested in an “Advanced Twitter for Business” Workshop? Email me at [email protected]

• There’s much more to Pitney Bowes Management Services than you think. Check out our website at: www.healthofyourbusiness.com

• Follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/myworkaccount
