The Tools, Tips and Tricks that YOUR Business Should Be Using on Twitter This Year
When using Twitter as a marketing tool, those 140 characters can seem like a long shot.
Here in the Martin Print office, we have difficulty in getting Old Bert to condense his vocal ‘crucial communications’ down to 140 minutes.
You can imagine the fun and games we endured when we tried to introduce him to the succinct sound bites of Twitter. It was a total non-starter.
We never really got past his irrational fear of trolls anyway. I don’t think he fully grasps the meaning of the internet slang term, but it was taking forever to explain that he was not going to be pursued by an army of cave-dwelling creatures with mighty noses.
However, forget the trolls, ignore Piers Morgan, and get signed in;
Twitter is undoubtedly worth your time. It’s a free opportunity for your business to communicate and engage without stuffing promotions down the necks of your customers.
Twitter features are evolving all the time, so let’s take a look at some of the finest features this year and how other businesses are already using them.
Vine
It’s no secret that online audiences have a dire attention…mmm, I could just eat a banana nut muffin.
Sorry, where was I?
Ah yes, it’s no secret that online audiences have a dire attention span.
Research shows that a video between 30 seconds and 4 minutes long is optimum for concentration. Anything beyond that and it will be like telling children on a rollercoaster to recall the periodic table.
Vine is a mobile App which gives you the freedom to create and share short looping videos on Twitter.
What’s special in this case is that a ‘Vine’ is so very short that time is an insignificant factor in choosing to watch the footage.
Twitter proclaims that “42% are likely to retweet, reply, or mention brand Tweets that contain a fun or interesting video”.
Kia Australia is just one example that has jumped on Vine.
The brand offered ‘smart solutions’.
Though packing your drawers may seem to have very little relevance for a business selling cars the size of walk-in-wardrobes, the helpful visual aid nonetheless grabs an audience.
This Vine alone brought 30,000 engagements (clicks, replies, RTs and Vine video views) and a 40% increase in followers.
This year:
- Search filters mean users will be narrowing content to just ‘video’ – making it more fruitful than ever.
- Lock focus and exposure control features have been added to the App, allowing for clearer footage. Simply tap the focus button and allow the exposure level to adjust as is necessary.
Schedule and Promote
Getting noticed on Twitter can seem near impossible at times.
With so many Tweets per second, it’s very hard for users to distinguish Tweets that are worth reading and those which are useless drivel.
Because of this, both Scheduled Tweets and Promoted Tweets are invaluable tools. They allow a business to arrange when a Tweet will appear and in front of which audience.
Partnered with The Voice Australia, Vodafone AU was keen to be heard throughout the natural conversation about the TV programme. Using ‘Promoted Tweets’, Vodafone AU was able to share and encourage engagement amongst an already popular subject.
This tactic brought over 34,000 engagements (clicks, follows, Retweets, favourites, replies).
This year:
- Twitter’s new search filters are incredibly helpful. By narrowing search terms, businesses can specify its audience and specific interests.
- Businesses are beginning to integrate schedules into an entire Twitter campaign strategy, based on upcoming events and points of interest that are likely to be trending.
Fwitter?
Perhaps the portmanteau is a bit uncalled for, but the fact that Twitter is beginning to look a lot like Facebook is worth talking about.
Such changes are presenting businesses with a host of new opportunities.
Your Profile
With a test phase, the new profile layout makes room for a more brand-friendly appearance.
These further customisable details can only be positive for businesses hoping to put across a strong identity.
To take advantage of the impending profile changes, it’s worth researching and planning ahead to ensure you give your Twitter profile a great new look.
Image Preview
Since late last year, images no longer needed to be expanded, marking another move towards the image-happy Facebook appearance.
Images can now appear in a user’s feed, giving marketers the opportunity to draw attention. Studies show that the use of images can increase retweet rate by up to 150% (source: Fast Company).
River Island’s strategic tweet above, playing on January’s desperate attempt at fitness, is a great example of imagery. Cleverly, the delectable photo is not overtly selling anything, it is simply having some fun.
Clearly, with 57 ‘retweets’ and 70 ‘favourites’, the joke paid off!
Using imagery in your marketing campaign still requires a fair bit of thought.
Social media expert Sarah Maloy from Sprout Social found out the following:
- Your images must be at least 440 pixels wide and 220 pixels tall.
- If you can’t get a horizontal shot, make sure the most important visual aspect is in the centre.
- Use photos with a single visual focal point.
- Colours can make a difference. Sarah found that red is a particularly powerful hue, resulting in higher engagement than images that focus on another shade.
Ultimately, this year’s Twitter is all about being creative and brand-conscious.
Avoid ‘selling’ and pushing products like the plague. That isn’t what Twitter is for, and it certainly isn’t why your audience follows you.
Get your brand down to a tee – look at how you can creatively use image and video, and you’ll be off to a great 2014.
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