What makes a good promoted tweet

Promoted Tweets/Trends have been popping up quite regularly since Twitter has offered the service, but some companies have missed the boat when choosing their signature #hashtag that accompanies the buy.How does it work? Companies can pay Twitter money to be included among the the trending topics list on Twitter. You can either pick your own branded hashtag or topic, or you could hand over the reigns and pick a #hashtag that has been made popular by Twitter users.

What are Trending Topics you ask? Trending Topics are a list of topics that are chosen by a fancy Twitter algorithm - I see them as here's what people are talking about now. Many times people will click on the trending topic to see what others have to say about it, or use the trending topic in their own tweet if they want to join in on the conversation. Same goes for a promoted trend, people can click on your trending topic and when they do, they will automatically see your company's promoted tweet at the top of the list. Can be a bit confusing if you aren't familiar with Twitter. But for those who are, logic would tell us if you pick a trending phrase that is engaging and interesting to a wide audience, you'll not only get a lot of participation but a lot of exposure.

Pillsbury did it well with their play off of  the already trending  #lemmeguess and Coke did it well when they picked the already trending #alliwant.

But when companies insist on including their own brand name like Pizza Hut's #ReadySetHut or a car company who simply used the name of their new model as the hashtag, it turns out to be a pretty awkward experience for both the Twitter user and the brand. The point of the #hashtag is to pick something broad enough that everyone can participate in, and it should be something that can lead to a larger discussion. #ReadySetHut  is somewhat limiting when you compare it to #alliwant.

By not making the ad buy all about them, my guess is Coke and Pillsbury probably had much more participation. More participation probably lead to much more exposure, signaling a win-win for both brand and Twitter user.

There's always something refreshing about a brand taking the back seat versus shoving itself down your throat, especially in social. #lookatmybrand.

Sharing Bite Sized Content: True Blood

Let's face it. People want short and sweet on social. Twitter forces you to keep it brief thanks to its 140 character limit and even Facebook will cut you off  if you attempt too long of an update.But short doesn't mean bad.  In fact if you do it right you can use this limitation to your advantage, especially if you are concerned about having enough content to post.

True Blood has really mastered taking a wee bit of content to make a big impact. The show could go silent during its off season, but instead they pick and choose some of the wittiest, most memorable one-liners from previous episodes and dribble them out a couple times a week. These quotes are a great way to keep fans engaged and spark a tremendous amount of conversation as fans rehash their favorite episodes.

Authors can also take advantage of this technique. Sure your book's 500 pages may seem a bit overwhelming if you are faced with a  140 character limitation, but that hasn't seemed to phase motivational author Deepak Chopra. You'll find  inspiring lines and ideas from his books on Twitter on a regular basis.

If you have something that doesn't seem bite-sized at first think about how you can divvy it up into short, interesting bursts of content that bring the larger project to life. After all, content is all around us, figuring out how to serve it up right - a.k.a. not shoveling too much in one post and having the patience to let it reveal itself over time - can be the tricky part.

True Blood “You may be the strongest, oldest vampire in my queendom, but if I wanted, I could own your fangs as earrings.” – Sophie Anne

DeepakChopra Self acceptance leads to success, not the other way around.

Twitter versus Facebook Audiences

When thinking about Facebook and Twitter the two audiences tend to be quite different. At least they are for me.Facebook is a group of people I've collected throughout the years - from a kindergarten friend to a woman I met at a dinner club last week. We are connected because of life experiences not necessarily interests. There are a few brands spread among my friend list but for the most part that's because I have an emotional connection to them - I almost think of them as a buddy.

Twitter is a group of people who share a similar interest.  For me, my Twitter list consists of technology/ social media experts and resources and Louisville businesses, media outlets and organizations. There are a few folks on Twitter that I'm friends with on Facebook but the crossover is pretty slim.

My Twitter followers help keep me "in the know." My Facebook friends help support me on an emotional level - whether that is liking my wedding photos or giving words of encouragement when I've had a not so good day.

As business owners of a FB page or Twitter account think about how you can fulfill these roles for your followers. How can you make your Twitter followers smarter - what tidbits can you give them? (Someone on Twitter is almost 3 times as likely to follow a brand than the average social network user by the way). When it comes to Facebook, how can you act as a friend  -  ask for support and feedback, share good news, and make sure your status updates have a human quality to them?

Next time you are switching back and forth between those two networks, think about how you behave differently and who you follow. Some Friday food for thought.

4 Ways to Share Content on Twitter

I've delved into the world of Twitter a bit more for a client and have been thinking  about the different ways in which you can pass content on. Here are the four main buckets and the role each one plays. Feel free to tag more on if I've left one out.1.       Original Content – Sharing original content about yourself, organization or brand.

• Benefit to followers: If good, the original content entertains or educates.
• Benefit to you: A good chance for more exposure if people re-tweet your content. Also a good chance to create a deeper connection if the post creates a conversation with individual followers.

2.       Retweet – Repurpose someone else’s content.

• Benefit to followers: Potentially exposes them to someone new that they may find interesting.
• Benefit to you: Provides you with valuable content for your followers. Shows you are listening to what others have to say.

3.       @ Reply – A response to someone's tweet.

• Benefit to followers: They may have had a similar question or thought and can then  jump into the conversation.
• Benefit to you: Provides you with a chance to create deeper connections one–on-one.

4.       DM – A private message.

• Benefit to followers: None really aside from the person who receives the message.
• Benefit to you: Allows you to share info that may not be relevant to the “masses.”

Twitter a Global Conversation

When the World Cup locations were announced, Twitter was a tweet about Qatar and Quatar and Katar (all top trends, have to love the decreasing importance of spelling things right). Within moments a global audience was sharing their thoughts on whether or not Qatar deserved a bid because obtaining alcohol would be difficult and what fun is World Cup without a drink in your hand? Or so I'm told.Now, your Facebook friends may not care about the World Cup, but on Twitter, where you can easily tap into people from around the world, the conversation was robust. Which got me thinking. What role does Twitter play in conversation?

With Facebook I may share inside jokes, personal photos and college memories, but Twitter, well Twitter is more about sharing info on your interests and less about what is interesting about me.

On Twitter, I've never met 80% of my "friends," so I certainly don't follow them because we've shared good times together, although you never know that may happen one day. I follow them because they are smart or interesting or useful to me. Twitter behaves in a similar role to a brand/organization Facebook page. It's often a conversation starter between people who have similar interests but most likely don't know one another. It's a place for people to share their passion about their interests.

Knowing this, think about how you can maximise your role on Twitter.

1. Share useful links. Be that information resource.

2. Follow people who have the same interests. If you love the Indianapolis Colts, follow other Colts fans, follow reporters who cover the Colts. Don't follow me, because I'll most likely never talk football.

3. Save the personal, personal for your Facebook friends, you know the ones who actually care if you ate cinnamon rolls for breakfast.

At the end of the day social networks are tools which you can use to connect in different ways. Knowing the role of the tool and how to use it will allow you to get the most of your social networking efforts.

Timberlake is off Twitter. Don’t Panic Yet.

It's always interesting to see how people can get creative to raise money. Alicia Keys, Justin Timberlake and Lady Gaga are all signing off from social networks on World AIDS Day for the Digital Life Sacrifice event which benefits Keep a Child Alive. The stars will go back online after the charity has raised $1 million. It seems a bit egocentric to me that us mere mortals won't be able to live without the twittering of Timberlake and will actually have to break down and pay to get him back. Then again someone did pay thousands of dollars for Justin Bieber to follow them on Twitter for charity, so you never know.Regardless if it raises awareness and dollars it can't be a bad thing. I guess I just think there should be a bit more effort from the celeb then just not updating their status.

What do you think?

http://buylife.org/

Update: As of 12/3 the celebs have raised $183K. A substantial amount no doubt, but it will be interesting to see if they can sustain a movement without a voice.

Know Your Audience - Don't Text a Facebooker

In this age of multiple devices and ways to reach people, I find it curious how my friends have attached themselves to one preferred method over another. If you want to reach Kristin - text is a 50/50 shot but Facebook will guarantee a response. My friend Sara on the other hand is a text junkie, I know that will warrant a response much quicker than a social network ping. My husband loves his blackberry so he'll respond quicker to an email, even more so than a phone call for some reason, perhaps I should take issue with that. And finally, my friend Amy is one of the last few people I know that will respond to a phone call with a phone call back the same day.I don't have this written down anywhere. I just know. After trial and error and seeing where they spend their time and whether they do or don't respond to one method, I've sorted it out in my head. You should do the same with your audience. Find out where people are talking about you, where you get the greatest response when you put out a message and be there. Don't build an iPhone app if your audience is all on Blackberry or hasn't made the smartphone transition. Don't put a lot of effort into one social network just because you've heard other people using it. Know your audience, know how they like to communicate. Figure this out and you are one step closer to getting them to listen.

Guilty Twitter Pleasures - Shamefully Snooki

For me, Facebook is for friends and brands that I consider "friends" and Twitter is for information. I use it to stay current with the latest in social media and local happenings. But stuck somewhere between Mashable and WFPL is my guilty pleasure - @sn00ki (Nicole P. from The Jersey Shore).She certainly doesn't make me smarter, she doesn't help me decide what to do on the weekend, but darn it if she doesn't fascinate me all the same. There's something about Snooki and her five foot poof that makes me admire her. Somewhere between judging her and poking fun, she made America fall in love with her without them even realizing it, and all along she smiled and remained true to herself. There's also a shameful piece of me that watches her because I still think there's a train wreck waiting to take place and I want to be on the forefront of her Tweets if it happens.

My husband on the other hand uses Twitter to stay current on sports and news, and his guilty pleasure is Kenny Powers persona @KfuckingP. I think he quotes him on a every other day basis.

Whether it's a self proclaimed guidette or a washed up ball player, it takes all kinds to make a social network vibrant, and while I would argue most of the well-followed Twitter handles do provide legit information, there is space out there for the guilty pleasures. Who is your favorite guilty pleasure to follow? That is if you aren't too embarrassed to admit it of course.

DM Fail: Accidents Happen

Yesterday ESPN Sportswriter Bill Simmons made a mistake, but let's be honest we've all been there. Updating his status from his mobile phone Bill accidentally tweeted his message - "Randy Moss Vikings" - instead of direct messaging it on Twitter. He was merely trying to figure out if this trade was a rumor or not, but within minutes Twitter was a Twittering and it was over. Did I mention he has 1.2 million followers?What was unusual was a few hours later ESPN had a news ticker scroll saying Fox Sports had reported the Randy Moss potential trade. It was almost as if they were washing their hands of the matter.

No matter who is right or wrong, accidents happen in the online world whether it is "replying all" to a good old-fashioned email, letting a Direct Message turn into a Top Trending Topic or posting something as a Wall Post instead of an Inbox Message.Remember social is meant to be social which means messages are easily spread and amplified among a group of people.  I once received some wise advice that has caused me to delete a message of two - if you wouldn't want it printed on the front page of the New York Times don't put it in writing. Guess I will have to pick up the phone every now and then after all.

It’s all about character

I've been spending more time on Twitter as of late and noticed how people are drawn to characters. Let me explain. The Chicago Tribune has 34K followers but the Colonel Tribune, described as a more gentlemanly version of @ChicagoTribune, has 800K. What's the difference between the two? Well the Colonel still links to news but does so with some commentary. His rants and raves have attracted the likes of other popular tweeters like Southwest and Zappos and has even spawned the FakeColonelTribune.I have to admit I'd rather take my news with a smidge of snarky then just take my news straight. It's tastier you could say.

What 3 lessons can we learn from the Colonel?

1. People want personality and opinions in the social space.

2. Don't be afraid of fun. There's enough dry news out there.

3. People like to talk to people, even if they are "characters."