Twitter praises have been touted for the past year or more. The most successful stories seem to stem from Hollywood and celebrity tweeting.
Just ask Ellen DeGeneres, Britney Spears, or Ashton Kutcher, all of whom have millions of followers on Twitter.
Twitter Marketing Tips
Companies, writers, consultants and others have been using Twitter to build brands, communities, or increase a client base by driving followers to a web site or blog site where the real marketing is done.
Using Twitter for marketing or brand building involves Tweeting about:
- Company news
- Customer support
- Feedback
- Broadcasting special offers for a limited time.
Twitter is the sales driver while the web site, personal contact or in some cases, broadcasting, are the sales closers. Celebrity tweeters such as Ellen DeGeneres have used Twitter to increase viewership.
Ashton Kutcher on the other hand has taken influence marketing to a new level using online tools such as video, animation, blogs, and of course Twitter.
Star Tweeters
Major companies such as Whole Foods, Best Buys, Starbucks, Home Depot, among others all have their own Twitter page.
There are also a slew of celebrities using Twitter. Fast Company magazine ran a feature in the December 2009/January 2010 issue detailing how Ashton Kutcher “is pioneering a new kind of media business, bridging Hollywood, technology, and Madison Avenue.”
Kutcher’s company, Katalyst Media, is a production company that mixes “squishy hybrid entertainment content, advertising, and online conversation” to help other companies build their brand. His company works with advertising agencies to build successful web strategies.
Kutcher has over 4.1 million followers on his Twitter page. Other stars that have large number of followers:
- Ellen DeGeneres with over 3.9 million followers
- Britney Spears, over 4.1 million
- Oprah Winfrey, over 2.7 million
- John Mayer, over 2.7 million
Agencies Using Twitter
There are many types of users on Twitter these days including government agencies and the space program. The White House has over 1 million followers, the CDC Emergency has over 800 thousand, and NASA has over 125 thousand followers.
The New Way to Market with Twitter
According to the article for Fast Company by reporter Ellen McGirt, Kutcher’s company plans to make their marketing entertaining, deliver the message to people where they are using mobile technologies, and then mix in the brand messaging.
One of the downsides of using Twitter to market is the lack of successful models and implementation plans. Small business may not be able to contract with high profile tweeters, they do have plenty of opportunity to study and learn from those companies that have built brands using celebs and Twitter.
Successful Twitter Marketing Models
While Kutcher is not the typical marketing executive, he certainly knows how to attract an audience and keep people interested and tweeting. And, it appears he has created a very useful, successful, mixed media marketing model.
