What Content Should I Post on Twitter?

I just started a Twitter account for our company.  How often should I post and what should the content include?

___________________________________________________________By Jennifer Manocchio

Let’s start by discussing what not to talk about.  Avoid tweets on how you were stuck in a traffic jam on the way to work, what you ate for lunch, and how you cannot wait for the weekend.  Sorry to be so blunt, but no one cares.

Of course, there is always an exception to the rule.  If you have a product or service that helps you remain calm while sitting in a traffic jam (e.g. books on tape, or meditation), then by all means tie that in.  Also, if your Twitter account is a fictitious spokesperson like Tony the Tiger or the Aflac duck, then it can be appropriate to include fun facts or exciting things that the icon is doing.

As far as how often you should post, we recommend between 3-10 posts per day.  While that might seem overwhelming at first, you can use software that will allow you to write posts in advance and automatically update Twitter for you.

Prior to deciding what content you will be posting, be sure to set your goals for Twitter (e.g. increasing traffic, driving web site traffic, driving blog traffic, increasing sales, etc.) and your expectations.  This will help you determine what to post and if the strategy has been successful.

Then, keeping in mind the goals you want to achieve, start Tweeting!  If you are unsure what types of content to use at first, below are some tips on what you can post to get started and continue to maintain an active presence on Twitter.

• General tips/factoids about the industry you service.  Be sure these tips will appeal to your target audience and aren’t too self-serving.
• Quality industry articles that your target audience will see as being helpful or interesting at their job or in their daily lives.
• News coverage about your company, product or service.  Be careful not to overdue the news coverage.  For example, if you distributed a news release and received good pickup, select the best story for your Twitter account.
• If you have a blog, include a link to your blog posts on a regular basis.
• Announcements about company speaking engagements and trade shows you are attending/exhibiting.
• If you develop online videos, link to those videos.
• Monitor Twitter conversations that mention your product, brand or expertise and respond publicly to any questions or retweet (RT) customer kudos.

Is Mass Media Advertising Dead?

Is mass media advertising dead?  Are there so many targeted options that I shouldn’t use it?  Conversely, is mass media so splintered and difficult to measure that I shouldn’t use it?  (e.g. broadcast, cable and satellite television)

Associate Vice President, University Communications and Marketing

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By Jennifer Manocchio

Mass media advertising is not dead.  TV still remains king of all media and should still be considered a sound advertising strategy.  Consider these facts:

• According to a July Nielson Co. report, the average U.S. home has 2.86 televisions and more than 114 million homes in the U.S. have at least one TV.

• Nielsen Media Research reported last November the average American watches 142 hours of TV in a month. Last season the typical home had a television on for eight hours and 18 minutes each day. That’s up an hour per day from just 10 years ago.

• In comparison, the amount of time consumers are spending online is leveling off at an average of 12 hours/week and only 80 percent of US households have Internet access.

While mass media is difficult (costly) to measure compared to other strategies, some goals are difficult to measure no matter how targeted the strategy.  So let’s break this down:

If your goal is to create awareness and build brand, mass media fits the bill.  You can reach hundreds or thousands or hundreds of millions and make initial connections and build credibility.  And yes, Virginia, you can measure the results.  But you must be willing to invest in benchmark and follow-up research.

If your goal is to drive web site traffic or increase calls into a toll-free number or push consumers into a retail outlet, mass media also works; it’s just a different approach to messaging and creative. It’s not so much about the brand as it is the offer.

Can you use targeted strategies to do the same thing? Yes.  Can you even use them in combination? Yes.  Is there a “best” solution? Probably, but that depends on each individual situation.  There is never a single right answer; this is not a shelf service business.

On any given day, for any given situation, mass media and/or targeted media may be the best solution.  There is no easy answer.  And by the way, measurement is a requirement for both strategies.

But mass media is not dead and in fact, will likely never die.  It will continue to evolve as it has for the past century (we are including radio and film along with TV here).  Even media geniuses like Jason Kilar acknowledge that people will continue to want to sit around their living rooms or at local establishments and share “shows” and “events” and “news”, if for no other reason than to socialize and have something to talk about around the water cooler the next day.  Only mass media can provide that experience.

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Have a marketing, public relations, social media or advertising question?  Post your question below or email exeqnation at gmail dot com.  We are committed to answering your marketing questions real time.  And if we don’t know the answer, we’ll contact one of our valued partners who will.

Using Social Media as a B2B Marketing Strategy

How does social media fit into B2B marketing?

Channel Development Manager, Aflac

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By Jim Sweeney

Social media fits into the B2B marketing model much the same way it fits into the consumer marketing model.

Because of its very nature, social media allows virtually anyone (or any organization) to communicate with virtually any audience on any scale. And because it allows for real-time, two-way communication with minimal or no interference (no gatekeepers), it is an ideal marketing strategy.

Social media sets the stage for meaningful, live engagement between your business and all of your target internal and external business audiences – employees, shareholders, retirees, customers, prospects, vendors, distributors, brokers, investors, consultants and on and on.

Unlike traditional media – which remains vital and essential in both the consumer and B2B marketing paradigms – social media allows you to connect directly to your audiences without the influence of gatekeepers, and allows them to communicate directly back to you (and anyone else who is participating) without interference and in real-time.

A recent Forrester Research study http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/article/the-down-economy-pushes-b-to-b-marketers-embrace-digital-tactics-409009_1.html of B2B marketing professionals indicates that more and more B2B marketers are beginning to embrace social media.  Unfortunately it appears that the economy and the need to get more results with fewer dollars is the primary driver.

Regardless, social media fits into B2B marketing in a wide array of ways.

•  Social Networking sites like LinkedIn (and yes, even Facebook) offer exceptional opportunities for B2B organizations to connect with target audiences on an individual and collective basis.  Industry-specific groups enable you to create and participate in dialogue with industry influentials, customers, prospects, etc.

•  Blogs have the potential to create invaluable communication with internal and external target audiences on a multitude of business topics.

•  Micro-blogging tools like Twitter allow you to maintain ongoing communication – text, links, photos, audio and video clips – with multiple core groups of individuals.

•  Video Sharing through mass appeal sites like YouTube or industry-specific business sites like Wistia enables you to effectively present your corporate and product brands on an entirely different level.  Podcasts and Webcasts are equally useful tools for engaging target audiences.

•  Tried and true strategies like e-mail marketing, online advertising, organic search optimization, blogger relations and industry discussion boards are digital and social media tools that should also be considered as part of the marketing mix.

Social media should be viewed as a viable strategy in a portfolio of techniques that best practice companies can use to create awareness, engage audiences, create links, drive leads, support sales and build relationships.