Tag Archives: twitter
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Twitter by the numbers
Twitter is an ever-changing platform, with ever-changing statistics. A new report has some of the latest and greatest updates regarding this platform, some of which are very interesting and have some pretty heavy implications for marketers. It is always important for marketers to keep these statics in mind when crafting a social media strategy, or when realizing a target audience for a client.
First of all, did you know that 42% of Twitter users are actually between the ages of 30-49? While the second largest age group is 18-29, it is equally as important to focus on that older sect as well. Many marketers are focusing on the younger age group, but these new statistics might prove that it is also important to tap Twitter when targeting an older age demographic as well. Along with this point, over 40% of Twitter users follow a brand online for the sole purpose of receiving deals and coupons. Surprising? Probably not. Everyone loves a good deal. Important for marketers to keep in mind? Definitely. By understanding consumer motivations for following a brand on Twitter, these brands have the opportunity to give consumers exactly what they want, while staying true to the brand objectives.
Me too. And I didn’t realize just how much I’d fallen off the Twitter wagon until this subject line appeared in my inbox this week: “We’ve missed you on Twitter!” Gasp! Had it really been three months since I tweeted. Indeed it had. The reality is, I’d run out of steam, and had been for a while.
Before my Twitter derailment
I started out on Twitter much like many other people, tweeting about ordinary things like which patio I was having lunch on or venting about some unfortunate incident I’d experienced in the day 
– likely some guy spitting on the sidewalk in close proximity to my feet. As more people joined with more interesting content to offer I got a mild case of Twitter stage fright. Could I really be brilliant all the time? In all honesty, sometimes. Still, I plodded along, upping my game when I could with wittier tweets and better content as more and more people began to follow me.
Signs of boredom appear
Over time I noticed a few patterns emerging. If life was a bit status quo, so were my tweets. If life was awesome and random and exciting, so were my tweets. I found there was a direct correlation to the activity in my life and the activity on my Twitter feed. When I traveled, I couldn’t tweet fast enough about where I was and what I saw. When I was super excited about something, I shared it immediately. But on a day when I wasn’t particularly inspired and had little to say, my Twitter posts would stall and my anxiety would start to grow. And I couldn’t always bring myself to scour the blogosphere and then fake spontaneous brilliance.
My first break from Twitter
Soon enough, Twitter lethargy set in. I didn’t post or sign in for a while. Didn’t even stalk my friends to keep up with their lives. Of course that backfired a bit when I started to feel out of the loop and friends started to say “Didn’t you see it? I posted it on Twitter.” Read More
Communities
Coachella Marketing Blitz: New Brands Shake Up Party Landscape
As many of you already know (and possibly attended), Coachella took place recently. This desert music and arts festival had some pretty hefty social media integration this year, a reflection of the culture and goals of the festival. Many brands were in attendance, appealing to attendees with their social media interactive tools. QR codes were a big hit this year in terms of navigating the festival and interacting with brands. Giltcity.com, Spin.com and Lacoste are all brands that were there showing off their social media chops. Did you attend the festival? Let us know what your impressions of the social media integration were!
Tools and Technology
LocalResponse Taps the Social Web to Help Businesses Draw Customers
LocalResponse is a new tool that was announced on Tuesday. It is being referred to as a “social advertising platform” that allows companies to look through social media information to more directly target their consumers. By being able to look at who their most loyal consumers are, brands have the opportunity to send them rewards and deals specifically, rather than in an email blast. LocalResponse scans Twitter as well as a plethora of location-based services to find out their information. So far, LocalResponse has reported that the beta version of their product had extremely positive response.
Measurement
ContentAide: Get Daily Reports About Your Rival’s Facebook Page
COMMUNITIES
How Businesses Can Survive a Product Recall Using Social Media
Every community has its ups and downs. But it’s always a good idea to have a crisis management plan in place for when those down moments hit. One of the biggest crises for a brand and a community can be when a recall is announced on a product. But should this happen, have no fear, social media can help turn this situation around. As this article lies out, social media becomes a place to vent and find information when situations like this arise, so it is crucially important to preempt consumer questions. Communities need to be on their A-game when recalls occur. It’s equally as important to control sources of consumer information. When people go into panic mode about their recalls, it is likely that rumors will confuse the situation even more. To find out more great ways to control a recall crisis, check out this article.
TOOLS & TECHNOLOGIES
Five Things Facebook Should Fix Immediately
Usually articles regarding new tools and technologies are relatively positive. New technology announcements or upgrades of existing tools seem to be the usual theme of this section. However, today we are going to indulge a recent rant about what Facebook could and should be doing better. Facebook is clearly one of the most successful feats on the web today, but according to this article, there are a few things Facebook could pick up the slack on. The author of this article takes up issue with the following: Groups, Photo Viewer, Places, Messaging and Tabs. Take a look at this article and let us know, do you agree? What do you think Facebook should be doing better?
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SXSWi – it’s the birth of a proto-city: a hive of integrated people experimenting with the tools in the market that, without mass local adoption, would not have any poignancy. It’s where the early adopters can temporarily form a society of mutually founded infrastructure.
Obviously I like to consider myself a fairly early adopter. I am generally picking up the newest thing in beta and giving it a try. The proto-city certainly is a unique experience where these services just work and I’m not at the mercy of my family and friends to adopt the numerous new things I throw at them every week.
This week’s post is all about these services and how they work, a kind of preview to how they would work if a mainstream audience were to pick them up. There are some old and some new, but all based around the ever growing social–mobile & desktop–sector.
The prevailing theme this year was group messaging and location based services. Typically when you look back at SXSW there is one clear launch that will take hold and change the landscape of digital: Twitter, Foursquare, Gowalla, etc. I would say that this year there was no clear winner. This may be perhaps due to development becoming easier and faster than it was a couple years ago, which would correlate to SXSW being fettered with startup after startup, creating so much noise that no single one stood out.
There’s four services that I looked at primarily while down in Austin: Convore, Beluga, Hashable, & Yobongo.
Communities
What A #MarchMadness Bracket Would Look Like If It Were Decided By Twitter
With March Madness well underway, most of our attentions have been turned to the TVs, and away from twitter for a little bit. But Empire Avenue, a social media exchange service, has dared to keep on tweeting and ask one very important question: Who would take home the National Champion of Twitter. Empire Avenue has set up a full bracket of which university would take home the top prize when it comes to twitter activity. The Final Four has been narrowed down to North Carolina, Michigan, Wisconsin and UNLV. Just in case your brackets are not doing as well as you had hoped, maybe you will have a little more luck with this one.
Tools & Technologies
Augmented Reality Industry Aims to Get Beyond the Hype
Augmented reality is a phenomenon that has really been a theory more than a reality. With all of the hype however, consumers are getting excited about all of the potential possibilities. But now, Laurent Gil, founder of Viewdle, is ready to make all this hype a reality. With plenty of other developers and augmented reality coinsures behind him, the technology may not be as far into the future as we thought before. For example, gaming company Ogmento is working on finding ways to encourage natural behavior while playing these games, discouraging awkward motions and movements. Steps like these, Gil believes, are what will help bring augmented reality, into reality.
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