I came across some sample research from TechDirt the other day, and was struck by its relevance. Consider these topics: “Is It Worth Joining the Facebook Fad?â€, “Making Twitter Useful†and “Understanding Network Neutrality.â€
The Twitter research was of particular interest considering all of the recent buzz among the blogosphere. The report begins with the issue of Twitter’s “usefulness†and whether or not it was destined to just be just another internet fad. The report summarized three main ways that a company could use Twitter.
- Promotions and Marketing
- Market Research and Analysis
- Communications
Twitter could be useful for the latter in providing quick status updates and also to build better internal communications among employees, in turn fostering a better working environment. The idea of using Twitter for promotions/marketing and research and analysis was criticized due to the possible perception of overly aggressive marketing that would ultimately backfire.
TechDirt Insight Community
The remainder of the report featured feedback from various TechDirt Insight Community contributors, in response to the question of what impact Twitter could have on businesses.
My top 10 takeaways from the report:
- Straight off the bat Twitter has valuable free market research: People are more likely to mention a commoditized good they use [on Twitter] than on blogs.
- If marketers themselves enter into this channel, they will become a massive burden on Twitter users.
- The right approach to marketing involves true citizen marketing: True unsolicited comments.
- Twitter offers “instant viral micro-blogging with a dash of emotion†– a phenomenon that should worry most packaged-goods marketers.
- “Is Twitter mature enough to do all this?†No, I would place Twitter at the “Innovators†stage. Twitter is building up a solid consumer base, but it will take a year or two to reach critical mass.
- Large software suppliers such as Oracle and Siebel Systems may be encouraged to develop Twitter-like tools to integrate with existing enterprise resource planning, customer relationship, and supply chain management software packages.
- Twitter content has been making it into the search engines, and could carry some SEO advantages for company web sites.
- Nothing can substitute for innovative approaches to marketing. What matters is engaging people in the conversations.
- Think of Twitter like rapid blogging. If Blogging is a slow, deliberate and in-depth conversation, then Twitter is a rapid fire, casual conversation.
- Twitter is the new standard in social networking permission, where you only get updates on people you want to get updates from, and can control who sees your updates.
Conclusion
Twitter provides examples of citizen marketing, conversation and social interaction. Overall I’m not sure the report was able to specifically answer the questions of the business benefits of Twitter. However, I do think that it provided a great entry about where Twitter could be heading, and the possibilities for marketing professionals to use it to their advantage.
Very interesting. Do we agree that if marketers/communicators enter the world of Twitter, we become an awesome burden? Most of those I follow and are being followed by fit into that category. Are we a burden when we share our posts? Are we a burden if we talk about products and services we have purchased? I think not.
Can we become a burden? Sure, if we see Twitter or any social media tool as a self-serving excuse to sell something. But that is also true of traditional media. When we share usable information, insights or suggest readings, I do not believe we are a burden but instead are an asset to audiences, readers and listeners.
Lewis,
Thanks for your comment.
I think that as long as Twitter users do continue to be an asset by sharing insight and information, that all users (even marketers/communicators) will not become a burden. The important benefit that Twitter has is creating a casual conversation.
The report was focused more on the idea that potential over-aggressive marketing and product pushing on Twitter by some marketers would be rejected by users, in the same way as it’s rejected through traditional media as well as blogs and other social networking sites.