360 Digital Influence

Twitter for Business

6 Ways for Brands to Use Twitter
June 2009
Twitter-genda

01 What is Twitter and Why to Use It?

02 Twitter Strategy: Customer Relations

03 Twitter Strategy: Product Promotion and Sales

04 Twitter Strategy: Event Activation

05 Twitter Strategy: Crisis Management

06 Twitter Strategy: Corporate Reputation Management

07 Twitter Strategy: Issue Advocacy

08 Additional Resources and Take Aways

What is Twitter?
Highly
Highly popular
popular with
with celebrities,
celebrities, media
media and
and
executives, Twitter is a microblogging platform
executives, Twitter is a microblogging platform
composed
composed ofof 140
140 character
character answers
answers to
to 1
1 simple
simple
question:
question: “What
“What are
are you
you doing?”
doing?”
As
As of
of May
May 2009,
2009, Twitter
Twitter received
received nearly
nearly 20
20
million
million UMVs,
UMVs, growing
growing by by over
over 400%
400% in
in the
the
past
past year.
year. Growth
Growth in
in traffic
traffic increased
increased by
by
approximately 1% in the past
approximately 1% in the past month.month.
A
A study
study from
from Sysomos
Sysomos shows
shows the
the top
top 10%
10% of
of Twitter
Twitter
users
users make up for more than 86% of the total Tweets
make up for more than 86% of the total Tweets ––
pointing
pointing out
out that
that the
the more
more followers
followers a a person
person has
has the
the
more
more frequently
frequently they
they are
are likely
likely to
to Tweet.
Tweet.
New
New Harvard
Harvard studies
studies show
show that
that approximately
approximately 60% 60% of of
Twitter
Twitter users
users sign
sign up
up and
and only
only use
use itit once.
once. However,
However, withwith
the
the exponential
exponential growth
growth in
in visibility,
visibility, Twitter
Twitter is
is still
still on
on the
the
rise.
rise.
 9

Business Opportunities
• While the recent phenomenon of Twitter has hit mainstream news, media
and especially Hollywood, there are still a number of opportunities to use
Twitter as a tool to help meet the needs of a corporation or organization.

• Twitter allows businesses a new mode of customer communication that

can be tailored to match their customers’ preferences.

• Identify what Twitter strategy works best for your company or client.

• Customer Relations

• Crisis Management

• Corporate Reputation Management

• Issue Advocacy

• Event Activation

• Product Promotion and Sales

Top Twitter Strategies
Follow>Create>Engage
Customer Service

Anyone who has customers – B2C, B2B, G2B, G2C, etc... –

can use Twitter to quickly listen and respond to customer
feedback before problems escalate and to activate brand
ambassadors….
@comcastcares
Frank Eliason at Comcast started @comcastcares in April 2008 in
response to the customer conversations he and his team found on Twitter
through monitoring. Offers customers specific troubleshooting tips,
online resources, new product info and a key customer relations
personality (i.e. Frank’s).
Product Promotion and Sales

A successful sales and promotion plan is based on

identifying your audience, providing useful content, and
being prepared to engage in the conversation. When done
right, your followers will not only become loyal customers,
but also evangelists for your brand and your promotions.
TwitterMoms
Brands like CVS, Lands End, Jose Cuero, and more, are working with TwitterMoms, a
network of over 16,000 moms on Twitter and/or blogging, to help promote their products
and services and drive sales. TwitterMoms hosts Twitter parties and contests, giving its
community a reason to post about and share product information with their followers.
Event Activation

The real-time ability to connect with others and share

experiences makes Twitter a great platform for individuals,
or companies, to use during a major event.

Live-Tweeting an event can be used to create a completely

new channel of conversation and a way to enhance the
physical experience of the event. Combining Twitter with
blogs, video and other social media efforts provides more
ways to interact with the content and experience you’re
creating.
@fordfiesta
To build buzz around the upcoming launch of the Ford Fiesta in the 2010 US market, Ford
developed the Fiesta Movement - recruiting 100 online influencers to receive a new Ford
Fiesta with the instruction to complete a series of missions, or challenges, throughout the
course of a year with their Fiesta. To build momentum and allow these drivers, as well as
the larger general audience to interact with Ford, the @fordfiesta Twitter handle and
#fiestamovement hashtag were created, to publish challenges, get updates from drivers
and engage in an ongoing conversation around the Fiesta Movement.
Crisis Management

Using Twitter for Crisis Communications is as much about

preventing an isolated issue from becoming a full-blown
crisis as it is about communicating to the public once a
crisis has hit.

Twitter is the fast way to respond and maintain an open

channel.

It needs to be part of a broader strategy, with all of the

(social) media channels you use to listen and share with
your customers, clients, and industry.
@jetblue
The guys at JetBlue established a handle in a effort to humanize their
brand and prevent any future reputation and sales crises resulting from
customer complaints or corporate mishaps. Responds to customers with
information and suggestions in their own quirky personality.
Corporate Reputation Management

Twitter offers a new channel and outlet for your brand’s

personality and humanity. A Twitter handle is created to
share the brand personality from real-live people behind
the messages being Tweeted.

It’s easy to see what others are saying about your brand
and topics of interest and create a strong presence within
those conversations.
@Zappos
Started originally to “help build company culture” for employees outside
of the office. Now, with over 121,000 followers, provides customers with
an inside look at the company and core values, industry news, thought
leadership, useful resources and product promotion.
Issue Advocacy

Twitter’s ability to connect people with similar interests can

be harnessed for the greater social good with non-profits
and issue advocacy organizations creating a community and
providing useful information to those they serve,
volunteers, donors and other supporters.
@LiveStrong
Led by @lancearmstrong and @livestrongceo, the LiveStrong Foundation
spreads the word about about cancer and provide people with the tools they
need to “live life on their own terms.” The Twitter handle is aimed to provide
communication and support to those dealing with cancer, while also building
awareness and raising funds for the foundation and cancer research.
 A Strategic Approach to Using Twitter

STRATEGY FOLLOW CREATE ENGAGE

Content relevant to Answer questions,
Your customers and
Customer Relations your customers: tips, respond to comments
potential customers
company info, etc. about your brand

Your brand, products Direct to additional Answer questions,

Crisis Management
and relevant issues resources, updated respond to comments,
information, explanation raise issues, provide info
Corporate Insights, expertise, Jump in the conversation.
Industry leaders,
Reputation become a thought leader Be transparent and add
similar interest
Management value
groups, news/media

Those interested or Event information, Set up Tweet-ups, talk to

Event Coverage updates, behind the attendees, ask and
attending event, media
scenes coverage answer questions

Product Promotion Current and potential Links to online promos, Check replies and DMs,
& Sales customers, those insider info on upcoming answer questions,
interested in similar sales, discount codes provide info when needed
products
Issue Advocacy Those interested in Added value: health tips, Know your followers,
your cause, industry disaster alerts, thank them for support,
leaders, news fundraising info get them involved
Useful Twitter Tools
• Search.Twitter (f.k.a Summize): Complete an advanced search
around key phrases, within specific dates, and from specific
handles. (Often broken, Google search is the best back up!)

• TweetDeck: A desktop app that lets you organize your followers

into specific categories (i.e. industry leaders, customers,
potential customers, etc.)

• TwitPic: Provides a bridge from your camera phone to Twitter.

Pictures can either post to the Twitter public timeline from phone
via email or through the site.

• Tweet Later and CoTweet: Allow you time your Tweets to be

created now and published later.
Useful Twitter Tools
• HootSuite: a shared Twitter platform allowing multiple users,
pre-scheduled tweets, and click statistics including charts and
your most popular tweets.

• TweetVolume: Find out what keywords to use based on their

popularity and conversation volume on Twitter.

• TweetBeep: the Google Alerts for Twitter, allows you to monitor

conversations that mention you, your brand, related/competitor
products, and links to your website/blog. Alerted as keywords
appear, reducing the need for a manual search.

• Twitterholic: Find out who has the most followers and who can
be an influential asset to your campaign.

• ExecTweet: Find and follow top executives on Twitter.

Useful Twitter Tools

• TwitterGrader: Measures the relative power and authority of a

Twitter user by calculating number of followers, power of
network of followers, pace of updates and completeness of a
user's profile.

• Twhirl: Centrally manages activity, messaging, and updating for

Twitter and other platforms (FriendFeed, Identi.ca, and
Seesmic).

• TwitScoop: Tells you “What’s hot right now?”, presenting trend

comparisons and volume of conversation.

• Twitterberry and TwitterFox: Downloadable Blackberry app and

Firefox plugin for Twitter.
Additional Resources

http://delicious.com/360DI/twitter
CONTACT
John H. Bell
Managing Director | 360° Digital Influence
Ogilvy Public Relations
p 202.729.4166
e john.bell@ogilvypr.com

Kristin Parrish
Digital Influence | 360° Digital Influence
Ogilvy Public Relations
p 404.881.2324
e kristin.parrish@ogilvypr.com