Positioning & Messaging - Do it Twitter Style

Over the last six to twelve months Twitter has gone from an obscure technological novelty reserved for teenagers to a major force in global marketing communications.

How big is Twitter? The Global Language Monitor has reported that the word ‘Twitter’ was the most commonly used word of 2009 in its annual global survey of the English language that tracks words and phrases in the media and on the Internet, including blogs and social media. Business Week estimates 4 billion tweets posted by Twitter users this year. Twitter is big.

How did this happen and why should we care? New information technologies from multiple Web 2.0 channels including Twitter, Yelp, Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, LinkedIn and countless blogs have accelerated the marketing process from a “spray and pray” approach to instantly reaching highly targeted groups with laser precision. Now the real authors of your product story are your customers. Today’s customers opt in by joining groups and following people, companies and products. Still think it may not be right for your product company?

Consider Kodak, a product company by any measure. They accomplished a rapid sales turnaround in recent years by engaging customers through social media and Web 2.0 marketing channels. The Kodak team monitors Twitter regularly. They re-tweet the positive tweets, address the negative ones, and respond quickly to comments. For example, one person tweeted "Thinking of picking up a Kodak Z6" and got more info on the product than he could dream of. Kodak CMO, Jeff Hayzlett believes that “engagement is the new ROI.” You should too.

Here is a five step process any product company can execute to engage their target customers with social media.

1. Define Your Goals
   Before you rush off into the new frontier consider setting some goals. Some potential goals are:
   
   • Brand/Product Awareness
   • Customer Loyalty and Satisfaction
   • Product Feedback
   • Innovation
   • Competitive Insight 
   
   Each of these goals requires a slightly different approach, media platform, and engagement strategy. Select one #1 goal. It may sound obvious, yet often companies establish multiple #1 priorities and lose focus. Get a laser-focus on the goal that means the most to your business and begin there.
2. Pay Attention
   With your goal established, pay attention to the conversations taking place all around your product and company to learn what is being said. Examples of this could be information you already have, such as customer feedback surveys, testimonials, your own employee discussions, and all Web 2.0 channels. Consider how to best join the conversations or change their direction.
3. Establish Metrics
   Develop specific metrics that will be measured to gauge your success. Six months from now, how will you know you are successful? What gets measured gets managed. Established metrics for the goals defined in step one. This ensures objective thinking that will not be biased by the excitement and emotion to come.
4. Prepare For The Long Haul (or Play for Keeps)
   Once you engage with your customers they will expect to hear from you on an ongoing basis. True customer engagement should not be viewed as a trial or pilot program. It should be an integral component of your business strategy. Resources should be planned to sustain your presence over the long term. Be prepared to fund the efforts, assign resources and staff the team. Be willing to stay the course.
5. Join the Conversation
   Once each of the previous steps have been completed it’s time to engage. Share information that helps your customers succeed with your products. Share special offers and inside information. Reward loyalty and engagement. Be prepared to hear more than you may have imagined. Grow a thick skin as people can say some pretty tough things about products and their companies. Just remember, it’s better to know so you can respond.

Web 2.0 communication marketing can drive value for your products and your company. It offers a new, low barrier to entry and low cost platform to amplify your messages. It can even fund itself. Dell made an incremental $2 million in sales in 2008 by posting deals and special offers on its Twitter site.

If you want a closer connection between your products and customers This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and we’ll help you develop a value story to further engage your customers and amplify your message.

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