marketing on twitter

I dont see enough value here for the large companies - small businesses might eek out some odd clients here and there, but significant traffic? - forget it.

Geez. With that kind of logic it's clear that you're not going to change your mind despite evidence to the contrary. As with all marketing test and measure. As others have tested and measured and you refuse to measure, there's not much point in continuing to defend your position really.

But in an effort to re-educate you, have a look at Dell and what they claim they make directly from their Twitter feed. I'd say they qualify as a "large" company. Wouldn't you?
 
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eventdomain

You do know that Dell is a multi-million profit company, established years before the web got invented (26 years old!). They got serious branding before most heard the word 'website' - so ofcourse they can make anything work. But a small biz dont have their cash, branding, exposure or resources to match them, yet everyone thinks its as simple as getting a Twitter account and you're off and running :D


But in an effort to re-educate you

Really,

Btw, I worked for one of the largest Marketing companies in the UK, as a Market Researcher. It was my job to sample, test various products/services and compile reports for national organisations including clients like: Taylor Neslon Sofres Marketing, Burger King and Tesco.

so I'll pass on your kind offer of the lesson if thats okay :)
 
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Take your point on Dell already having marketing, but your statement earlier was so broad ranging. Plus what "large" company wouldn't have other marketing place. So I feel your contradicting your own argument here.

It's this kind of broad ranging statement that I have a problem with.

A personal friend who runs a small tourism based business get's 30% of his business from his Twitter followers - validated independently.

As previously mentioned, using words like "Doesn't", "can't" "never" in a discussion leaves you open to be proved wrong.

Btw, I worked for one of the largest Marketing companies in the UK, as a Market Researcher. It was my job to sample, test various products/services and compile reports for national organisations including clients like: Taylor Neslon Sofres Marketing, Burger King and Tesco.

so I'll pass on your kind offer of the lesson if thats okay :)

So basically you were a mystery shopper...... [runs for cover].... ;-)

Well, without blowing my own trumpet, I have 15 years of real world experience in online marketing.

But I try and learn something new every day.

I don't think I know everything. But I believe I can learn from other people's experiences. Given what others have said on here about Twitter maybe you should do the same.
 
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unet

Free Member
Dec 14, 2010
479
87
London - Essex
I work with a developer on a new twitter product that helps to increase "followers" as well at sending a direct "tweet" when keywords are commented about. Twitter is a god marketing tool but your need some automation to fully harness its power

FREE trial for a couple of days and no payment taken or asked for.
might be worth a look. Its called Tweet buddy

http://www.tweetbuddy.com/free
 
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WirralPrinters

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Jan 27, 2011
256
40
Wirral
I work with a developer on a new twitter product that helps to increase "followers" as well at sending a direct "tweet" when keywords are commented about. Twitter is a god marketing tool but your need some automation to fully harness its power

FREE trial for a couple of days and no payment taken or asked for.
might be worth a look. Its called Tweet buddy

http://www.tweetbuddy.com/free

Hmm, very interesting.

I will get this but not for 3 weeks yet - I have to try and keep to some kind of budget each month :)

Thanks,
Mark.
 
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Jose Jimenez

Free Member
Jan 28, 2010
91
13
Hi eventdomain and I just wanted to add a few comments. I looked at your Twitter account and it didnt look as if there was any real strategy in place. I may be wrong of course! :) What were your objectives and what was your plan for meeting these objectives with regard to Twitter?

What I would say is that it takes time to build a social media profile and to build relationships especially which is ultimately what it is all about. You can do this in various ways. Ive seen lots of comments from people who don't believe in it and Im sure they dont after throwing themselves into it without a proper plan and sometimes they are stretching themselves by trying too many things (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) at the same time. As a business you need to decide which elements of social media you are going to choose taking into account the resources you have at your disposal or getting some resources in, in order to manage them if applicable.

There are lots of companies out there big and small who are making a success of Twitter. Are they lucky? No, they dedicate time to it and have a plan on how they are going to manage their profiles. Also, you need to regularly evaluate your efforts to see what is working and what isn't to adjust your plan accordingly. You need to look at competitors to see how they are managing their profiles. You may of course not have the time to do all this so it may be time to hire someone who does!
 
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D

Deleted member 73538

I've been very cynical about SM in general and Twitter in particular. I started a thread a while back asking what it could offer me and was unconvinced by what I read, but this thread has been much more thought provoking and the penny may have finally dropped!

Now I can see some practical opportunities. Thanks guys!
 
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eventdomain

if there was any real strategy in place

Hi, obviously my strategy was no different to others, and the main and only way to make Twitter appear to be working, is by inputting an insane amount of posts/tweets, thus making the account look full and interesting for others to follow.

This is very, perhaps too work-heavy for many to do - I've seen Twitter accounts with 1000 tweets plus, so I think the tweet work is being hired out.

Personally, I will never entertain the hiring of someone to make a bunch of tweets and I dont like automated tools bcos of their limitations - accuracy being one.

My strategy is one of dropping the odd post into an assumed, media-buzzed platform, in the hope someone visits my site's, and uses, buys advertising etc etc. Ofcourse expecting someone to act on such a limited thing as a glorified post on a media-hyped website - is too much to ask.

Considering the millions who use Twitter, I would have expected 1000's to have read my tweets, and at least a few hundred followers by now, but its not that easy. I assumed the more Tweets you have, the more you get - but this no way guarantees traffic to a website, never mind sales.

If Twitter IS a social site, then my company is right up their users 'street'.... but it doesnt work and like everything, it will work really well for some - the very very few but there's always going to be thousands of losers.
 
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the main and only way to make Twitter appear to be working, is by inputting an insane amount of posts/tweets

There you go again... Using phrases like "only way"... Broad statements with no evidence...

Actually, your statement couldn't be further from the truth. Regular (And for some this could be once a fortnight) interesting, high quality posts that are relevant to your audience wins every time over bulk low quality posting.

See, I told you I'd educate you.. ;-)

I'm actually starting to think you're actually cleverer than the rest of us here and you're just posting to get your signature link validated........
 
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Jose Jimenez

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Jan 28, 2010
91
13
Hi, obviously my strategy was no different to others, and the main and only way to make Twitter appear to be working, is by inputting an insane amount of posts/tweets, thus making the account look full and interesting for others to follow.

This is very, perhaps too work-heavy for many to do - I've seen Twitter accounts with 1000 tweets plus, so I think the tweet work is being hired out.

Personally, I will never entertain the hiring of someone to make a bunch of tweets and I dont like automated tools bcos of their limitations - accuracy being one.

My strategy is one of dropping the odd post into an assumed, media-buzzed platform, in the hope someone visits my site's, and uses, buys advertising etc etc. Ofcourse expecting someone to act on such a limited thing as a glorified post on a media-hyped website - is too much to ask.

Considering the millions who use Twitter, I would have expected 1000's to have read my tweets, and at least a few hundred followers by now, but its not that easy. I assumed the more Tweets you have, the more you get - but this no way guarantees traffic to a website, never mind sales.

If Twitter IS a social site, then my company is right up their users 'street'.... but it doesnt work and like everything, it will work really well for some - the very very few but there's always going to be thousands of losers.

Unfortunately your strategy is different. There are lots of examples of Twitter users big and small with a proper strategy in place based on business objectives. Tweeting and hoping for the best isnt one.
 
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eventdomain

I'm actually starting to think you're actually cleverer than the rest of us here and you're just posting to get your signature link validated........


Want to know whats clever?

Its about being viral - and Twitter is the wrong way to go about it, usually fallen for by those who cannot invent ideas to save them the workload involved in getting noticed. They think by posting on a huge media-driven website will guarantee work. Nothing is guaranteed, but Twitter is again, just another free-for-all general social website, and its just not for the promotion of businesses.

Everyone knows or should know the very basics of linking, and most sort of get it - just not how to accelerate it. The ones who figure it out are the cleverest.... and its not the vast majority of Twitter or Facebook users. For these type of sites aren't built to promote users - their cleverly built to promote themselves.

Viral only works for major websites and the actual website owners - so Twitter is viral, Facebook is viral - but the users wont be. You see the vast amount of information is what makes a website famous - and Twitter etc are being very smart by getting others to make them famous. Smart eh....

and thats how you do it.
 
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Want to know whats clever?

Not you?

and thats how you do it.

eh... what exactly is your point? And what sites do you think users are using to "go viral"? Twitter, Facebook, Youtube.

Jeez man, I've come to the conclusion, that you've realised you can't sustain your argument therefore you're moving towards re-direction in an effort to regain some credibility.

All the while bumbling through a "Go viral" post that makes no relevant point, contradicts itself, again, and uses too broad statements and presents zero evidence to back it up.

So far, loads of posters have put up real world examples of Twitter being a success, and your only counter is that you couldn't make it work for you.

If wasn't for the fact that I want to make sure that other users don't get scared off by your unreasoned points I'd have given up on this thread long ago.

If this was a court of law your case would have been dismissed already and you'd have to pay costs....
 
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DesignerNick

Free Member
Apr 22, 2009
3,442
609
Coventry, UK
So far EventDomain Twitter Marketing doesn't work and Affiliate Marketing doesn't work and it is a fact, because it doesn't work for you.

I have only been using Twitter a couple of weeks and it has found me a new client as they saw one of my tweets and my name stuck with them. They had a issue with their website and called me as I was in their head.

I think on how well it will work is your target audience and strategy.
 
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Ashley_Price

Free Member
Business Listing
I can only speak about my own experience on Twitter - it may or may not be the same for others.

Just like my time on UKBF I have put a lot into building up my reputation on Twitter - to the point now where I have some quite important people (e.g. Will King, founder of King of Shaves; Dee Blick, Financial Times columnist, to name just two) starting to follow ME!

I am now starting to get enquiries either directly from a message on Twitter, or through email or our website, where they quote Twitter as to where they heard about BananaOffice.

Like anything, it's the amount of time you are willing to put into it - but it's not just selling yourself or your business, you need to have a mixture of posts. But keep them positive, how would you like to read one of your suppliers saying "Having a crap day today, nothing's going right and everything is behind"? That would probably raise questions in your mind.

So think how your tweets will read from the point of view of your potential customers, but don't expect enquries to come immediately.
 
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unet

Free Member
Dec 14, 2010
479
87
London - Essex
Hi, obviously my strategy was no different to others, and the main and only way to make Twitter appear to be working, is by inputting an insane amount of posts/tweets, thus making the account look full and interesting for others to follow.

This is very, perhaps too work-heavy for many to do - I've seen Twitter accounts with 1000 tweets plus, so I think the tweet work is being hired out.

Personally, I will never entertain the hiring of someone to make a bunch of tweets and I dont like automated tools bcos of their limitations - accuracy being one.

My strategy is one of dropping the odd post into an assumed, media-buzzed platform, in the hope someone visits my site's, and uses, buys advertising etc etc. Ofcourse expecting someone to act on such a limited thing as a glorified post on a media-hyped website - is too much to ask.

Considering the millions who use Twitter, I would have expected 1000's to have read my tweets, and at least a few hundred followers by now, but its not that easy. I assumed the more Tweets you have, the more you get - but this no way guarantees traffic to a website, never mind sales.

If Twitter IS a social site, then my company is right up their users 'street'.... but it doesnt work and like everything, it will work really well for some - the very very few but there's always going to be thousands of losers.

your strategy cannnot be the same as everybody else if your strategy is not working.

Try http://www.tweetbuddy.com/free

I bet you will get 50 followers a day - easy to set up direct messages to every follower and retweet
 
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Ashley_Price

Free Member
Business Listing
your strategy cannnot be the same as everybody else if your strategy is not working.

Try http://www.tweetbuddy.com/free

I bet you will get 50 followers a day - easy to set up direct messages to every follower and retweet

I have to say I disagree with using something like this. It quickly becomes too automated and you start to remove the "social" from social media. I immediately unfollow someone if within seconds of following them I get an obvious automated DM or tweet thanking me (when someone follows me, I take a moment to thank them, and make it obvious that it's not automated).

I also hate being followed by someone who has obviously auto-followed me from one word I've used in a tweet. I recently put something up about "cutting the atmosphere with a chainsaw" in seconds I had a new follower from America. They were a chainsaw shop! I immediately blocked them.

So, think very carefully before automating tasks too much.
 
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truesilver

Free Member
Jul 26, 2010
134
24
Bedfordshire
Twitter and Facebook, if nothing else, is often about credibility. I'd say the cost of not using them - even if only a couple of posts a week - is very high. You know it's often about just an edge over your competition.

Make sure you have a website too and just set up your twitter account to link to your facebook page (PM me if you need some help with this) and start off slow. Shoulsn't take you any significant extra time and it's free advertising!

Good luck :)
 
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Set up your blog to auto post onto Twitter - some search results show pretty much instantly in Google main results - and 100% show in Google results if you filter to 'Latest Results' - make sure your autopost uses your domain and shows as backlinks in Webmaster Tools...
 
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expertcarpetcleaner

Facebook and Twitter have become over used by people wanting to do the same thing, if I were you I would try and look into new ideas that will help you.

I'm not sure how Facebook with close on 600 000 000 users worldwide can become overused:D

I have used Twitter to successfully target clients in my market(carpet cleaning) and then requested more conversation happen outside of Twitter using email or better still the good old dog and bone(phone). The fortune is in the repeat business thru building a relationship. Would never have happened if I did not use Twitter:)
 
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I haven't gone down the twitter/facebook route yet - but it's something I'm considering to keep customers who want to know what's happening/deals in the loop. :)

It's not just about getting messages to your followers - since google now picks up Twitter links, we see some of our clients new pages / posts on the first page of Google for keywords relating to that page in just a few seconds sometimes....

For example, our client ShipMyCar wrote a blog post regarding a Mustang Video made by the Polish Mustang Club and were suprised to see that due to us setting up their site to autopost on Twitter, they were getting lots of hits from people search for 'Polish Mustang Club' on Google - their blog post actually went straight to second result in Google within seconds...!

Well worth getting involved in both FB and Twitter as I can see Google etc really using Twitter / Facebook to try and determine perhaps which results may have more credibility.... Plus, if you set your site up correctly you can have any posts you make automatically tweeted so no extra workload :)
 
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RhysLucas

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Sep 6, 2010
57
2
Its great marketing on twitter. All you need to do is just create your account on twitter and start talking and connecting to online people. It will take time when you will have a wide traffic to yours. Then you can share your products and services online to those online people.
You are carpenter, now you can take contracts on twitter. Wide traffic which is diverted to you could know about you and your work. Then you can take their orders.
 
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Mike W

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  • Aug 19, 2010
    1,567
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    Its great marketing on twitter. All you need to do is just create your account on twitter and start talking and connecting to online people. It will take time when you will have a wide traffic to yours. Then you can share your products and services online to those online people.
    You are carpenter, now you can take contracts on twitter. Wide traffic which is diverted to you could know about you and your work. Then you can take their orders.

    You say all that, yet you don't use it yourself?
     
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    lakesidehireuk

    Free Member
    Feb 12, 2011
    5
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    Off course you can also get benefit from Facebook and Twitter sites.Every body is now taking the benefit from these sites irrespective of the what business you are in.
    While using twitter try to increase the number of your followers and tweet regularly something, sometimes about your business and sometimes about general topic, and leave a link to your site in your each tweet.You can also send the private messages to your followers if you have launched a new product or have a new excited offer for your customers such as special discount,etc.
    While using facebook just create a facebook page about your business and promote on the net and let many people like it.Try to increase the no of facebook friends and increase your network.
    In your tweets also leave a link to your facebook page and vice versa.This way you can get benefit from twitter and facebook.There are some other good social media sites which can be useful as well to you.
     
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    OpenSure

    Free Member
    Apr 1, 2010
    156
    18
    Herefordshire
    Hi,

    Twitter has been fantastically useful for us. I'd highly recommend it, but give it a chance as it can take a few goes to really click with Twitter. It's not all about getting new business - from the POV of PR rather than marketing it's great for keeping your profile bubbling away. Carpentry is something lots of people will have no experience of or contact with, so the odd photo of your work, explanations of techniques and perhaps advice about how to do something will keep people interested.

    We use Twitter to flag new blog posts and newsletters, to offer advice, to keep in touch with similar companies (friends and foes!), to pick up information and to keep aware of hot topics in our field. We've made lots of local contacts which has been brilliant. However we don't use Facebook much as we find it pretty pointless, it just doesn't do the business for us, literally, so we don't waste much time on it. You have to make a judgment about all these things.

    Good luck and we'll keep an eye out for you.
     
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    HiraKhan

    Free Member
    Feb 14, 2011
    4
    1
    Hey Matt!

    Its a great initiative on your part! There are amazing ways how people have started marketing their businesses online via social media. Facebook, Twitter are the best way to spread the word about your business. You can even offer deals and free service for.. say what, if somebody referred you to 2 or 3 people or something? See, social media is so vast and the best thing about it is that u discover more and more everyday. Pick up marketing techniques from your competitors and then improvise it to meet you area of expertise. And who knows, it might pays off in the end that you would even need to make your own Fan Page?!! Try it! Good Luck!

    Cheers!
     
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    G. Lasagne

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    Mar 12, 2008
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    I would hazard a guess that those who *may* be monetising their traffic aren't actually recording how many hours (and what the per hour cost to the business is) they are putting in vs revenue. I'm not singling out Twitter in this respect, the same could be said of this forum for instance, hours spent vs revenue. What is your *return* thats the key.

    I don't think that's a valid argument, I mean if your tweeting instead of watching eastenders then it's not costing you £45 or whatever, your just missing eastenders, it only becomes an issue when your paying somebody to do a task
     
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    OpenSure

    Free Member
    Apr 1, 2010
    156
    18
    Herefordshire
    One other point I have not seen raised yet is that the success of most marketing routes are in fact very difficult to measure in any absolute form.

    Most new business happens after there has been contact some 5 to 10 times and those contacts can be in various media forms. Twitter is a sensible way of popping up on peoples radar by presenting a positive image to interested parties and developing some kind of rapport that goes beyond your sales pitch.

    It gives an opportunity to talk about what you do, how you do it and transmit something of your businesses's character/persona. Why would the fact that you are not a world beating mega-corp or that your brand may be small or niche, invalidate your efforts to layout your stall?

    Wherever people go to find information you need to be managing the content that represents you as best you can. We don't find Facebook hits our area well and it takes more time to manage so we have minimal presence. Twitter is far simpler and quicker to use and we find more of our market is there.

    In the end, Twitter (or other on-line media) may not be as measurable as business would like, people are not actually aware of what really triggered their interest or 'made' them buy from you. They may just be in a similar orbit and over time they see and hear from you via twitter, blogs, web results, adverts, editorial, print and personal recommendation etc and then half subconsciously choose to buy. Which one made the difference?

    I think the real question is more likely which one made little or no difference? To answer this you need far more information and detail back from the customer and possibly a psychology degree. Aside from the variance and reliability of such research, it is probably more expensive than the cost and effort of maintaining the presence!

    My experience of marketing is that it takes ongoing thought, effort and consistency not so much big budgets and creative flair. If you don't want to make the real effort it takes, it will show up in the boring pitching sales blogs, irritating tweets and constant pursuit of the instant sale.
     
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    More Control

    Free Member
    Apr 13, 2011
    49
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    Milton Keynes
    Like all forms of business and marketing there is no one best fit.

    What works for one company may just hinder another. Several companies that I have seen on Twitter have been relatively passive, using Twitter purely for adding links back to their other social platforms, blogs or websites.

    While other companies have been actively pursuing leads, generating points of discussion and forming connections.

    As rightly put, there is no real fixed measurement for equating a level of return from Twitter.
     
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