I have not written about twitter or social media for many months, perhaps years. I don’t spend a lot of time on any of the major platforms, except to find background music on You Tube.
However, I do recognise the importance of these media for marketing and advertising when used as part of a strategy, that’s why I have pages on these platforms.
The channel I use most often is twitter. That is because I can get on and off it quickly, not get sucked into the morass of inanity which seems to clog up Facebook. twitter is short and quick. To be effective, users need to be concise and witty. twitter sends more visitors to my websites than any other social media channel.
This post is about the success of using tweetups for local marketing. tweetups can be used very effectively for getting exposure for your business or brand globally, nationally or in a small local area. Although the details are primarily intended for businesses and professionals in South West Ontario who want to increase their exposure in the Woodstock and surrounding areas, they are relevant to any community.
If you live elsewhere and want to learn more about using twitter to market your products or services, read on. If not or if you do not intend using twitter, you may want to come back here next week for a post more in line with my usual topics.
I take part in a weekly tweetup coordinated by a marketing business in Waterloo, a city about 60km or 35 miles from my home. It takes place from 7:30 pm to 8:30 pm Eastern every Wednesday evening.
What is a twitter tweetup?
A tweetup is when a group of users include a # hashtag identifier in all their tweets for a specified time period. # hashtags are also used to track trends on twitter as in #Wednesday Wisdom which had appeared in 75 000 tweets by 5 pm yesterday.
Why is a tweetup good for local exposure?
A # hashtag can be used to track an event, focus attention on a celebrity, brand, or product, express outrage, draw attention to a real or perceived grievance. Most importantly for this discussion it can be used to anchor tweets from many users in one easy to reach spot in the twittersphere.
How to join a tweetup.
First you must have a twitter account.
Log in to your account.
Enter the # hashtag for the conversation you want to join in the search box at the top right corner of your twitter page – next to your avatar – as I have entered #WRTalk in the example below.
Click on the search icon or the # if it pops up under the search box as you are typing. That will take you to a new page dedicated to the # like this:
There are a number of menu items you can explore at another time. To take part in the tweetup, select Live and click on it. That will take you to the live twitter stream. It will show all tweets containing the #, in the example below, #WRTalk.
I have highlighted the #WRTalk in the tweet.
How do you tweet and stay on the same page? Use the tweet button at the top right corner, or the reply and retweet buttons under a tweet.
Why should you take part in a marketing tweetup?
- It is tightly targeted, one city, one part of a city or one industry / service.
- It is free
- It is fun
- It can be done after normal working hours.
- It is a friendly way of getting to know other businesses and potential customers.
With my rural background, it reminds me of how in the pre-digital age, my father would chat to other farmers at the monthly cattle sale, or at the general store. How in the city, people would linger to chat in cafes.
What should you tweet about?
In the #WRTalk example, realtors mention new listings, restaurants chat about new menu items and specials, stores list exciting new additions to their product lines, service industries and financial consultants offer tips and advice. Those involved in volunteer work ask for support of events. Some business offer discounts to the # users with a coupon code.
What you shouldn’t do is sell too hard. The tweetup is to make connections, let people know who and where you are, what you do.
How effective are tweetups?
My average impressions for my main twitter account on a weekday evening between 7 and 9 pm are around 400, On Wednesdays when I participate in #WRTalk, this rises to over 1000. The screen shot below shows that I got 1171 impressions last night by 8:15 pm from my participation in #WRTalk, a huge increase from the average two-hour period today.
Do all these impressions translate into website visits, leads or orders? No, but they increase my visibility and that leads to more contacts and more business.
We are kicking off #WSKchat at 7:30 pm on Thursday 19 May. It will be a regular 1 hour tweetup every Thursday from that date. All twitter users in South West Oxford and beyond are welcome to join in.
Here is my twitter link @zimpeterw.
Join us at #WSKchat 7:30 pm Eastern on Thursday 19 May.
