Twitter: Best practice guide
B2B Marketing, February 2012, Pages: 87
This Twitter Best Practice Guide is designed to help B2B marketers utilise and understand Twitter as a marketing tool in order to transform their social marketing activities to meet key objectives. The guide explores the rising use of B2B marketing on Twitter to drive opportunities, generate and nurture leads.
As Twitter turns six years old this year, it’s hard not to notice the phenomenal speed at which it has grown and developed. The company is now estimated to be worth $8.4 billion, with users of the social media network now sending over 250 million tweets every day – compared to a mere two million a day in 2009.
Twitter has enabled B2B marketers to enter the realms of social media marketing to boost communication with their target audience. It is an easily shareable platform for organisations to spread key messages to wider audiences, develop the brand, improve customer service, drive leads and sales, as well as strengthen their position as thought leaders.
It’s important B2B brands thinking about, or already, using Twitter for marketing incorporate social media into their overall marketing strategy. This Best Practice Guide will examine all aspects of creating a sound Twitter strategy to build up brand loyalty and gain customers’ trust. Measurement and monitoring tools to demonstrate the value of Twitter for brand development, customer service and thought leadership is also covered.
This guide is a key resource for brand marketers, customer service heads, digital marketing professionals, heads of marketing, heads of social media, marketing directors, marketing executives, marketing managers, PR agencies and teams, and anyone involved in the process of defining or re-defining social media strategies.
Introduction
Contents
About B2B Marketing
Executive summary
Contributors’ biographies
Section 1. Introduction to Twitter
1.1 What is Twitter? A brief history and background
1.2 How does it work?
1.3 Twitter for businesses
1.4 How can businesses use Twitter?
1.5 Summary
Section 2. Fundamentals of using Twitter
2.1 Why use Twitter?
2.2 How to use Twitter effectively
2.3 Integrating Twitter with other activity
2.4 Outsourcing or insourcing?
2.5 Measurement
2.6 Summary
Section 3. Using Twitter for brand development
3.1 The role of Twitter and brands
3.2 Creating a brand personality
3.3 Content and timing
3.4 Individual personalities
3.5 Interaction
3.6 Integration with other activities
3.7 Measurement
3.8 Listening
3.9 Talking
3.10 Summary
Section 4. Using Twitter for customer service
4.1 The role of Twitter as a feedback mechanism
4.2 How and when to respond
4.3 Monitoring technology
4.4 Online and offline integration
4.5 Outsourcing or insourcing?
4.6 Measurement
4.7 Summary
Section 5. Using Twitter to drive leads and sales
5.1 Twitter as part of the lead nurturing process
5.2 How to create leads
5.3 How to nurture leads
5.4 The role of content
5.5 Using offers and direct sales messaging
5.6 Tracking with technology
5.7 Marketing automation
5.8 Who should tweet? Marketing or sales?
5.9 Summary
Section 6. Using Twitter for thought leadership
6.1 The role of Twitter as part of a thought leadership programme
6.2 Stakeholder mapping
6.3 Curation
6.4 Choosing your spokespeople
6.5 Integration into a wider content strategy
6.6 Measuring effectiveness
6.7 Summary
Section 7. The future of Twitter
7.1 Recent developments
7.2 Increasing commercialisation
7.3 User profiling
7.4 Integration with other social platforms
7.5 Twitter and search
7.6 Summary
Section 1. Introduction to Twitter
When Twitter was first launched, it was nothing more than a 140-character public messaging interface, which allowed users to post links and ‘tag’ each other in updates. As the service has evolved through various iterations of ‘new Twitter’ (as it has been dubbed by users), functionality and features have increased thanks to various acquisitions and launches. Twitter is now a rich media-laden platform offering bespoke pages for brands and businesses alongside targeted advertising campaigns. More than 250 million tweets are now sent every day and the company’s value is estimated at more than $8.4 billion.
Section 2. Fundamentals of using Twitter
With functionality that can help you organise large amounts of third-party and original content about key industry issues, Twitter is a powerful tool that can help you learn more about what’s happening in your industry, build interactive communities and add value to your audience.
This chapter explores what core functionality and third-party applications are available, and how you can leverage them to achieve your marketing objectives more efficiently. Twitter can provide a ready-made audience that’s willing to communicate with you, but only if you do it right. Understanding the fundamentals of how Twitter works will give you a complete insight on the platform to enable you to develop a sound Twitter strategy.
Section 3. Using Twitter for brand development
It’s important to remember that, ‘All roads lead to the brand’. Twitter is one (of many) of those roads. It’s a channel – a tool that can be used to communicate the brand and not something that should detract or change the existing brand strategy. With that thought firmly in mind, marketers can start to use the tool to amplify the brand and draw known and prospective audiences closer, in order to achieve business goals. This section offers practical guidance on how to maximise brand opportunity via Twitter.
Section 4. Using Twitter for customer service
Twitter has enabled businesses to deal with complaints and feedback instantly, and in turn how this has developed strong brand loyalty.
But the fear of instant negative PR for a brand is constantly there in the background. By engaging frequently and using the medium as a listening and awareness tool marketers can understand opinions about their brand. Twitter allows brands to respond instantly, in turn making them more personable and friendly. Customers value how they are replied to and interacted with – the way companies respond can help shape their reputation and affect brand loyalty.
Section 5. Using Twitter to drive leads and sales
The B2B buying process can be long and convoluted, not to mention potentially risky. Choosing the wrong supplier or partner for a businesscritical service or product can have ramifications beyond initial capital outlay. No surprise then that your customers are increasingly turning to the social web, seeking advice from colleagues and peers to support their decision-making processes.
Twitter can help you tune in to what your target market is talking about. Joining in these conversations in a timely and appropriate manner is a key part of an effective nurture strategy, one that can quickly and cost effectively help your business acquire a position of stature and leadership.
Section 6. Using Twitter for thought leadership
Thought leadership is an essential element of the marcomms mix, with Twitter being a key tool to build your company profile to your target audience.
This section explores practical ways of being thought leaders and the different methods of outputting your content with the greatest effect. It will show you how to set, track and measure core metrics to demonstrate the greatest ROI, giving you something to get started with.
Using Twitter as a distribution tool to promote your content and choosing spokespeople from within your organisation to be the human face of your corporate position will reinforce your stance as thought leaders within your industry.
Section 7. The future of Twitter
The rise of Twitter from a niche social media channel to mainstream media has only taken five years. The initial, brilliantly simple, concept has remained essentially unchanged. But the challenges it presents for business seem to shift slightly every few months. Wise marketers will continue to watch carefully and revisit strategies regularly. Twitter has already tested some paid promotion systems and has promised more.
In discussing the future of Twitter, the implications of potential ‘paid’ Twitter opportunities for businesses, as well as the potential for new technology and other social media integrations such as smart TV are examined. This year will be a watershed year for Twitter. It has invested heavily in resources intended to make the service a mainstream media channel for the US presidential election and, to a lesser extent, the London Olympics. Watching these events unfold, 140 characters at a time, will show marketers which direction Twitter is likely to take in the coming years.
Product Samples
A sample for this product is available. Please Login/Register to download this sample.
Customers who bought this item also bought
All rights reserved. © Copyright 2013 Research and Markets WWW5
Terms and Conditions Privacy Policy Publishers Employment Opportunities Site Map Link to us Webmaster Affiliate Network
