Please see the cartoon below from September/October issue of BARK magazine (a dog magazine). The picture shows a rather unhappy dog on the floor listening to his human parents. This is an example of the remarkable penetration into our psyche that one of the most recent and now relevant forms of new media has taken on us. The question is what is really being said on Twitter and how does or can it affect your brand and its interactions (dog or not).
Being mocked or not being mocked by rabbits illustrates the need to understand if this environment is pertinent and how can we make it relevant.
We believe you should be thinking about four aspects for a Twitter effectiveness review:
1. What is the net impact of this new marketing source compared to other social media choices you have?
2. What is the comparative impact of Twitter to the full panorama of choices to you?
3. What is it the content targets seek there and can you aid in the delivery?
4. What else goes with Twitter (can it enhance an existing activity or in fact be enhanced by other activities)?
The data we are using comes from the last global INE waves (consumer and BtB technologies across twelve geographies).
Twitter’s net impact
Clearly this is situational so we have included a whole range of situations here that we can use for it so we have picked ten of these off (four for content).
IMPACT
- Twitter is among the top Blogs in the Electronic Doc Mgmt SW space in the US.
- Laptop, Server and Network Security buyers in the US have a low preference for Twitter, with a very low preference for using the site as an IT Forum.
- Twitter is among the most preferred IT Forums in Business Process Outsourcing in the US.
- In the US Handheld Mobility space, Twitter is the most preferred blog.
- Twitter also leads the pack as an IT Forum in the US Telco HW space.
- In the US Tech Based Services space, Twitter has average preference as an IT Forum.
- Telco Data Services buyers in the US have average preference for Twitter as a blog.
- In the US Unified Communication space, Twitter has average preference as an IT Forum.
- Twitter has an average preference as a blog in the Consumer smartphone space, ranked below MySpace and Facebook.
- Twitter is ranked relatively low in terms of its preference as a blog in the US Consumer laptop space - sites such as Facebook are ranked higher.
CONTENT
- In the US Business Process Outsourcing space, users look to Twitter for integration information.
- Twitter users in the Telco HW and Handheld Mobility space are seeking information on how to assess the value of a technology/solution.
- In the US Consumer Laptop space, Twitter is used to investigate the technical details of a processor.
- Smartphone consumers are using Twitter for information on features.
PAIRINGS
- Laptop buyers pair Twitter with Google Groups, Newsgroups, and TechRepublic.
- Server buyers pair Twitter with Facebook, C/Net and ZDNet.
- Network Security buyers in the US typically visit ZDNet, Slashdot.org, and TechRepublic along with Twitter.
- In the US Business Process Outsourcing space, users often visit Twitter along with C/Net, TechRepublic, Tech Forum and Facebook.
- Twitter is typically paired with Facebook, Google, and PCWorld.com in the Handheld Mobility space.
- Twitter users in the Telco HW space typically visit C/Net and TechnologyReview.com.
- In the US Tech Based Services space, Twitter is most often paired with Slashdot.org, Google and C/Net.
- Telco Data Services buyers in the US tend to visit Google Groups, C/Net, and Slashdot.org while using Twitter.
- In the US Unified Communication space, Twitter is most often paired with C/Net and CNN.
- In the US Consumer space, Twitter is paired with Google most of the time.
Social media is a new form of interaction. Whether it is Twitter or Wikipedia it is often too easy to get carried away in the moment and forget its part in a communications cycle (content, sequencing, comparative value).
I will give you a most bizarre example. During the end stages of a crunch cricket match between England and South Africa an online tweet from the commentators was arguing over a technicality and said ‘let’s go and see what Wikipedia had to say.’ Within moments some fan had with permissions changed the entry to argue their point of the dispute. Social media is fluid and easily manipulated by all parties. To use it properly we have to think very hard about how it is being utilized and interacted with by the influencers during their purchase journey. 140 characters is not a lot, but it can cause mayhem if read too deeply into, even if it is a rabbit tweeting about a failed capture by the dog.