Brewing the Value Stream or How To Generate Twitter Content?

You’re either on Twitter or you know you need to be .

Let’s assume that you have a Twitter account, that you’ve created some reflection of your brand identity and you understand how to follow. If not, read this.

Now, really. What do you SAY?

Whenever you’ve lost your way in the marketing maze you can always find true north with;

a)    A business objective
b)    An understanding of your market position
c)    An understanding of your audience segments

So when facing the grey haze of Twitter, start with an objective such as: (but not limited to..)

1. Increasing market share
   
2. Increasing customer retention
   
3. Growing customer relationships
   
4. Establishing a leadership position

As you well know, these in turn lead to strategy recommendations…something like'

1. Transform customers into evangelists
2. Recognize and reward your customers
   
3. Become the ‘knowledge’ provider 
   
4. Attain and promote 3rd party endorsements

These are just some starters to get your brain going, but this type of approach should look hauntingly and reassuringly familiar.

Just stick to your map and attach your strategy to the desires and preferences of your audience(s) - customers, suppliers, media, bloggers, competition, industry leaders, etc.

10 Basic Content Categories

How do you brighten their day, solve their pain and execute your strategy? What categories of content are meaningful to them, Are they:

1.     Key Insights and unique perspectives
2.     Industry research, trends, opinion polls and surveys
3.     Blogger posts and pics 
4.     Everything they wanted to know about your product but were afraid to ask…

5.     How-to’s and Self-helps

6.     Event notices and key dates
7.     Behind the scenes info
8.     Industry or Category News
9.     Reviews and referrals
10.  Personal profiles about others like them

These are broad categories and your strategist can tighten the focus depending on your audience, event or marketing objectives.  But the key is to have categories of content that are meaningful to your customer and delivered on a regular basis. You need a stream of content that reflects your brand while it meets their needs and desires.

"O.K but where does all this content come from?"

• Well you can hire this… but just in case it’s not in the budget,
  
• Once you know your categories, there are great Internet scraping tools. Start with Google Alerts on key words. Try tools like Zoomerang, Twitter Search, Addictomatic that make it easy to tune in to what’s being said in a particular category.
  
• Have departments heads provide you with relevant information in their area.
  
• Repeat the wisdom of bloggers or others on Twitter. You will be appreciated for taking the time to sort through the noise for the good kernel of information.
  
• Personal insights – make it real. Be truly reflective. Be human It will resonate. 
  
• Don't cheat, be selfish or greedy. This is a transparent medium and you will not only be busted but punished. Be open, confident and generous. It's much more attractive. 
  

How often do you “tweet”?

The jury is still out, but some stats say you should tweet at least 10 times a day. That’s once an hour 8 – 5. The posting is fast. The sourcing of content is the work. The USArmy posts less often but their content is good. Find your balance.

Tip:Use modifiers like bit.ly that reduce your links down to save character space and also allow you to track them.

RT (Retweet) posts that mention you or key members of your audience.

Engage your audience. Reply when someone mentions you or when you can provide good information.  That demonstrates that you are listening and appreciative. People love to be listened to.

Respond even when something negative happens……ok….you need a response strategy. But that’s another post.

 

New Years Resolution #101: Integrating social media into my company. Ugh.

Day 1: We are nowhere…

Just like a New Year's weight loss program, you know you need to bite this bullet. But how do you start integrating social media into your company? 

Simply. Easily. This is a fun diet.

Play. Whether it’s Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or FlickR, let your team engage freely. Easy.

Get personal. Share photos on FlickR, and events on Facebook. Also easy.

Share about business. Develop a unified(group name) tag on Delicious to share industry information and follow specific #Hashtags on Twitter. Easier.

Learn from each other. Share in-person or on ning.com about your SM experiences. A little harder – especially if you have any shy types or ego maniacs on your team. But you’re used to that.

Day 2: Having fun - but is it relevant to the business?

Listen. Set up iGoogle pages gathering feeds to all the bloggers in your industry . Try browsing all your SM spaces on flock.com. Allow one hour a day to read what’s gathered. Listening is required.

Experience it. Join rich social spaces with one-stop access to resources, those that help you get and stay organized and ensures your own personal growth in a category. Try Mint or Ravelry or find one in your industry. Benchmark. Easy work.

Evolve. Use Twitter, iGoogle, Delicious and the like to their fullest to track competition, what’s being said about your industry and your brand – not to mention changes in technology. Did I already say listening was important? Pay attention.

Drive. Get blogging. It's free. Post at least once a month. Hobbies, religion, politics – the sky’s the limit. Then get optimized. Harder.

Day 3: We must launch or we’re doomed. Doomed!
O.K. You’ve dinked around and have started to experience the benefits and realities of social media. But now you are tasked with building into that space for your own brand. How?

Get a good partner.
In fact, get a good team with a business strategist, marketing and pr savvy as well as interactive skill sets. Find a partner that can help you integrate social media into your entire customer experience and one who is listening and learning every day. This landscape is not static and with mobile in the mix, it now evolves 24/7 at 360 degrees – you’ll need a team that can do that too. They need to think on their feet.

Think holistically. Act specifically.
Social media can enhance every aspect of your business. It can be the biggest customer feedback mechanism you’ve ever seen. If your culture is risk adverse, start small and in a somewhat measurable way – then expand and speed up.

Use brand evangelists.
Find your most dedicated employees and happiest customers and get them active in your social space. They’re positive and they’ll keep it real. Keep in regular contact with your industry’s blogosphere.

Solve for the customer.
You already know all about them. Build tools for their growth through your brand and make it real. Fluff is out. Real is in.

Be Appropriate.
Know when to join the conversation and when to stay quiet. The US Airforce has a thoughtful response continuum - make one.

Stay flexible.
The days of projecting a static brand image are gone. Your brand must live and breathe and demonstrate its value every day. Muscle up and swing forward. It's a jungle out there.