Twitter is the social network for sharing information, news, and personal updates, all in 140 characters. And this year, the social network for all things short and sweet broke the 300 million active users barrier. If you’ve spent any time on Twitter, you know it has some major advantages, including the ability to easily converse with your customers, as a large percentage of users follow others simply to find out what’s going on.
In regards to your brand, Twitter is an easy way to let fans know what events are coming up, what’s happening on a daily basis, and what else is going on in your specific industry. This, in turn, allows you to become somewhat of an expert, as it’s easier to keep track of all the related noise and add in your two cents.
Why use Twitter to build your brand?
The best way to make the most of Twitter is to post original content 3-5 times a day, although if you’re sharing what others have written, more is OK. Tweeting about exciting and engaging content also allows you to easily build up a large pool of people, which is a huge advantage over email. However, it’s important to note that an average tweet posted to an account with approximately 1,000 followers has a lifespan of about 18-20 minutes (or up to an hour if your followers are highly engaged).
Meanwhile, Wisemetrics’ analysis of millions of tweets with at least 10 retweets found that the half-life of a tweet is 24 minutes. Compared to email, this is a very short timeframe for your customers to see what you are saying — and it goes without saying that most of your followers will miss out on what you have to say.
Plus, with only 140 characters, it is di cult to convey multiple or longer messages to your fans, which is another major advantage of email over Twitter. You also may find it challenging to target two di erent customer segments. You only have one stream, and maybe your content isn’t relevant for everyone. This is where repurposing content into email using hashtag filters can help get the right content in front of the right person, and not lost without enough impact in the Twittersphere.
Strengthen both channels by leveraging Twitter in email
Maximizing your reputation is key on Twitter. Showing what you tweet about in email and filtering this feed for specific topics means your tweets live longer and more people will see them. Being able to add dynamic and real-time social feeds to your email means you could report on what’s happening right now, in an email sent before it’s happened! Mind. Blown.
Inspiration: Twitter feeds in email
Use Case 1: The “I’m Reporting Live From The Conference”
You're attending a conference or an event. You post the highlights, best quotes, and up-to-date news, as they occur. You also send out an email from that day, which talks about the event. Include a call to action that says “Get live updates via our Twitter page,” followed by an AVARI Twitter block, with the live feed populating fresh content at the time of open.
Use Case 2: The “We Support Your Cause”
You represent a cause that focuses on the environment, and you post and repost links to articles daily about issues that a ect your cause. You have two main interest groups: one that cares most about illegal logging in the Amazon, and another that cares much more about local air and water quality. As a result, you regularly tweet about both issues.
Add a hashtag to each type of post, e.g. #SaveTheAmazon and #LocalIssues. Create a dynamic Twitter block for each hashtag and add the respective block to the correct segmentation in your email communications. This shows your subscribers relevant content that you are posting right when they open the email.
Use Case 3: The “Highlight Of Your Week”
You are a marketer for a school or university, and every time your students achieve something great, you post this news on Twitter. For example, maybe your football team won a game, or your star pupil won a Nobel Prize. Give this post the hashtag #VandHighlight, a twist on the school name. Then create a dynamic Twitter block for that hashtag and include it in your weekly email to alumni, parents, or students. They will automatically see that week’s highlight.
Tweet Your Way to an Engaged Email List
Twitter has an advantage in terms of generating excitement around live moments and special events. Sports, contests, and other similar activites become very popular on Twitter when they happen. It's also a great place to curate content from experts in your field and provide added value to your audiences. Combine Twitter feeds with email to build stronger connections on both channels.
