1800 Abbot Kinney Blvd. Suite E | Venice, CA 90291 | (310)-482-3750 | www.bigMETHOD.com

Using Twitter to Market Your BusinessFebruary 2nd, 2009

Index

• What is Twitter? Pg. 3• Why use Twitter? Pg. 6• Who uses Twitter? Pg. 9• How Twitter Works Pg. 13• When do we tweet? Pg. 19• What do we tweet? Pg. 21• How do we engage users? Pg. 23• Mobile phone setup Pg. 30• bigMETHOD’s Twitter Services Pg. 34• Where do we begin? Pg. 36

WHAT IS TWITTER?

What is Twitter?

• Twitter describes itself as:– Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers

to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?

• Wikipedia defines as:– Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service, that

allows its users to send and read other users' updates (otherwise known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length.

– Updates are displayed on the user's profile page and delivered to other users who have signed up to receive them. The sender can restrict delivery to those in his or her circle of friends (delivery to everyone being the default).

What is Twitter?

• Twitter, like all social marketing, is Inbound Marketing; you are accessing users with their permission

• Twitter is:– Like a blog but limited to 140 characters per post (micro blogging)– Facebook Status / MySpace Mood but viewable to more users easier– A Giant Chatroom but you choose who to pay attention to in the conversation

(follow)– Instant Messaging but it is public and archived on the web

• 4.5 million active accounts• Over 750% growth in 2008• Over 14 million visitors a day

WHY USE TWITTER?

Why use Twitter?

• Twitter is a great way stay in touch with users who care about what you have to say

• Users use Twitter to stay on top of what a particular person or company is up to by “following” their “tweets”.

• So basically:– You post little 140 character tweets– Your tweets get cataloged on your Twitter profile page– Users follow your profile to stay informed as to what you are doing via

their Twitter home page that logs the tweets of the people and companies they choose to follow

– Users can also choose to receive the tweets of people and companies they really care about via text message on their mobile devices

Why use Twitter?

• Twitter aids as a new traffic funnel to your properties and web content – Facebook page– YouTube channel– MySpace profile– Press releases– Relevant web and blog posts of note– Your official website

• Greater distribution you can track & analyze– Followers – raw, first level distribution power– Twitter Grade – shows followers and their influence– @Replies – measure of engagement with your Twitter

profile (branding)

• Show your audience that you fit within their lifestyle

WHO USES TWITTER?

Who uses Twitter?• Large Businesses such as Cisco Systems, Jet Blue, Sun Microsystems and Whole Foods Market use Twitter

to provide product or service information.• The Los Angeles Fire Department put the technology to use during the October 2007 California wildfires.• NASA used Twitter to break the news of the discovery of what appeared to be water ice on Mars by the

Phoenix Mars Lander. Other NASA projects, such as Space Shuttle missions and the International Space Station, also provide updates via Twitter.

• News outlets such as the BBC have also started using Twitter to disseminate breaking news or provide information feeds for sporting events.

• Irish personality Ray Foley uses Twitter as an accompaniment to his renowned blog.• Several 2008 U.S. presidential campaigns used Twitter as a publicity mechanism, including that of

Democratic Party nominee and eventual winner Barack Obama. The Nader/Gonzalez campaign updated their ballot access teams in real-time with Twitter and Google Maps. Twitter use increased 43% on election day.

• The Georgia Institute of Technology College of Computing is using Twitter to relay information to students.• The University of Texas at San Antonio College of Engineering is using Twitter to relay information to

students.• Activists used Twitter networks to co-ordinate street protests at the 2008 Republican Convention in

Minneapolis/St. Paul.• 10 Downing Street, the website of the British Prime Minister, has started using Twitter.• The use of Twitter by victims, bystanders, and the public to gather news and coordinate responses to the

November 2008 Mumbai siege lead CNN to call it "the day that social media appeared to come of age." • Darren Bousman and other people affiliated with Repo! The Genetic Opera use Twitter to expand their

marketing thanks to Lions Gate Entertainment's limited release of the movie.

Lots of fresh tweets!

Who uses Twitter?

Who uses Twitter?

HOW TWITTER WORKS

How Twitter Works

New tweet entered by Overdrive

How Twitter Works

New tweet appears at top of Overdrive’s twitter page

How Twitter Works

Harry can choose to have Overdrive tweets pushed to his mobile phone via text.

Tweet shows up on Harry’spersonal twitter home page because he follows Overdrive

How Twitter Works

• Networking: Follow Alerts

Harry gets “Follow” email alert that encourages him to follow the person who is following him

How Twitter Works

Harry can then choose to “follow” back and see who FuelforThoughtfollows and choose other’s he wants to follow, thereby “Making Friends.”

WHEN DO WE TWEET?

When do we tweet?

• At least 3 times per day– Fresh tweets maintain interest in your Twitter page and will give users

reason to follow your tweets

• With @replies in response to users tweeting about you– An important thing to

remember as you tweet

is that Twitter is a

discussion, NOT just a

broadcast

WHAT DO WE TWEET?

What do we tweet?

– Web site posts and features– MySpace and Facebook posts– YouTube/Video posts– News and press releases– Events and event coverage– Product posts– Flickr/Photo posts– Blog posts of note– Sales and promotions– Anything that is already public knowledge and web

content that would be of interest to your brands followers!

HOW DO WE ENGAGE USERS?

How do we engage users?

• Follow the users who are talking about us

How do we engage users?

• Best Practices– Personally say "hi" to new followers through a direct

message– Let people know who they are talking to– Be human, have a sense of humor– Find users talking about your brand using Twitter

Search http://search.twitter.com/– Reply to other users using the @ sign– Empower the tweeter to make a difference - if they

can reply back to users with real assistance, even if is directing them to a 1-800-###-####, it is a great way to show why this profile has additional value.

How do we engage users?

• Follow the users who are talking about your brand– Twitter members will be very excited about being followed by you and

will follow you back.

• Follow the users who follow the profile – Your tweets show up on their personal Twitter home (follow) page

How do we engage users?

• Why follow the users who follow us?

How do we engage users?

• @replies– Messages sent BEGINNING with an @ sign in front of a

username designate them as a reply from one person on Twitter to another. You can reply publicly to any update on Twitter by using the @username format.

– Sending an @reply is a great way to communicate with other users on Twitter. An @reply is a Twitter update that is: • in reply to another update

• directed at a certain person

• designated by starting an update with @username

How do we engage users?

• Add a Twitter page to your website:

How do we engage users?

• Why add a Twitter page to your website?

MOBILE PHONE SETUP

Mobile phone setup

• Adding your phone to Twitter makes it easy to update your Twitter account whenever you'd like by sending a text message to:

– In the US: 40404

– In Canada: 21212

– In India: 5566511 (note: this short code is still in beta, so if you can't use it, try our international number below.)

– In all other countries: +44 762 4801423

• You can add your phone number to Twitter in your devices page:

– http://twitter.com/devices

Mobile phone setup

• To send and receive text messages to and from Twitter, you'll have to verify your number. To verify your phone, follow these steps:1. Log in to Twitter

2. Click Settings

3. Click Devices

4. Add your new number

5. Wait for the verification code to pop up

6. Text the verification code to Twitter at 40404 in the US, 21212 in Canada, or +44 7624 801423 in all other international locations.

*For all international numbers*

• Once your phone is verified, you'll be able to send your updates to +44 7624 801423 , but you will not be able to receive text updates from Twitter.

• Be sure to check with your provider to make sure text messages are covered in your phone's service plan; Twitter doesn't charge you but your carrier might, so make sure you double check to avoid a big bill.

• For UK residents: some carriers don't charge an international fee to send messages to the Twitter number within the UK, but other carriers do. T-Mobile, for example, considers +44 762 4801423 an international number and charge rates varying from .15 to .25 or more per message, even if you are using a carrier within the UK. Remember to check your phone plan for international rates; be aware that even in the UK, standard messaging rates vary by carrier, and do apply.

BIGMETHOD’S TWITTER SERVICES

bigMETHOD’s Twitter Services

• Twitter setup

• Twitter tweet publishing schedule

• Friends outreach (to build followers)

• Media integration consulting (mixing Twitter with other forms of media)

• Twitter monitoring (listen and report on what people are saying about your company and products)

NEXT STEPS: WHERE DO WE BEGIN?

Where do we begin?• You provide bigMETHOD with all marketing initiatives, press mentions,

and any and all online content

• bigMETHOD will submit tweet schedule & sample tweets for approval

• Upon approval bigMETHOD will post tweets

• bigMETHOD will monitor the conversation following each related user tweet and provide suggestions for responding to users, truly socializing within the space while continuing the conversation

• Follower/Following outreach

* Optional *• Add Twitter page to your website

1800 Abbot Kinney Blvd. Suite E | Venice, CA 90291 | (310)-482-3750 | www.bigMETHOD.com

Thanks!

Presentation brought to you by:Greg Cargill

greg@bigmethod.com(310) 482-3750