RE-TWEET IT!
Tweet
At least, don’t Twitter for ‘direct response’ effects.
Why not?
Because while Twitter has mostly been pretty poor for direct response style marketing, this has become MUCH worse recently after it hit the mainstream and has millions of new users signing up.
This is my theory of why it might be happening.
With many new Twitter users, all of us are seeing more ‘followers’ to our tweet stream. And if you’re a typical user, you follow back most of them. Which means your already fragmented attention is getting even more so, leaving each tweet you receive with that much LESSER time to be read, understood and acted upon.
Earlier, I’ve shared figures on how tweets seeking sales, donations or even clicks on links fare. These abysmally low numbers have grown smaller, with even questions or informal polls on Twitter itself fetching far fewer responses than before.
I have 2,757 ‘followers’, and my last 3 questions received a collective total of 11 replies!
So, is Twitter a write-off?
Most definitely not. And for me, the penny dropped after reading a fascinating interview with Twitter founder Biz Stone (@biz on Twitter – this one.
Specifically, this bit where Biz says, “I think of Twitter as a messaging system that you didn’t know you needed until you had it… I don’t think of Twitter as a social network. I think of it as a messaging system that has a lot of social components to it.”
Wow!
So, I stopped looking at Twitter as a ’social network’ and view it as a ‘connecting tool‘, the service and the way it works makes so much more sense!
It’s as tough as heart surgery these days to ensure that email reaches a recepient, and that their reply reaches you. With Twitter, it’s simple. Person to person messaging. Real time. Genius!
I think “Tweet me” will become a more commonly used phrase than “Email me” before this year is out.
Do you agree?
{ 1 comment }
What I’ve found is that Twitter is a very effective way to discover people who are active in my niche, and to make contact with them.
I work with small businesses, and those who are Twittering are the most internet-savvy, and hence most likely to be interested in my business. And by judiciously using the @ and RT functions, plus maybe an appropriate DM, I can very quickly establish a rapport, and get to talking on the phone.
I’ve also got a “fun” niche, and by using Twollo to follow people using my keywords in their tweets, and sending out good tips and opinions, I’ve met some great people. But only 5 or 6 out of 700-odd followers, which is in line with what you are talking about.
But it is definitely getting harder to rise above the “chatter” and get people to add you to one of their special groups on, say Tweetdeck.
I think the most important part of that is a great DM when someone follows you. That seems to be one way to “stand out”.
I’m fascinated by the way Twitter is developing!
(and – I was at a Trade Fair yesterday where 89 small business people had spent hundreds of pounds to be there to market their business – and I did not find a single one who is on Twitter! So there’s a lot of growth still there…
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