SociaLight Media Blog

Twitter Update

On Friday, the People Search funtion of Twitter was removed, and I can’t imagine why.  It was one of Twitter’s core tools, how else are you supposed to find people? Now, the only ways to find new people are to go through everyone who your friends are following or to do a regular search and scroll through to find the actual person’s Twitter account.

Not really sure why they would purchase Summize to enhance their in-tweet search functionality earlier this year, only to eliminate a possibly more important function of actually connecting with other people. It is a social network for pete’s sake.

And there you have it. Up until now, the most effective use of Twitter for business has been as a customer service quality control (hats tipped to Comcast, Zappos, etc.).  Here is a great example of a (huge) company listening to Twitterers’ tweets - Johnson & Johnson - about a new ad campaign and shutting it down in a matter of 48 hours.

Johnson & Johnson was attempting to build a Motrin campaign around a shared experience among women: childbearing and raising, and the pain it brings.  Apparently, J&J played the angle that women treat their young as fashion accessories, and that having a baby slung across their shoulder makes them look like an “official mom.” What’s interesting is that, without a doubt, J&J did some serious consumer research to arrive at these conclusions about women’s motives; why, then, did it encounter such swift and harsh recoil from that very market segment? Perhaps because there are things that may be true, but for which people don’t want to be glorified for.  I’m not saying that all, or even most, women feel that their children give them some clout in whatever community they belong to, but some must, or J&J wouldn’t have built an entire ad campaign around it.

What’s great about social media, and in this case Twitter, is that all of these people who felt attacked, called out, or insulted, were able to speak out, globally, and J&J listened.  Mommy Twitterers with thousands of followers were outraged and outspoken about the Motrin ads, and some even went cross-social-media and published YouTube videos (this one is called Motrin Ad Makes Moms Mad - 21k views)

This is so great; genuine conversation between Brand and Consumer. This was what my first ever post was about. Two-way communication. The ad industry is no longer about push, push, push. Consumers can talk internationally, instantaneously and companies are actually listening and acting.  Is it weird that this story makes me feel warm and fuzzy?

It’s everywhere - investors, co-workers, family, and friends yelling “Recession!” from the rooftops.  Yes, America is in a recession.  By definition a recession is two consecutive quarters of decreasing GDP, and we’ve had nine of them since World War II (not including the Great Depression).  If we’re experiencing these troubled times roughly once every six years, shouldn’t we be used to them by now? Shouldn’t we know how to handle them?  Some businesses do - those who realize that growth occurs during recessions, and, if they capitalize on that fact, they come out much better than they were at the onset.

It’s true that the proverbial corporate belt buckle needs tightening during harsh economic times, but to look immediately at cutting your advertising and marketing budget would be a big mistake.  Consider boosting efficiency, adjusting operating hours, reducing overhead, and streamlining production and operation, which are all much more beneficial for most companies than biting the hand that feeds you: your ad spending (the thing that drives all of your sales…).  In this economic climate, online ad spending is especially important because it’s so targeted and efficient, and competition is less fierce than in conventional media.

In a basic marketing class, you learn that your advertising budget gets you a piece of the pie in the consumer environment - there are many companies putting a lot of money into grabbing a hold of the customer’s attention.  During a recession, when many companies pull back their advertising, this increases your voice and the effect of your ad money; and if you increase your ad budget, it gives you an even more powerful voice.

“History also reveals that businesses that recognized the fact that growth does occur during recessions and took advantage of it, were able to make gains in their market share despite economic hard times. With media rates softening and competitors sitting tight and cutting their marketing budgets, an aggressive business can experience great strides in a recession.” -Articles in the Spokane Journal of Business

Additionally, the National Retail Federation projects that overall retail sales are expected to grow 2.2% as the holidays approach, as compared to the 12% projected for online growth.  Mr. Silverman, of Deliotte’s annual holiday survey, advises that “Retailers should be viewing [online investments] as a way to capture lost sales and prevent them from going to a competitor.  I’m not going to say the growth in online is all additive — a lot of it is shift. However, if you haven’t been investing in your online store, that shift may not go to you, it may go to a competitor.”

I’ve added a couple additional notes to Ed Clark’s basic tips for small- to medium-sized businesses during recessionary times:

1. Don’t cut your ad budget; increase it. Let your competitors cut ad spending (and their market share).
2. Shift some ad spending from conventional to online - especially approaching the holiday season.
3. Your customers are nervous about spending; adjust your marketing campaign to assuage them.
4. Develop your web presence quickly - if you sell a product online, try to offer free shipping.
5. Lower rates and ad promos from hurting conventional media companies provide great opportunity.
6. Build brand awareness by sponsoring events - this is relatively cheap and definitely effective.
7. Promote online; sponsored events (above) are extremely easy to promote online through social media.
8. Know who your loyal customers are and let them know what you have to offer.
9. Step up public relations efforts. Developing your offline presence is still just as important.
10. Don’t “cheapen” your advertising by trying to save on creative or production costs. Your customers will notice and worry about quality. This is a time to stress quality and value.

What are some steps the company you own or work for is taking during this difficult economic climate? What are some steps you are taking as a consumer?

There are virtually no ways to misuse Twitter for personal use. Anyone who doesn’t like how you’re using it can just stop “following” you - so ignore them.  However, there are a whole slew of ways to misuse Twitter for businesses, both small and large.  Setting up a Twitter account for your business and then never tweeting is one. So is only tweeting about your brand and products.

Social media is about creating conversation with your consumers; consumers won’t follow your tweets if they are simply advertisments. One of the great tips that I’ve read from Chris Brogan (a social media superstar) is to ignore the famous Twitter prompt “What are you doing?” and instead answer “What has your attention?”  This promotes the sharing of relevant information among a community of brands, customers, users, etc. and can establish your company (or you, personally) as an authority in a field. Share articles, news, funny and interesting happenings that are related to your business - people will listen! Start “following” people that are hubs (people with lots of followers) to get your messages out to the largest array of people.

Comment on others’ tweets by using the @username function, use 1-to-1 messaging feature, share “Tiny URLs” with news about your industry, initiate polls and get opinions, and use the Twitter Search to keep tabs on people’s tweets about your industry and your company.  These are some of the fundamental ways to use Twitter correctly, and when I meet with clients to discuss the art of microblogging and Twitter, they always hit the ground running!  How do you Twitter? Tell us at blog.socialightmedia.com