Archive for November, 2009

There are two ways to approach Twitter from an Internet marketing standpoint.  You can either try to figure out how to really get involved and to parlay that into improved business or you can try to find the shortcuts and secrets that will dump a pile of cash in your lap overnight.

Here’s the scoop.  The people trying for a quick score aren’t making money.

The only way to really use Twitter to your advantage is to use it the “right” way.  You need to be a real user an a legitimate member of your (and others’) social networks.  You need to contribute and you need to interact.  If you’re there looking for a quick buck, everyone will smell you coming from a mile away and they’ll lock down their wallets before you get near.

Let’s say it again to make it clear:  Real users make more money with Twitter.

That’s ugly news for the get-rich-quick crowd, but it’s great news for marketers with enough perspective and understanding to recognize a good thing when it’s staring them in the eyes.

Have you figured out how you can really use Twitter?  Do you understand how that usage can lead to real business improvements?  If you still have questions, you need to learn more about Twitter.  Otherwise, you’re wasting your time.

Twitter marketing is gaining in popularity.  That makes sense.  Twitter is huge, growing and provides a fantastic way of getting in touch with a lot of people quickly and easily.

Not everyone is doing it the right way, however.  In fact, some people seem to be bending over backwards to make sure they don’t make a dime via Twitter.  Here are three of their “methods” that anyone who’s interesting in turning a buck should ignore.

The automatic “thanks for following” message with an affiliate link strategy is a complete disaster.  Those automatic direct messages are one of the most hated aspects of Twitter and only a handful of users will even bother to click on them.

The people who think that following a billion people is the best way to go because it can get them a ton of reciprocal followers just don’t get it.  The magic of Twitter is its ability to help you find a targeted audience.  The scattershot approach doesn’t pay off worth a hoot.

Pounding your followers with your links every ten minutes like clockwork?  I bet you’re not too happy with your sales, are you?   You have to understand the mindset of Twitter users and why that technique can’t get the best results.

Those are just three of the ways people are wasting time and not making money.  There are others.  If you don’t know what works and what fails, you need to learn more about Twitter.

The critics are having a heyday with Twitter.  If you’re not listening to someone go on and on about how great it is, you’re probably listening to someone who’s making fun of it.

You’ve heard the criticisms.  It’s narcissistic volunteer voyeurism at its worse.  It’s nothing more than gobs of self-important people sharing the mundane details of their not-so-exciting lives.  How can Twitter be the next big thing?  Are there really that many people who care what everyone else is making for supper?

Hey, there’s a lot of truth to the criticisms.  There’s a part of the Twitter community that is droning on and on about the minutiae of every day existence.  It would be a mistake, however, to think that’s what the whole thing is really all about.
We’re talking about millions of users and millions more to come.  People with defined interests creating social networks with one another and communicating together.

If you’re a marketer and you’re laughing at Twitter with the critics, the joke is on you.  Beyond the silliness lies a great deal of potential.  There are few ways to reach as many people so easily with a well-targeted marketing message.

When you’re done laughing, start making some money!

Those of us who’ve been around the block a few times can get a little gun-shy about hopping on the latest “big thing”.  We’ve seen popular trends and sites that the world gushed over go cold and dead more than once.  We’ve seen the “game changers” quickly transform into a standard-issue piece of the process.

That’s probably why some of us have been reluctant to get going with a plan to leverage the power of Twitter to improve our marketing.  We’re just suspicious and cynical enough to wonder if this is just another fad.

There’s no way to say definitively that Twitter is going to be a big piece of the Internet landscape in five years.  There’s no way to say what’s going to be happening with the web in five years.  Anyone who claims to know is feeding you a line.

It is, however, safe to say that Twitter is going to keep growing through 2009 and that it’s unlikely to collapse any time soon.  This is one of those trends that hasn’t yet reached its peak and even if that peak hits soon, the fall-off will take awhile to really set in.

Here’s the good news.  Unlike those other situations where it was necessary to act at the beginning of the trend to make money, there’s still plenty of marketing room in Twitter.  It’s not virgin territory, but all things considered, not many marketers have really tapped into its potential yet.

Don’t be cynical or suspicious this time around.  This one’s the real deal.  It’s going to stick for awhile and the moneymaking potential is strong.

When a plane crashed and the big news crews didn’t yet have anyone on the scene, they relied on Twitter reports from eye witnesses to patch together what had really happened.

Actor Ashton Kutcher made headlines on all the gossip rags and entertainment shows when he snapped a photo of Demi Moore’s derriere and shared it with the world.  How did he distribute the photo?  He posted the link on Twitter.

Laid off people are finding jobs with Twitter.  Grandma’s are Tweeting to granddaughters.  College students are Tweeting back and forth in the classroom.  Twitter is everywhere, from the kids in the skate park to the senior reporter at National Public Radio.  It’s only a matter of time before we here about the first marriages between folks who met on Twitter.

Twitter is the big story.  Millions of users.  Millions more to come.  It’s growing fast and it’s being used for every purpose under the sun.  That means there’s a place for you on Twitter even if your girlfriend isn’t an actress, you haven’t witnessed a disaster and you’re not looking for a job.

Here’s a hint.  Millions of people.  Interests of all sorts.  Easy to make connections.  Pushbutton simple to share a link with the world.

Are you putting this all together?  It’s a smart marketer’s dream.  When we first started thinking about the potential of social networking as a marketing tool, we couldn’t have dreamed up a better scenario.

Get busy.