The Twitter Phenomenon:
Whether you like it or not, Twitter has taken the social media world by storm. Its user members are still dwarfed in comparison to Facebook's or Myspace's numbers but the site experienced more than a 2500% increase in users in May 2009. And though numbers suggest that the 2009 summer spike was followed by a brief flat-lined period, by January 11, 2010, Twitter had almost quadrupled its 2008 member numbers - going from roughly 6 million users to 22 million users. This growing popularity makes Twitter suprememly important for businesses and individuals seeking an edge. No other media platform makes it easier to share and consume real-time updates about developments in specific industries, sporting events, or, even, personal lives. It's the news, instant messenger, and reality TV all rolled into one - no wonder America has fallen in love.
But like every other social media outlet, it may or may not make sense for your brand, whether it's your company's or your personal brand. In our case, the recent launch of the 919 Marketing Twitter page made sense because it is an excellent platform through which we can help our clients communicate with consumers, share knowledge/gain knowledge and create conversations with other industry professionals, and, most importantly, listen to developments both within marketing and PR and within our clients' industries.
Tools to Help You Maximize Your Twitter Presence:
Rachel Levy has done a superb job organizing most of them for you so you can choose the best Twitter applications for your company. My five favorites, in no particular order, are as follows:
Tweetdeck: My favorite way to keep track of Twitter and Facebook updates, Twitter mentions, Facebook photo uploads, etc. This program enables you to consolidate all of your real time updates from each one of your Facebook and Twitter accounts into one place. You can also create lists to sement industries or people you follow.
Freetwitterdesigner: Not enough Twitter users take advantage of their twitter background capabilities. With tools like this, you can customize your background with more information about yourself or your company in text or pictures. Twitter's default backgrounds may not represent your brand well - take advantage of this site to personalize your page(s).
Klout: This application provides you with graphs that track your personal impact on Twitter. It tracks the content you create, what fellow tweeters do with the content, and how far your account's reach extends. Once that data is compiled it also provides you with tips on how to tweak your contributions to better achieve your goals.
Tweetbeep: This program functions in a similar fashion to google alerts - you receive emails when your keywords have been retweeted or mentioned. Simply use the program to track important keywords so you can interact with specific tweeple or respond to positive/negative feedback about your brand.
Topify: Quite simply, this tool combines the power of your Twitter and email accounts. When you get new follower alerts it provides you with a better background on them so you can decide whether or not to follow them without having to review their profile online. It also allows you to send direct messages directly from your email account.
What's your favorite Twitter application? How have you used Twitter to promote yourself? Your company? Have you found it useful?
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