Gales Network • Brand building from the inside out

October 2008

I'm All A-Twitter
On the Heels of Texting and Blogging Comes A Little Bit Of Both

THE BIG IDEAS TOPIC: Apparently, our all too fast world is not fast enough, so some really smart people with VC money in their pockets, time on their hands and caffeine in their veins came up with Twitter. The Big Idea behind Twitter is a service that combines the functionality of social networking and blogging to distribute text messages, called Tweets, to subscriber Twitter web pages or mobile devices. The service is currently free and relatively easy to set up.

AT ISSUE: Is this just another colossal time wasting fad-app for your computer and phone, or is there real brand building value in the concept and service.

THE BIG IDEAS VIEW: At first blush, the notion of Twitter is a bit puzzling. After all, in the text info space we have access to plenty of blog posts, text messages, emails, and social networking friend pages, many of which are chock full of all the useless, self-obsessed information we might crave. Why provide something that pulverizes already mundane everyday activities (I'm eating soup...) to sub-atomic levels (...at 11:28 this morning) and then delivers them in real time? Twitter's call to action, "What Are You Doing?" only helps to further trivialize its purpose.

But start thinking about reaching people who want to be reached, in a business context, with brief messages that are valuable and time sensitive, and maybe there's something to this Twittering. And brevity is no small part of the appeal. Limited to 140 characters, Twitterers are forced to be succinct and salient with every keystroke.

Since its inception in 2006, a number of interesting ways to use Twitter for business or branding purposes have surfaced. Following are a few:

* Communicate with colleagues at a business conference or trade show to provide updates on business sessions, organize dinners, group meetings or informational events. (At the Behavioral Targeting symposium room 428. Good stuff for our new product line.)

* Promote an event by providing a last minute reminder to prospective attendees. (The Stones will take the stage in 25 minutes.) Conduct short burst live reporting from events. (And the winner of Smith Chevrolet's New Truck Drawing is...)

* Deliver news or information about new product launches. (Bob's No-Fat Chocolate bar is available at all Trader Faux's Foods locations NOW!)

* Use a Twitter personality to entertain and educate subscribers about your brand. (Gnash here, from Nashville Predators Hockey. I'm giving away free T-shirts by the Season ticket booth!)

Here are some actual Twitter uses that are helping build brands. You must create a Twitter account to access them, but that's an easy thing to do here.

* News organizations, like BBC News (BBC), and The New York Times (nytimes) use Twitter to send out bite-sized headlines that inform and draw readers to websites or other media for more detail. MSNBC commentator Keith Olbermann communes with his fan base, using his Twitter profile (KeithOlbermann.)

* Among a slew of wannabees and impostors (FakeSarahPalin), you can twitter both presidential candidates. Hopefully, Senators Obama (BarackObama) and McCain (McCain_Palin) will communicate real ideas to describe their positions on the issues that concern all Americans.

* Big brands like Home Depot (TheHomeDepot) have used Twitter as a communication platform during disasters to keep customers up to date on the arrival or availability of essential materials. Best Buy (Best_BuyJobs) twitters job openings.

* Characters from TV shows like Mad Men and House can be followed through fictional tweets. Check out SterlingCooper (the old guy) or DrHouse ("replaced the mayo on Wilson's sandwich with marshmellow fluff"). Clearly, it would be better if someone actually associated with the shows wrote these.

Twitter takes a little time to wrap your head around, particularly if you are not day-to-day technology engaged. The service can be buggy or unavailable at times. But with a little investigation, some patience and a clever idea or two, Twitter could be a real boon to your brand building toolbox.

Twitter On, Dudes.