Brands and branding in the Twitter environment

Delegates were told that the more people and brands use Twitter, the more the dynamics and rules of the platform change. Melissa Attree (@MelAttree), a social media marketing and communications professional and GetOn eMarketing founder, provided some critical guidelines as to how and why brands could successfully use for their benefit.

Content, conversation and community

Attree said it must be borne in mind that 33% of Twitter users share opinions about companies or products at least once per week. Therefore, she indicated that companies that get these three aspects right - content, conversation and community - will likely be successful on Twitter.

"Don't do it if it doesn't match your business objectives," she warned, though.

In a world that is constantly changing, shifting the marketing world and redefining business in general, Attree said there was lot of communication going on from the marketing and communication viewpoint. Because it is quality that matters on Twitter and not quantity, she said, one has to have a content strategy, anticipate feedback, acknowledge people and have some form of balance.

"Twitter is a complete word-of-mouth action. You have got to have something good to say. I don't arrive at a party and start talking about myself all night - that is why you need some form of balance," she explained, adding that the content must be given a context.

Topic is not predefined

Elaborating on the topic/cause/brand/event tracking, she said the topic is not predefined, and organisations should create their own and communicate it, and the rest will follow: "It should be short and easy to recall, track and ensure it is recorded; Twitter doesn't remember."

She urged organisations to think differently and have a plan because, without a plan, they won't get anywhere. "Cover your bases - register names, even the derogatory ones. Listen before you start getting involved in this space; it will make your job easy going forward.

"Build relationships. You are building a community of people for your brand for a long-term strategy. Engage the influencers.

"We are not robots, we are people so treat [us] accordingly. Anticipate situations - when you will get flak and praise. Foster collaboration, crowdsource feedback. Match online interactions with real-life offline actions."

Attree deplored the pessimistic attitude of people about the success of brands on Twitter. "People who said social media have no power are wrong. Nine out 10 users stated that the most common reasons to follow a brand on Twitter involved the ability to obtain direct information from a company," she said.

"Takes a lot of hard work"

"Be dynamic in what you do. It takes a lot of hard work but results will be positive at the end. Results take time. Listen, evaluate and adapt. Remember that social media shouldn't be an add-on. It has to fit in everything you are doing. If it doesn't fit or add value, don't do it."

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