The MarCom Strategist: A Free B2B Marketing E-Newsletter

November, 2008
Published by Dianna Huff
Volume 8, Number 11

Welcome!

I resisted Twitter, the tool that lets you post little snippets of information to your friends or "followers," for a long time. I could not fathom how Twitter could benefit my business -- i.e. generate new business -- nor did I want to waste time reading about what people were doing.

However, I realized that I needed to see for myself what the fuss was about. Much to my surprise, I’m finding that I like Twitter much more than I do Facebook, LinkedIn, and even blogging. It’s fast, it’s painless, and it’s fun! In this issue, I talk about why Twitter isn’t for the birds. If you feel so inclined, join me in the Twitter conversation!

Dianna's signature
Dianna Huff

divider

divider

Tweet, Tweet! Twitter Isn’t for the Birds.

By Dianna Huff

You’ve probably read or heard about the hype surrounding Twitter, the social networking tool that lets you write "micro posts" or Tweets in order to alert your followers about what you’re up to at any given moment.

If you’re like me, you’ve probably wondered if Twitter is a complete waste of time . . . or if it’s applicable to your business.

After a few weeks of use, I’m happy to say that Twitter isn’t a huge waste of time and that it does have some business purpose.

Twitter saves you time

Instead having to read a bunch of blogs every day to see what’s happening in the world, you can log on to Twitter and in about two minutes get a very good idea of people’s response to political debates, articles they’ve read, and current news stories.

I follow two fellow Tweeters who post great information every day: Peter Shankman of HARO (Helping a Reporter Out) and ProfNet. Both post urgent inquiries from mainstream media reporters looking for sources -- a huge benefit for small business owners and PR agencies.

Twitter is also a great way to find information you can might not come across, such as new reports and surveys and new useful applications. Recent Tweets along these lines include:

daylife Newsfeeds on OpenCongress.org http://tinyurl.com/5o9dph

dmscott Free ebook from Rubicon Consulting: "Online Communities and Their Impact on Business: Ignore at Your Peril" http://tinyurl.com/6xtafh

(The Rubicon report is a must read.)

Twitter lets you promote your blog or business

Many companies and consultants use Twitter to alert their followers to their new blog posts, newsletter articles, and speaking engagements. Some people Tweet while at seminars or conferences, giving you a good "on the ground perspective" of what new ideas are being presented.

Because Twitter is a viral marketing tool, it’s a great way to spread the seeds of a viral campaign, a fact that hit home for me when social media guru David Meerman Scott posted the following to his 2,300+ followers:

Tech reporter tries to interview Cisco CEO - "Went Through Frisco, Landed at Cisco"

The link goes to a very clever YouTube video campaign and blog by Cisco to promote their November 11, 2008 product launch. Because of David’s Tweet, I added the video to my blog -- as have other industry influencers who received the initial email pitch. (In one week, the video received over 15,000 views on YouTube.)

Twitter lets you get to know "influencers"

As the Rubicon Consulting report noted above talks about, the people using social networking tools like Twitter make up a very small percentage of the total number of people online. In other words, while Twitter gets a great deal of press, relatively few people use it.

But, many of those who do Tweet regularly are major influencers in their industries or within their personal networks. My colleague, Derek Gordon, for example, has been consulting with Daylife, a company that enables major publishers and companies to add relevant news feeds to their Websites (see Pharmalot’s news page for up-to-date news about pharmaceutical companies for an example).

Without Derek’s regular Tweets about Daylife (interspersed with his humorous reflections on life), I would have not known what he was working on or that he’s been traveling back and forth between New York and California for weeks now. Twitter gives me a window on his life, his job, and his ideas.

Twitter is a *sane* social networking tool

Although the idea of Twitter sounds noisy, chaotic, and time-consuming, it’s not. You can limit the number of people that you follow so that you don’t become overwhelmed, you can Tweet as often or as little as you like, and best of all, it’s not "interruption marketing" the way email and the telephone have become. You can turn Twitter off simply by not logging on to the site. And, unlike LinkedIn or Facebook, you don’t need to constantly monitor your profile, answer questions to show your expertise, troll for recommendations, or "poke" people. Plus, it’s just a whole lot of fun!

To learn more about how you can use Twitter, see these articles:

Are you using Twitter? If not, why not? Send your answers to me at info@dhcommunications.com.

divider

What’s New with DH Communications?

If you’re in the Boston area, be sure to register for Yankee IABC’s program on Social Media, Tuesday, November 18, 2008, where I'll be presenting, "Using Social Media in MarCom and PR." For more information and to register, visit the Yankee IABC site.

B2B Lead Generation company ReachForce has a novel idea: a book club for their customers. The company buys copies of a business book, mails them to their clients, and then discuss the book online at their blog. How cool is that? The next book on their list is actually an e-book, the one written by yours truly: "Five B2B MarCom Strategies to Increase Sales Now." Be sure to check out their B2B Lead Blog for more information.

Speaking of my e-book, I’m excited to announce that I received a Platinum Award from the MarCom Creative Awards for it. The prestigious Platinum Award is presented to those entries judged to be among the most outstanding entries in the competition. About 18% of the 5,000 entries won this award. Woo hoo! In addition, I received a MarCom Creative Gold Award for the viral e-book I wrote for Dr. Helaine Smith. The e-book was recently featured on Forbes.com.

MarketingProfs featured the MarCom Writer Blog in a recent, Get To the Point! e-newsletter titled, How to Stop Traffic! about how to eliminate unwanted traffic from your Website. If you don’t already, subscribe to the newsletter -- you get lots of great info in an easy-to-read format.

And finally, I followed my own advice and updated my Website. In addition to looking sleek and polished, the site features the new services I offer plus all the great content I’ve developed in the last year or so. Check it out at www.dhcommunications.com (If you want a site like it, call Jim Somers at Sonora DesignWorks -- 978-388-1716. His firm also designed the MarCom Strategies e-book.)

That’s it for this month!

DH Communications Logo

Contact DH Communications

Telephone: 603-382-8093
Email: info@dhcommunications.com

Keep up with the latest MarCom news at The MarCom Writer Blog.

divider

Post Your Response