Andy Beal
Founder of Trackur.com, author of "Radically Transparent," editor of MarketingPilgrim.com, and marketing consultant
Followers: > 10,000
Tweets: > 11,000
Can you give a specific example of how Twitter has helped you do your job or better understand digital?
Beal: "It's extremely valuable for market research. I can float an idea at 10 a.m., and by the end of the day have enough feedback to [take] action on. Of course, you have to filter the noise from the signal, but if you can build a following of at least 1,000, you can get enough feedback on your ideas -- good or bad.
Who do you follow on Twitter?
Beal: "I would say that following @MattCutts is extremely valuable. As one of Google's top engineers, you not only get to connect with him, but he's not afraid to share his thoughts and opinions on other companies' initiatives. If you have any interest in the search space, you should be following Matt."
Tamera Kremer
Chief strategist, Wildfire Strategic Marketing
Followers: > 2,200
Tweets: > 9,000
Who do you follow on Twitter?
Kremer: "One of my favorite marketing people to follow on Twitter is Kate Trgovac. I consistently find insight into the latest research and trends in digital communications through her feed."
Why do you use Twitter?
Kremer: "I use Twitter to keep on top of the hot topics of the day and make meaningful personal and professional connections with a diverse group of people. I also find it useful for research on usage statistics and trending topics in social media that my network deems worthwhile to share."
Marshall Sponder
Founder of Webmetricsguru.com
Followers: > 1,700
Tweets: > 3,900
Who do you follow on Twitter?
Sponder: "I follow Seth Godin, David Armano, Michael Arrington, Loic Le Meur."
Can you give a specific example of how Twitter has helped you do your job or better understand digital?
Sponder: "In some cases, Twitter has helped me meet people nearby who are at the same event or location as I am. In other cases, Twitter has helped me know about interesting events or blog posts that others have read that are not in my RSS feed. In yet another way, some people communicate with me via direct messaging on Twitter, and they don't send email, normally."
And lest you think that Twitter is all business, here's just one of the many fun marketing-related distractions that you can use to bring a little humor to a stressful day. Hat tip to Tara Lamberson, VP of marketing and strategy at MindComet, who turned me on to this Twitter account when she posted it in her Facebook feed -- now that's social media.
Things Marketing People Love
Edited by Heron Preston
Followers: > 800
Tweets: < 100
Why do you use Twitter?
Heron: "I use it to make my job easier with TMPL. I think people really get into it because it's funny, and I made it easy for them to be involved. I acknowledge every single person that contributes by giving them credit both on Twitter and on the blog. It's also great because once they tweet, their friends re-tweet, and so on. It's a great marketing tool to get a bunch of people to see something, in just a couple of minutes. The saying used to be "overnight," but now with Twitter, it can happen in a matter of minutes. The idea has 'legs,' it can go forever... Working in the industry, I notice that marketing people love to make fun of marketing. It's a very cutthroat and competitive industry. I knew a blog making fun of it all would be a great outlet for people in the industry, and I made Twitter an integral part of the program, a tool they love to use.
Can you give a specific example of how Twitter has helped TMPL?
Heron: "Well, I noticed that it's a community effort. It's a give-and-take system. People have to be inspired enough to want to share it with their friends, and then their friends have to be inspired as well to want to share it. I felt the single topic was so right on, that all I had to do was simply seed the blog with only two friends! Those two friends tweeted it, and then their followers did it, and it just started to grow. I can remember hitting refresh constantly to watch my followers grow the day I started it. Twitter supports peer-to-peer conversation, and it's that type of conversation I truly care most about, because it spreads like a wild fire! I think working in digital is a great place to experiment with an idea. You can get feedback instantly. That is the only reason I decided to keep up the blog -- because people kept tweeting about it."
<< Previous page
Michael Estrin is a freelance writer.
On Twitter? Follow iMedia at @iMediaTweet.
