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Camp Twitter
After some initial skepticism, I've pitched my pup tent in the Twitter camp. If you don't know, Twitter is a free service that allows its users to send "updates" (or "tweets") via text posts of up to 140 characters to the Twitter site. Essentially, it's a conversation platform that asks the question: "What's up with you now?" Updates are displayed on the user's profile page and instantly delivered to other users who have signed up to receive them. Users can receive updates via the Twitter site, instant messaging, RSS, or in other ways. In blog-speak, it's called micro-blogging. Think of it as part Instant Messaging, and part water cooler chat: Essentially, it's a great way to keep connected to your contacts – business or otherwise – and it's also a way give your brand a human face. One of the best things about it is its low barrier of entry: In other words, if you're savvy enough to open this newsletter, you can access Twitter. There's been a lot written about how you can use Twitter here and here and elsewhere. One of the most comprehensive, however, appeared here. Twitter and marketing "can be condensed to the simple aim of tracking and directing attention," the post writes, because it "allows you to monitor how influencers think or feel...." As I write this, I'm a little reluctant to sing its praise as a marketing tool. The truth is, it's a lot more than that. If you approach it simply as another marketing channel -- as a way to simply drive traffic to your site -- then you're selling yourself (and your brand) short. For me, the real value of Twitter is with the mundane but critical stuff of the workaday life. When I was recently looking for a few marketers who could also write, I turned to Twitter. Another time, I got a pile of replies for the name of a DC hotel with a pool. And although I don't go to every trade show, I get an idea of what's happening at them via conference briefings streamed on Twitter. If you aren't on Twitter, start by signing up for an account and simply lurking and listening. You can follow MarketingProfs here.
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