#twittermarketing

When it comes to twitter, I am #clueless. One of the first things I noticed was a word or set of words with the (#) symbol in front of it. After a little google-research (yeah, I made up that term), I’ve come to find these are called hashtags. Hashtags are used to organize and connect tweets about the same topic. For the purpose of marketing, I decided to see how a business could use these effectively.

I’ve learned hashtags are used as a way to search content from people you aren’t following.  You can either use ones that are already created or make your own. Tweets are limited to 140 characters, so when making your own hashtag it's important to keep it short. The idea is customer's will retweet or tweet on their own using the hashtag, so it has to be memorable. So let's say the Superbad movie is about to come out on dvd, and you want to start a twitter viral campaign by posting McLovin quotes from the movie. By ending the quotes with (#Mclovin) the topic would become "trending", and Superbad would get the buzz.

Of course, it is extremely important to use hashtags that reflect your brand and your company. If you use one already created, take time to research the context from which it is used. Also, make sure it is applicable to your tweet. For example, Nike wouldn’t tweet about a new shoe being released then hashtag #chileanminers, simply because it is a popular topic right now. No one likes SPAM.

Once you have successfully created hashtags and they are being used by others, you need to be able to keep up with them so you can respond. Tweet Grid is a site where you can watch people using your tag in real time.

ATTN: We CAN get paid for this.

I hope everyone had a great fall break, I know I did. I spent three nights in Louisville and two in Chicago. On the ride back from Chicago I was discussing with a friend about life after college. After going over all the options (which city to live in, whether or not to attend grad school, possible careers) we decided not to get serious about anything until we turned 25 J Heck, in a dream world, we could be 21 forever. However, reality is setting in and in a few short months we will be set out in to the real world, diploma in hand.  So what’s next?

Below I have given two examples of professionals who are making a living off of social media/digital marketing, from this list of 25:

Meet Arnie Gullov-Singh, his official title is EVP Product Tech. and Ops. for Fox Interactive Media. Basically he pioneered social network advertising beginning with MySpace. Google announced it could not make advertising work for MySpace, so Arnie and his team devised a system that allowed small businesses to create and buy advertising.  He has also led two campaigns since joining Fox, HyperTargeting and Audience Insights. HyperTargeting is using a program for social media advertising that connects marketers to target audiences.  Audience Insights is an analytic program that describes to marketers the target audience which is most engaged in their campaign.

Meet Andrew Keller, his official title is Partner and Co-Executive Creative Director for Crispin Porter + Bogusky. He has headed up some of CP+B’s most famous campaigns for the MINI, Volkswagen, Burger King, Domino's Pizza, Coke Zero, Old Navy, Hulu, Guitar Hero, and Microsoft. He is best known for producing tv spots which go viral online, such as the "Whopper Freakout" for Burger King. He is also behind the highly successful “I’m a PC” campaign for Microsoft.

I think it’s important for us to remember that although we are entering an unfriendly job market within a declining economy, we have a hidden talent. Our common knowledge of Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube means big bucks in the real world. At least I hope so.

OMG TXT MKT

Texting.ly, which was launched earlier this May, is an online portal for businesses to interact with their customers through text messaging. Their website states, “Your customers are texting. Why aren’t you?”

That statement could not be more spot on. According to a recent Pew Internet & American Life Study, only 9% of adults do not text.  It was also found that 21% of teens send over 100 texts per day. So how does Texting.ly help businesses reach their customers? Well, they provide the business a texting address, a management console so they can manage the texts from the website, and the ability to link the texting to the business' website, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

From what I’ve researched the New York Nets seem to be the first major client of this texting marketing campaign.  They are currently running a campaign where you text why you are excited to be a Nets fan and become entered to win tickets. A trivia-game has also been proposed to keep the fans engaged once the season starts. I was most impressed when I read that texting.ly is working on a location based feature that will allow businesses to send texts to people inside a geo-fence. How cool would that be to get a text from your favorite restaurant chain saying they noticed you were nearby and then offered you a discount? There are endless opportunities for this marketing campaign and I believe it is the way of the future. It's direct, personal, innovative, and cost-efficient.

(Side note: I gathered my information from: Scott Monty's blog , this tech blog , and Blackweb 2.0 )