The swirling world of social media produces new platforms every day. Even “old” standards – facebook, twitter – are getting facelifts and making changes in user experience that effect the way marketers use social media to connect with interested prospects. On one hand, that means no matter when you decide to take the plunge into social marketing, you’re not that far behind: it all changes so fast, we’re all running just to keep up.

On the other hand, it makes social media look like a marathon you’re not sure how to jump in on. How do you start in something you don’t even understand? We’ve all heard a friend or colleague say “I just don’t get the point of Twitter.”

When you’re not sure where to start in a new platform, lurk to learn

Let’s take Twitter as an example. This time last year, most of you probably didn’t have a Twitter account. In January 2009, they clocked in at 4.5 million U.S. users. Then in February 2009, that number jumped to 7 million. And that was a 1300%+ increase over February 2008. (Nielson Online 2009, via Mashable) The boom hit and Twitter became a household name for techies, marketers and mommy bloggers alike.

Now, though “everyone” may know of Twitter and most certainly knows someone who’s using it, it’s still around 10% that actually have an account (eMarketer 2009, via Mashable). So how do the rest of the 90% make the move?

Sign up for an account on Twitter and just listen. Follow the industry leaders, media resources, your competitors, your customers, your vendors, your prospects and just listen to what they’re saying and how they’re saying it. Take note of what types of content other tweeple in your field are focusing on: education, promotion, event sponsorship info, new features, blog posts, pictures from around the office, etc. Also, notice how often your industry is talking to each other. The number of times you tweet a day should vary based on what your audience is comfortable with.

The added bonus of all this listening is that you’re getting Grade-A verbal feedback from your customers, prospects and competition. You can get your finger on the pulse of the audience just by entering a keyword at https://search.twitter.com. Of course, the loudest voice isn’t always the majority opinion, but you’re starting to hear the conversations about you, your industry and other companies in your field, just by signing on.

Use a third party desktop application, like Hootsuite or Tweetdeck, to organize those you follow into packets of information. Keep an eye on the search for your industry, i.e. #emailmarketing, and like any good marketer, keep a watch out for any time your brand name is mentioned, i.e. emfluence. (Twitter fact: hastags # are used to signify common topics when people want to be able to find info about something, often used for conferences or associations. For example, the Direct Marketing Association added the hashtag #dma09 for any tweets about this year Annual Conference in California.

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Once you have a feel for the right types, times and tones of your tweets, get your hands dirty. Don’t worry too much at first about how often you can put content out there. And don’t bother spending fifteen minutes creating the perfect tweet. It’s all just part of the stream.

When you’re a pro at a new social medium, don’t forget what got you there: always listen. Social media is a conversation, so make sure it’s still going both ways.

Wanna see what we’re doing? Check out emfluence in social media at our Social Media Center, created with the emfluence Landing Page Generator.


1 COMMENT

  1. I was able to use a direct tweet to contact a blogger I wanted to quote in a newsletter article. Her Web site gave no phone number and she wasn’t responding to e-mail. Twitter is just one more way to reach people, and it helped me meet my copy deadline!

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