Twitter 101 for Small Business: What Every Small Business Needs to Know #OASocial

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Ilona Olayan ilona@socialstrategy1.com

@eyelona www.socialstratgy1.com

Hakan Degirmenci hakan@twitter.com

@hakansf www.twitter.com

I’m Hakan.

State of

Social

Media in

Small

Business

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Today’s Topics

• Twitter by the Numbers – The Basics, Stats, What It Means To You

• How to integrate Twitter into Your Overall Marketing

• Twitter Etiquette and the Most Engaging Tweets

• Twitter User Behavioral Patterns Like Why Users Follow Brands and How Twitter Influences Purchase Decisions.

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100M+ Registered Accounts

600K+ New Accounts / Day

2006 2011

Twitter by the Numbers

Tweets per day

250+ Million

Then: 3 years, 2 months, 1 day

Now: every 4.5 days

1,000,000,000 5

Twitter’s Audience

Source: comScore [P] Twitter.com in the U.S.,June 2011. For all metrics but education: Media Metrix, Base: P2+.

For education metrics: Plan Metrix, Base A18+. (Education metrics are not available in Media Metrix, Base: P2+)

Age Gender

Education Income Attended Grad School 159 Index vs. U.S. Internet (21%)

HHI > $100K 111 Index vs. U.S. Internet (23%)

160 Index

136 Index

119 Index

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Useful Communication tool that

allows you to interact with people

around the world

I don’t care what other people are

doing!

I don’t need to know that

John is heading to

the restroom.

1. short message to a bunch of people publicly 2. short message to a specific person publicly 3. Short message to a specific person privately

140 character limit

No one needs to know

what I am doing!

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Twitter is Faster

Than an Earthquake

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Setting Up an Account

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10

Setting Up an Account

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1 2

3 4

The Basics • Are you twittering, twitting or tweeting?

• Followers, Following, and Friends?

• Using a @username (@officearrow)

• What’s a hashtag (#)?

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Tweets

The Basics (continued) • What’s a DM (direct message)

• RT or "retweet"

– Example:

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RT @OfficeArrow – Slick statistics - Small Business

Stuck in Neutral on Social Media [Infographic &

Report]… officearrow.com/….

OR

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User Influence

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67%

51%

79%

60%

Are you more likely to buy since becoming a follower/fan?

Are you more likely to recommend since becoming a follower/fan?

Source: iModerate, March 2010 survey of 1,504 nationally representative US adults by Chadwick Martin Bailey

The Power of a Follow A signal of interest and intent

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1)Why do Twitter users follow brands?

2)How does Twitter influence followers’ attitudes and behaviors towards brands?

3)How does Twitter influence purchase decisions?

4)How many Twitter users follow brands?

Understanding Followers - what the research says

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Reasons Twitter users follow brands

Source: Compete, 6/13/11, “Four Things You Might Not Know About Twitter”

Reasons to follow a brand on Twitter

% of respondents

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Twitter followers are more likely to recommend and take action

Twitter usage outcomes compared to non-followers

Source: Compete, 6/13/11, “Four Things You Might Not Know About Twitter”

Twitter influences retail purchase decisions

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2 in 3 Users Say Twitter Influences Purchases

Source: Compete Online Shopper Intelligence, Spring 2011

14.5

19.4

28.6

25

12.5

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Not at all influential Not very influential Influential Somewhat influential Extremely influential

% of respondents, n=525

Most Twitter users follow five or more brands

20 Note: n=500. Source: Lab42 survey as cited in company blog Aug 2011, republished by eMarketer

10.6

30.6

19.6

17.8

9.8

3.4

8.2

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

None

1-5

6-10

11-20

21-30

31-50

51+

Number of brands they follow according to US Twitter Users, Aug 2011

Number of brands US Twitter Users Follow, August 2011

How to Use it For Business • Develop and promote your business

• Interact with your customer base offering deals, specials or simply service

• Track what people are saying about your company and brand

• Create buzz around upcoming events

• Empower employees to act as liaisons to the public

• Develop direct relationships with bloggers and/or journalists for potential PR placement

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How do you apply the uses of Twitter to your business?

Plan your work and

work your plan

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Twitter Planning: 9 Points to Consider

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1 – Goals 6 – Schedule

2 - Messages to Followers 7 – Frequency

3 - Hashtags / Topics 8 - Tone

4 – Keywords 9 - Tactics

5 - Phrase 10 - Listen

What to Tweet About

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Link 98% included links for deeper engagement

Hashtag 72% used hashtags to brand the conversation

Real-Time 70% featured new, up-to-the minute content

Call to Action 40% used direct calls to action (“Click here”)

Exclamatory! 40% were exclamatory in tone (used “!”)

New Product 38% announced the launch of a new product

Ask a Question 24% asked a question

Game-Related 22% related to a game or contest

Secrets to Success What are the most engaging Tweets?

Source: Twitter Internal Data, Q410 – Q211. 25

Twitter Etiquette 1. Maintain a complete and current bio

2. Don’t shorten your URL or web address on your bio page

3. Investigate all links you plan on re-tweeting

4. Don’t spam your followers

5. Use good manners, just like in the offline world

6. Do not DM anything that may appear as spam

7. Stay away from controversial subjects

8. Don’t buy into personal or business attacks, if they occur – there’s one in every crowd, and Twitterville is no exception.

9. Have fun and make money!

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Coming Soon

Ilona Olayan ilona@socialstrategy1.com

@eyelona www.socialstratgy1.com

Hakan Degirmenci hakan@twitter.com

@hakansf www.twitter.com

Melanie Williams Melanie.williams@officearrow.com

@officearrow www.officearrow.com

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