6 Surefire Ways to Build a Targeted List of Twitter Followers

April 23, 2013 by Leave a Comment

targeted prospectsMost consumer brands understand the value of acquiring a targeted list to generate sales and build and retain customers. For brands that sell products and services directly to consumers, acquiring email or postal lists of targeted prospects is often an expensive proposition that comes with one-time-only use limitations. Not so with Twitter.

One of the richest features about Twitter is its open architecture which enables brands to get on the radar of any consumer who may likely be interested in their products or services. Here are some tips for getting on the prospect’s radar and ultimately, getting the prospect to follow your brand.

  1. Follow back, but be judicious about who you follow. Relationship building on Twitter is done through engagement and it’s difficult to engage when you’re not following your customers and prospects. You should strive to maintain a following to followers ratio that is at least 1:1. If you are following more accounts than are following you back, you deliver the perception that your content is not valued. In order to prevent this situation, you need to follow sparingly until you have room in the ratio to initiate new connections by following targeted users first.
  2. Use a Twitter tool to manage your following. Because your following number is a vital component to your ability to reach out and follow first, you need to regularly eliminate accounts that are not seeing your content. Accounts become inactive and some users play the game of following just to get your follow and then immediately unfollow you once they do. By utilizing tools like ManagerFlitter, you can quickly and easily get rid of your dead weight.
  3. Mine your competition’s following. Follow users who are active and demonstrate engagement. Being proactive by following others first is one of the fastest ways to gain followers.
  4. Curate value-added content. Be found by users who are looking for information that is relevant to your brand and develop a reputation as a go-to source.
  5. Leverage Twitter’s service that recommends accounts to follow. Let Twitter help you hone into accounts you may want to follow. Go into your Twitter settings and check the box to receive emails with suggestions based on your recent follows.
  6. Use Twitter search. Find conversations that identify users who are tweeting about your market niche. Quickly browse their location, bio and timeline to ensure they meet your geographic and demographic profile and are active users. Determine whether you want to engage or follow or both.

Related posts:

Step 1 to Use Twitter as a Prospecting and Sales Channel

ReTweet Thank You’s: Increase Clicks and Viral Sharing of Your Content on Twitter

8 Profitable Reasons to Build Twitter Lists

 

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Step 1 to Use Twitter as a Prospecting and Sales Channel

April 9, 2013 by Leave a Comment

social media marketingDuring the dozen years I spent as a list broker prior to launching Inner Architect, my job was to identify new sources of prospects for clients. In those days my sources were postal and email lists. I would find targeted prospects by typing keywords into one of the various databases that serviced the direct marketing industry, searching for matches to words the list managers would use to describe the makeup of the list.

Last year we launched a Twitter prospecting service at Inner Architect that was based upon my experience looking for postal and email prospects. Yet now, instead of utilizing a licensed database of lists from which to conduct a search, we drill down into conversations on the open platform that is Twitter.

Those who haven’t spent much time on Twitter probably cannot fathom how rich a prospecting channel it is, particularly for niche lifestyle product and service offers. For every lifestyle activity–golf, tennis, bicycling, yoga, wine tasting, equestrian, skiing, paddle boarding to name a few—are thousands of tweets every day by consumers expressing their passion for the activity. These tweets identify the Twitter user as a potential buyer of apparel, accessories and equipment, classes, magazines, DVDs, and other products and services consumed by enthusiasts of the particular activity.

Back in my day as a broker, one of our greatest challenges was identifying prospects for lifestyle events that had not yet happened such as weddings, buying a house, or having a baby. These days there are ways to identify those prospects through their tweets that share their status about the upcoming lifestyle change.

What is the Size of Your Twitter Prospect Universe?

The first step in determining whether a market exists is to quantify the size of its universe potential. For a limited time, Inner Architect is offering a free custom report that will provide you with an estimate of your qualified Twitter prospect universe. By “qualified” I mean that we will bring a quality control process into our evaluation to weed out those users whose tweets or bios would disqualify them as a potential serious buyer.

To request your free custom report, simply fill out our form and submit.

Let me know if I can answer any questions.

 

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Brand Perception Failures on Twitter: Celeb Boutique

July 31, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Whether it is your favorite public relations account executive blindly tweeting, in the cab ride from the airport to your offices, that he can not understand how anyone could live in the city your company calls home or it’s a foreign based fashion apparel company tweeting a sales pitch attached to a trending topic that is a murderous horror story unfolding, the problem is not Twitter. Repeat the problem is not the channel, it is not the real time capability of communication, it is not the speed in which your message can be read-interpreted- and repeated. The problem is internal controls, sloppy due diligence, or a combination of the two.

Celeb Boutique “Aurora” Disaster

When Celeb Boutique, the UK based fashion apparel firm, tweeted a sales pitch for their Aurora dress and associated it with the trending topic #Aurora – the good folks at Celeb Boutique forever etched their names in  Twitter infamy. Aurora, Colorado is the recent site of the horrific mass murder of 12 movie goers by a young mentally ill man.

Twitter Best Practices

Before assigning manpower to your Twitter account, companies must realize the implications of the power of Twitter, the importance of understanding the network, the reach of information (global), and inability to “take back” what is tweeted.  With this much at stake, brand and reputation in the balance, companies should have steps in place if they create a scandalous disaster. The following are before and after steps:

  • Check Research: if you are going to attach a sales pitch to a trending topic on Twitter you must understand what that topic is about and how it started.
  • Due Diligence: in Celeb Boutique’s case, the next step would be to read the stream of tweets about #Aurora. If they had done this they never would have tweeted anything associated to this tragedy
  • Apologies: if you are going to apologize- please make it genuine! Celeb Boutique’s tweet blaming the time zone difference between the UK and US served only to inflame the already angry “mob” see below

 

 

  •  Responsibility: the only step to take is to take full responsibility immediately which Celeb Boutique failed to do. Even worse was their follow-up tweet explaining why they made this terrible mistake. Stating the obvious that they were unaware was an excuse for poor due diligence practices

 

 

  •  Enterprise Voice: in what may be as damaging as the message itself is the excuse that “social media was totally UNAWARE of the situation.  .  . ” Blaming “social media” or the people in the marketing department who run Celeb Boutique’s social media program was a big mistake. It’s as if the person tweeting the explanation is saying it’s this one tiny facet of our company that screwed up not the company as a brand or enterprise. Your social “voice” represents the entire enterprise. When are companies going to get this simple but painful rule?

The Price of Unpreparedness

In a great post, “Twitter, tragic events and the price of stupidity”  on GigaOm.com, writer Jeff John Roberts sums up the situation all companies are faced with today in our digital information-now world:

“While public anger at a time of tragedy is not new, the speed at which it is expressed is new. Social media means not just that a company like Celeb Boutique can damage its brand more quickly and broadly than ever before, but that it has far less time to undo that damage. In the past, a company could detect a bad news story early on and work with professionals to spin the story. In the case of Celeb Boutique, its chance to fix the damage has already come and gone.”

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The Brian Solis Twitter “Favorites” Strategy: Will it Work for You?

June 4, 2012 by 7 Comments

Twitter’s most underutilized, outside of lists, and most valuable opportunity is the “Favorites” feature.You all know how it works but do you understand how to strategically utilize favorites? Do you use Favorites for anything other than to “bookmark” important tweets for research and future reading?

Brian Solis is a formidable thought leader in the digital space, author, and genuinely willing participant who engages with many who seek his help. Brian’s use of the Favorites feature is the reason for this post- it’s simple and simply brilliant.

How Does Brian Solis Utilize the Twitter Favorites Feature?

Granted, the vast majority of us, me included, do not have the name recognition, authority, and influence of a Brian Solis in the digital marketing space. But that doesn’t mean we can not utilize Brian’s strategy. Brian’s strategy is to Favorite the wide array of compliments, positive references to his work, and referrals he receives on Twitter. Like many websites that provide customer referrals, in quotes, Brian is leveraging his deserved popularity with people on Twitter.

References to Brian Solis’s Expertise

An example of people’s perception of Brian’s expertise:

 

Referrals to Brian Solis’s Work

An example of people’s referrals to Brian’s work, books, speaking engagements

 

People Quote Brian Solis

In what has to be the most flattering and effective use of Favorites is the collection of people quoting you, your book, or your speaking engagements. Here are some examples of people’s reaction to Brian Solis:

3 Ideas How You Can Utilize Twitter Favorites

  1. Showcase Retweets: every time you receive a RT that is about your work, favorite (save) that tweet. People who thank you for your work including writing, speaking engagements, or opinions sought should also be Favorited. This stream will provide prospective followers with reasons to follow you
  2. Tweet Your Favorites: as you begin to build your Favorites “bank” of goodwill, start tweeting the link to this section. Promote what people are saying about you
  3. Tweet Other Users Favorites: help recognize people’s work by tweeting the link to their Favorites section as I did above with Brian Solis. This will also place you on the map as a person willing to share content and help other users. In addition, you might catch the eye of a user by promoting their work
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ReTweet Thank You’s: Increase Clicks and Viral Sharing of Your Content on Twitter

September 6, 2011 by Leave a Comment

The viral benefits of social media networking for brands today place a premium on a marketing team’s ability to deliver the right message, at the right time, to the right audience, within the right social network. Combine these essential needs with the correct testing procedures for each campaign, and brands begin to realize and uncover the ROI of their social media networking. One of the most powerful social networks for viral marketing is the micro-blogging platform Twitter. One of the easiest and most effective methods for brands to gain more click throughs and viral sharing on Twitter is through the Retweet.

4 Steps to More Viral Sharing of Your Content

When consumers and companies begin to recognize your brand’s content via the Retweet,  try the following steps:

  • Curate Content: write a solid article and showcase it with a succinct tweet:

  • Thank You Tweet: write a tweet thanking the person-brand that RT’d your content. Do not cobble your thank you at the end of their RT of your content. Instead, honor their kindness by thanking the person-brand first:

  • Copywriting: after completing your thank you copy, describe (“adoption & measurement”) the post you are referencing. By referencing and describing your post, you help your RTing partner to remember their RT of your content easily. More important is the fact that this description may be viewed by Twitter users who may have missed your article when it was originally tweeted and subsequently RT’d

  • Link: remember to add the original shortened link at the end of your Thank You tweet. This completes the strategy by giving those Twitter users who missed your original tweet or the subsequent RT the opportunity to click through to your content

 

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Twitter Case Study: Tasting Room Traffic Fueled by 1:1 Marketing

January 31, 2011 by 15 Comments

Inner Architect recently compiled findings from a 12-week project we completed a few weeks ago for a boutique Napa Valley winery. Using a CRM tool, we tracked all our efforts and measured the results. The rates in which we converted messages to visitors–unheard of in email or postal campaigns--speaks to the power of targeting, personalized messages, and most importantly, 1:1 marketing.

The Campaign

We were working with a small budget that afforded only an average of 7.5 hours of time per week. Our goal was to generate traffic to the tasting room during the week, Monday through Friday only. We recommended that we could be most effective with a special offer, so we ran with a complimentary tasting for 2 offer.

The Measured Results

A CRM approach to this project provided us with the ability to measure the results of our campaign. Anyone who says that you can’t measure the ROI of social media simply hasn’t thought out the measurement points and set up a disciplined system for tracking.

Our CRM reports tallied that we made 260 unique offers in the 12-week period. These 260 offers were not mass blasts into the general stream. They were targeted messages delivered via Twitter’s @mention feature to prospects we identified using Twitter search.

We sent 84 people to the tasting room, with an average of 3.4 people per visit. That’s a gross conversion rate of 32% generated from 25 users, or a net conversion rate of nearly 10%. Anyone who has experience measuring email or postal campaigns understands that these rates are untouchable in the “traditional” channels.

Key ROI Finding

By keeping track of our efforts, we were able to uncover a key indicator that a prospect will convert to a visitor. Comparing the response rates of the group that visited the tasting room to the non-visitor group enabled us to see that 84% of the visitors responded to our first tweet effort versus only 26% of the non-visitors.

What this possibly points to is an opportunity to increase ROI by investing time only in prospects who respond to our first tweet and shifting more time in searching for targeted prospects.

Get the Twitter white paper.

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Marketing ROI: Guide to Hiring a Social Media Marketing Consultant

November 16, 2010 by 2 Comments

Inner Architect’s focus is Social Direct Marketing based on the integration of social media channels with direct marketing strategies. We focus on producing positive measurable results for our  wine industry clients. Do you know how to hire a consultant?

You are your winery’s GM, COO, Marketing Director, or Direct to Consumer Manager and you are in charge of creating, executing, and maintaining a social media marketing plan with Twitter as your centerpiece. You understand the following challenges in executing this task:

  • Time: you do not have the time to execute and maintain your winery’s social media marketing plan
  • Expertise: you do not have the expertise nor the background to leverage Twitter, Facebook, blogs, Foursquare, etc.
  • Expense: you do not have the budget to hire, train, and pay benefits to a new employee to execute your marketing plan

What Are You Getting From Your Social Media Consultant?

What are you getting when you hire a social media consultant to run your company’s Twitter presence?

  • Goals: have you identified your goals for Twitter? Do you want to drive traffic to the tasting room, sell wine club memberships, network with wine journalists, broadcast events, develop new leads, or create offers?
  • Strategy: do you have a specific strategy that you want the consultant to execute?
  • Plan of Action: did you receive a written plan of action from your consultant on how they will achieve your desired goals?
  • ROI Measurement: Is your consultant explaining how he/she will measure their efforts on Twitter to provide a clear picture of the ROI for your investment in their services?
  • Progress Reports: Has your consultant set up a schedule of regular reports detailing their progress?

Are You Ready to Participate?

Are you ready to provide the critical cooperation and help to your consultant to ensure success? Are you ready to authorize:

  • Tasting Room: allow your consultant to brief tasting room staff on your Twitter action plan
  • Measurement: require your tasting room staff probe visitors to understand which channel provided the motivation for their visit ie. Twitter, Facebook, email, postal literature, telesales, catalog
  • Database Integration: are you ready to bring all your data points POS, eCommerce, telesales, email, Twitter, Facebook all together in order to create life-time value for your consumers in each marketing channel

Conclusion

If you are not receiving the service and planning from your consultant then it’s time to reevaluate your decision. Review and use this article as a check list for what you should expect from your marketing consultant and from your organization.

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5 Reasons Twitter Will Survive and Thrive

July 26, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Studio Shot of a Mixed Age, Multiethnic Group of Men and Women Standing in a Line

The SocialMediaToday.com article “Twitter in a Corner- Facing Huge Challenges” is an interesting piece about Twitter’s goals to monetize and survive an uncertain future. Twitter’s baby steps into advertising and their deliberate roll out strategy are the initial focus. The piece correctly identifies Twitter’s great concern to preserve the user experience, the possible alienation of users due to the new advertising initiatives, and the ongoing need to monetize the business model.

Twitter’s Future: Abandoning the Network?

Author Robert Bacal makes three assertions that essentially outline a scenario that we do not believe to be completely true:

  • “With 80% of user accounts abandoned, can Twitter afford to move away from it’s social community roots in order to monetize its operation?”
  • “Can it (Twitter) hit the critical balancing point where it can maintain its user base, attract more users while using user eyeballs to generate money? It’s unlikely. There is a point where the commercial use will drive social and community users out of the space, or to competitors, and that reality, or at least possibility limits the revenue potential.“
  • “At the same time, there is the issue of commercialization from third party sources who aren’t paying anything for the free advertising they get from simply dumping tweets into the stream. They damage the user experience for those who are not there to buy things, the majority of users, and they don’t drive any revenue at all for Twitter.”

Twitter’s Future: Counterpoint

  • Abandonment: according to Bacal “80% of Twitter accounts are abandoned.” This is neither surprising nor alarming news because Twitter is a micro-blogging platform. If we look at the history of blogging’s attrition rates, there is a definite correlation. Simply put, blogosphere has survived and many bloggers have monetized despite attrition (abandonment) rates equal to or more than Twitter’s current rate of account abandonment.
  • Commercial use: the claim that commercial use will drive away users is unfounded. In my opinion, commercial use will begin to attract more users not drive them away from Twitter. In tandem with Foursquare, Twitter will be the “offer platform” consumers will flock to in order to find the best deals on products and services.
  • Choice: the thought that user experience is damaged by people or companies “dumping tweets into the stream” that either promote or advertise something is no different than the 50 years worth of television or radio advertising we have endured. We as users understand that we can ignore the tweets that promote or advertise because the network’s value outweighs the possible “littered stream.”

More Reasons Why People Will Continue to Adopt

  • Research: according to a 2006 quote from Evan Williams: “What we have to do is deliver to people the best and freshest most relevant information possible. We think of Twitter as it’s not a social network, but it’s an information network. It tells people what they care about as it is happening in the world.” Twitter remains one of the most vibrant and important resources for information on the internet and the fastest growing search engine with more monthly search queries than Yahoo and Bing- combined!
  • Entertainment Value: Twitter has a plethora of celebrities, sports stars, business magnates, and other very interesting people and brands. It is the platform to learn about people and brands. No amount of commercialization will drive people away from the tidbits of gossip, insider information, and breaking news Twitter has to offer.
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