Welcome
Twitter as an effective
marketing tool
Our aim today…
• For you to leave today with more confidence to use Twitter
as an effective marketing tool…
• And for those yet to use Twitter, to be convinced that it’s a
good thing to do!
What we’ll cover…
• Twitter in numbers
• Setting up on Twitter
• Twitter as a marketing tool
• Creating meaningful content
• Basic dos and don’ts
• To create an account and profile
• To create and send a tweet for the first timers!
Do you know how many followers…
- and their reach?
• One Direction
• Lady Gaga
• Visit Isles of Scilly
• Your business?
Twitter – numbers and facts that matter
• Launched in 2006
• 500 million Twitter accounts; 288 million active users
• 44% growth in Twitter from June 2012 to March 2013
• Twitter’s fastest growing age demographic is 55 to 64 year olds
• 21% of the world’s internet population use Twitter every month
• 53% of Twitter users don’t post - but they do listen, watch and click
• 53% of users are female
Setting up a Twitter account
• Go to Twitter.com – simply follow the steps!
• Make sure the @Account_Name is right for your
business!
• Complete the profile (and review after a few weeks)
• Choose a relevant background photo
• Choose the settings that work for you
Useful symbols / things to know
• 140 characters in total – less with a link!
• Hashtags (#)
• #ff #tbt
• DM
• Starting a tweet with an @ and using a “.”
• Favouriting / starring
• Deleting a tweet…
• Re-tweeting – ultimate goal!
Twitter - useful marketing tool or idle chat?
Twitter – useful marketing tool!
• Twitter is a means to get instant public messages out to your audience
• Important platform for online conversation
• Your followers learn something of you and you can learn something about
them. Network!
• Check for the negative comments as well as positive…. You need to know
• Use to support your marketing strategy!
Here’s the proof…
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70% of small businesses are on Twitter
85% of followers feel more connected with a small business after following them
Twitter users are 3 times more likely to follow brands than Facebook users
51% of active Twitter users follow companies, brands or products on social
networks
42% of Twitter users learn about products and services via Twitter
67% of Twitter users are far more likely to buy from the brands they follow on
Twitter
37% of Twitter users will purchase from a brand they follow
90% of users say they follow businesses on Twitter to get discounts and promos
Twitter users frequently exchange info about products and services
What to post? Ideas for content…
What to post – some ideas for content…
• News about your company or products / service
• Promotions and sales offers
• Links to insights
• to blogs, Facebook, photos, articles, websites
• Events and achievements
• Community stuff, your staff, general points of interest
• Influential posts; industry news/research
Why use Twitter in business?
• Create value for your customers
• Get your news and information out fast
• Share useful information; re-tweet; be helpful!
• Watch your following grow
• FANTASTIC, FLEXIBLE tool for SMEs – get the word out, network with
colleagues, find new customers, win new business
There is a direct correlation between
number of tweets and number of followers
It’s about talking (not selling!) to your (prospective) customers
But… don’t over do it!
Three elements of the Tweet
• Headline – 140 characters to tempt the reader to click the link or retweet. Engage!
• Links – Always try to include a link (photos / blog / industry research
and insight etc) – take your followers on a journey
• Hashtags – drive those tweets into Twitter searches and lists that are
relevant
Compose your own tweet…..
• 10 minutes
• Share
Rules of engagement…
• Dos?
• Don’ts?
Rules of engagement
• Do your research – look at what
others are doing!
• Do plan your approach
• Do keep tweets conversational –
don’t shout!
• Do keep it professional
• Do give your brand a personality
and voice - it will make the
difference!
• Do take time to do about 15-20
minutes a day for social media
• Do track results
• Don’t go for the hard sell
• Don’t use it as a vehicle to compete
or bad-mouth
• Don’t mislead
• Don’t over-do the personal…there’s
a thin line
• Don’t over-tweet
• Don’t under-tweet!
• Don’t have a race for followers –
meaningful content counts more
than # tweets
• Don’t take it or leave it
Which one - or both?
Hootsuite and Tweetdeck
• Useful for managing Twitter accounts
• Useful for research and analytics
To recap…
• How many characters per tweet?
• There is a direct correlation between what and what?
• What % of Twitter users will purchase from a brand they follow?
• What are the 3 elements of a tweet?
• Five content ideas?
Have we achieved our aim?
• Are you more confident about using Twitter as an effective
marketing tool?
• And for those yet to use Twitter, are you convinced that it’s a
good thing to do?
Further reading and references
• www.socialmediatoday.com
• www.about.com
• www.jeffbullas.com
• www.mashable.com
• @TwitterUKI_SME
• Tweetdeck / Hootsuite
• Google search engine!!
Thank you!