Twitter: Social Media Marketing Takes Flight

When Twitter flew into our lives it seemed for a while to be just another social media distraction and people questioned the rationale behind status updates with word counts smaller than the size of most text messages.  With the emergence of tools like Twitpic and trending topics, however, marketers have begun to see the benefit in utilizing Twitter as a social media marketing medium.  Edelman Digital has taken part in the re-evaluation of Twitter’s reputation, and has identified five twitter usages.  I have outlined three of them below.  

Twitter and Journalism:

News spreads like wildfire and Twitter makes the flames climb higher with trending news and Twitpics.  Faster news comes at a cost however; although Twitter makes paraphrasing and repetition of news faster, fact errors, grammar mistakes, and unreliable sources spread more frequently.   If using Twitter as a Journalistic medium, the key to follow is fact checking and accuracy.

Twitter for Job Searching and Recruitment:

The job search can be dejecting road but Twitter makes networking as easy as 140 words.  Now professionals can connect and engage through the “Following” tool which allows them to link up with others in their field and open doors to vast lines of networking.  Twitter makes 6 degrees of separation five degrees less with a single click of a button, giving employment inquiries and job pitches speed.

Twitter for Customer Service:

Twitter is now a quicker and cheaper customer service platform for businesses and the go-to method for getting questions answered and problems solved for consumers.  Twitter for customer service is as easy as tweeting a link to a troubleshooting site, or direct contact information for a customer service representative.  The end result is faster response time and more loyal followers.

Key Takeaway: Twitter is still a relevant source for marketing and media initiatives so sit tight because it probably will be for a while to come.

To see more of Edelman’s Five Growing Usages for Twitter, please visit: http://www.edelmandigital.com/2011/08/24/five-growing-uses-for-twitter/