In Focus

5 Twitter marketing experiments

Blaise Nutter
Social Media Posted on May 20, 2009

Taking a chance

Has Twitter jumped the shark? If Oprah's doing it, and Ashton Kutcher can harass more than a million people into following him (certainly not me), then where is Twitter to grow? Like MySpace and Facebook, the young social networking tool has to grow up, move out of its parents' house, and probably engage in a little youthful experimentation.

Is Twitter for marketing? Bringing in customers? Developing a brand? Improving company performance in other ways? Since Twitter is such an open-ended tool, there's no obvious approach to using those 140 characters to benefit your business, but many companies have been willing to take a chance and see what it can deliver. That means trying new things and diving in without a life preserver.

Take a look at these five recent business experiments, each trying to find their way to Twittered glory, and see what's been working in the Twitterverse.

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Comments

Craig Peters
Craig Peters May 30, 2009 at 9:05 PM

"I think the subject of hacking Twitter is going to become a big issue as soon as some person/brand really big gets hacked"

It's happening NOW.

A high-profile global brand I work with has been hacked repeatedly over the past month.

Twitter's silence on the issue has been deafening.

I am beyond infuriated.

Blaise Nutter
Blaise Nutter May 27, 2009 at 3:17 PM

Craig, I think you make a great point about the possible security risks posed by Twitter. It's a very quick way for someone to steal your thunder and send out the WRONG message. I didn't hear much concern about it from the people I spoke with, but I think the subject of hacking Twitter is going to become a big issue as soon as some person/brand really big gets hacked. Then all the media hype will shift to security problems. Hopefully we'll be able to highlight some of those problems in a later article.

Blaise Nutter
Blaise Nutter May 27, 2009 at 3:13 PM

Thanks all for your kind words. And Mr. England, thanks for catching my misspelling of Stacy's name. The correction should be made shortly.

Craig Peters
Craig Peters May 27, 2009 at 2:36 PM

Twitter can potentially be a powerful marketing tool ... BUT ...

What happens when your Twitter account is repeatedly and systematically hacked?

Answer: Don't count on Twitter to act in a timely manner to correct the issue. Don't count on any explanations as to what's happening. Indeed, good luck getting any kind of a response from them in Internet time, much less Twitter time.

Meanwhile, as your marketing messages and materials are directing people to your Twitter account, watch your social media strategy crumble before your eyes.

And when the account that's hacked is tied to a global brand, brace yourself for all kinds of frustration -- not only from Twitter's lack of response, but also from people inside the brand organization asking:

"Why is this happening? Is THIS what social media is all about? Seriously? Is THIS what you're trying to sell as a cutting-edge marketing tactic?"

Twitter's value as a marketing tool is potentially quite significant ... but that signifcance vanishes to nearly nothing in the face of the above issues. Indeed, a potential asset can quickly become a significant liability.

And no, I'm not creating any sort of hypothetical: This exact situation is happening to me right now as I type this, and has been happening continually for the past month.

I'm posting this for two reasons: (1) Maybe this, and more posts like it, will help get some sort of a response from the people at Twitter, and (2) No one's talking about the flip side of the Twitter phenomenon and the reality of Twitter. Both sides need to be discussed.

linda ying
linda ying May 26, 2009 at 11:17 PM

Fantastic reading...very useful information. Thanx very much for sharing~

Linda Ying

@farewellcup

Brian England
Brian England May 26, 2009 at 3:00 AM

Good piece thanks - should be Stacy Gratz with HR Block, not Getz.

Gerlinde Ruescher
Gerlinde Ruescher May 23, 2009 at 4:15 AM

I have just started with Twitter and be serious exited if it really can do something for my business. I guess Twitter will be huge and as earlier you know what you do as better it is at the end.
this is our first video clip about our City Info Maps, have a look and share with me your thoughts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjBpp-cwAo4

Greg Padley
Greg Padley May 20, 2009 at 10:13 AM

Great piece Blaise, thanks! Great examples that inspire creative thinking...what more could you ask for? Keep up the good work.

Pandora Pang
Pandora Pang May 20, 2009 at 9:13 AM

Great information! I facilitated a CEO Connect&Learn Mastermind group gather yesterday and our speaker, Mirna Bard, spoke about the 3 Musts of Internet Marketing with participants sharing great stories and educating each other on the latest & greatest. This link is definitely a link I will forward to continue the conversation online. Thanks!

Pandora Pang
www.outsidethebox-solutions.com
www.allbusinessadvisors.com