There are privacy agreements, and twitter says if your stuff is not marked private (DM or protected updates) then it is public and anyone can mine it.

In general people don’t have the time or desire to do these things themselves. They have full time work in their field. We show them how to do it and if they want assistance then we assist. It’s about being there to serve the client and help the client tell their story.

More on a comprehensive online strategy later.

Next trend: There is a certain point where the trend gains such a large adoption that it is mainstream. Seeing twitter and facebook utilities on news media outlets is when I knew these tools were mainstream. (in a similar fashion to how the web became mainstream in the late 90′s)

Jordan,
There is a user on twitter who tweets about a new office pig, I found out after using that analogy that she has protected tweets (private) so I cannot link to them. Bummer tho, they are quite funny.

I really like how you put it about Twitter: “a product that can be whatever you want it to be”

I’m going to steal and use the analogy to telemarketing (already have!) That’s good stuff!

Laura,

Good questions. Twitter as a micro-blogging tool is however not there for the visual presence. There are a few elements (profile picture, and background/colors) which can be visually appealing, but the focus is on the content. The users choose how to consume it and chances are they might see your background once or twice at most. Your profile picture is how they recognize you and know you (as well as your username!)

I recommend changing imagery on twitter a few times a year, but no more than 4. If you do it too often you will loose people and they won’t connect your new image with your old image and they won’t track with your story.

Remington,

Twitter, nor any social media tool, will not replace personal communication in person or on the phone. But it can assist. I do not recommend making sales calls/follow ups via twitter. It’s more of a general public communication tool. If you are communicating about a proposal on twitter you are using it wrong.

Kathleen,
I am not the best policy making person, but in general all companies should have a policy about internet usage. These tools should fall under that polcy. When it comes to the marketing team for an organization they need to embrace these as work tools not as personal (“I’m eating a donut waiting for my smoke break”) tools. This means their activity should be trackable and billable (if that’s their business model). And therefor since it is for work purposes they should be allowed to use these tools with the current policy (for work only)

Megan,
Tweetdeck is an awesome application, but it does not yet do multiple accounts. (It’s still in a form of Beta) It allows you to consume twitter in a way that prevents noise and cuts right through to the signal. More on that app later.

Maria,
Agreed with all that… the tools are a bit new to get real good ROI numbers, and its different for every client. If your client needs to be positioned as an authority in their field (Healthcare) or do they need to sell widgets (manufacturing) or are they selling services (B2B) they all have different ROI’s for twitter specifically and for all SM tools in general. But I think you have a good handle on the low hanging fruit of the ROI. Keep the good, tough questions coming! Maybe someday I’ll answer them :-)

Is it possible that for many right now (especially B2B), its:

1) primary ROI is improving google ranking, and therefore generating more productive leads online.

2) something that simply indicates to the online community that they are with the times and not falling behind.

I think that in addition to providing strategy and resources to help clients do “social media”, value can be provided by helping them determine when one of the SM tools is an appropriate spoke in the wheel, and how those tools should function in an integrated fashion with other relevant marketing communications or public relations tactics.

I’m reminded of my days as a law librarian when the internet was exploding, and all the talk was about the paperless office, no need for books, etc. Librarians added tremendous value at the time by helping their constituents understand that various tools available to them, when one tool was more suited to a situation than another, and how to use the respective tool effectively. Similar situation today.

And, thinking back and reading this series, was like a lightbulb moment. It is going to sound stupid, but, it’s not so small as to think it’s about whether a person has something profound to tweet about from their day. It can be about their brand – a place for sharing news, hearing concerns, and finding more information from others in the field. Yea, yea, I’m just recapping some of your thoughts, but, it’s all sinking in at the moment.

So, I appreciate your time to layout this strategy. I found it straightforward and an easy read, thanks to the examples.

Also, saw your suggestion to use Tweetdeck for managing multiple accounts. Is this an application that makes this easier, or provides multiple accounts in one places, cross-platform too? Sounds too easy…guess that’s the point. :)

There is one thing I would like to add. As a guy who thrives on real life personal interaction (contrasted with “virtual” interaction), I will echo Mike’s comment in our meeting today: There is nothing more impacting than a face-to-face meeting with a client. Now, there are certainly benefits to digital communication, such as its speed and convenience, but they come with a cost. It is important to remember that FB and Twitter are one way to start a relationship–and even maintain it–but you can only reach a certain depth in the virtual world. I recommend using virtual mediums as a means of getting face to face with your clients whenever possible. For clients in a different state, maybe a phone call or web conference is the best you can do, but that’s still more personal than 140 characters of text, no matter how frequently you tweet.

I do wonder however. This media is brand exposure – whether personal or business. How can I create the visual essence of my brand on these pages? I see some choices under Design in the settings but then you are like the masses. And this communication is suppose to be so specific as to what I am doing or about or my business. I explored prettytweet.com and again, more of the masses kind of choices. So I created my own background but then kept running into blocks on getting it uploaded.

Do you recommend this kind of thing for a visual presence as well? How often do you change/refreshen it up?

Thanks for all your input and insights. Keep it comin!

I do agree with others, it is not for every business – it may be because the nature of product or service provided or the intended audience is just not twitter-friendly. It needs to make sense before adding it to market strategy.

Great article Paul. I’m also looking forward to hearing more about this and learning my way around all these tools.

By the way, I am drinking coffee at my desk, I just feel the need to give my status at all times.
;)