Who's at the Twitter party?

Don't mind the dust on the blog, I haven't used it in a while but I needed to write down some thoughts. I was due for some blog therapy.

I was on Twitter long before it became something that my Mom heard of but it was a slow start and even now I find it hard to manage and keep up. That said, the last six months have been an amazing time period.

I am not sure if it is just me, but I find the people on Twitter that I interact with are amazing. The people on it seem to be very open, honest and have a true desire to participate in open collaboration. I have had numerous awesome coffee meetings that started as a tweet and I am working to close the first collaborative deal that spawned from a Twitter discussion.

Despite the large numbers of new users, it doesn't seem that the tool is becoming diluted. I am not sure if it is an early adopter effect where people are pushing to make it successful or if the early adopters are just a slice of really great people at the front edge of a new open collaborative world but my gut tells me it is the later.

When I explain Twitter to someone who has never tried it before I always use the analogy of a cocktail party - you have a room full of people engaging in conversations except in Twitterland, there is no limit to the size of the room and anyone can join in. And similar to a cocktail party there are four basic types of people mingling around the room.

The Listeners - these are the wall flowers at the party. They are there but not contributing. They listen and watch but are not ready to engage in the conversation.

The Authors - these are the story tellers. They gather a large audience and are creating new content or providing original opinion to add the the conversation.

The Connectors - these are the ones that can walk into any room and know someone. They are always willing to help introduce you to someone and frequently do. The connectors help make it a great party by making the introductions between the great people they know.

The Filters - these are the people that act as the office grapevine - always plugged in and connected, but they sift through the conversations and repeat only the information worth sharing. In a world where more data will be produced this year than in the last 5000, these filters provide a valuable function in making the important data rise to the surface.

There is always the case of people that are a little bit of this and a little bit of that, but I find that in general, people fall into one of these four categories.

What makes this interesting to me is when you look at how you can use Twitter and other social media tools in the work place or for your clients. A key part of your planning needs to look at how you address these audiences. If you have a strategy that does not look at how to get your message to each one of these groups then your story won't make it around the cocktail party.

How should you approach this? When you are planning your strategy put a persona to each one of these groups and think through how they will receive your message and what you want them to do with it - what will they want to do with it? When you take the time to analyse your audience needs and adjust your message to suit, your results will dramatically improve.

Again, sorry for the dust on the blog... but I need to get that thought down before it fell through the cracks.

I'd love to hear your thoughts and feelings about Twitter and the different people at the party.

Photo Credit: takomabibelot

The Laundry list of Social Media

Must read blog post for those trying to figure out Web 2.0...

http://web2dotwhat.com/2008/11/06/social-media-and-community-management-resources/

Social Media in Plain english

Ever been stuck trying to explain social media in plain english... Check out this video.

For that matter if you ever need to explain anything in plain english - try these guys first http://www.commoncraft.com/about

Twitter vs. CNN

It was amazing to watch the US elections. No matter which camp you wanted to win or where in the world you were, it was a historic event.

An amazing aspect of it for me was getting more interesting and relevant updates via Twitter and Facebook than listening to the journalists on CNN fill the air with fluff and show off fancy Star Wars/ Star Trek AV tricks to "beam" in people. The hologram of the Capitol was a little much...

People on the ground, in Grant park, providing updates. Real emotion. Real news. Really relevant.

In the battle to be the best in the media, isn't it all about relevance?

Web 2.0 has been touted as the traditional media killer, but until this experience, I had not wrapped my head around it.

When the networks lose their relevance, they lose their audience, their advertising revenue. They lose.

The "killer app" of web 2.0 may not be an app at all, just a shift in publishing power creating a new measuring stick for relevance.

Anthropology and Web 2.0

A very facsinating and informative video about Web 2.0 and You Tube. It is a video by Mike Wesch, who is an anthropology professor at Kansas State University.

I need to watch it again to digest it all.

Presented to the Library of Congress June 23rd 2008.

Social Networks Behind the Firewall

Found a good presentation about where to start with Enterprise 2.0

http://www.slideshare.net/randywoods/enterprise-20-social-networks-behind-the-firewall

Digital Native

I attended a Third Tuesday event in Ottawa tonight titled - Integrating social media in your Organization? by Niall Cook, Author Enterprise 2.0. It was an interesting evening with a mix of people and backgrounds - some clients some friends. One thread that caught my attention was the concept of Digital Native. In 2009 the Digital Native enters the workforce. What is a digital native you ask - so did I - someone who has never known life without the internet. Imagine no google, no blogs, no facebook... did life exist?

Now, the concept that grabbed my attention was their impact on the workforce. The presenter implied that the digital native would be a disruptive force. Their knowledge of the digital world would impact how they worked and how others interacted with them. Interesting thought. Does their native knowledge of the online realm make them a force to be reckoned with?

At this point I am a skeptic. Yes, some will be. No doubt. But for many the switch to corporate life will not pull their digital world into the corporate one. Is it going to be that different than when previous generations entered the workforce? I guess only time will really tell the tale but at this point, my gut says that bright stars will shine regardless of the generation or technology gap.

I think experience mixed with the knowledge of technology will have in impact in five years. Once the new grads are integrated into the workforce and understand the new dynamics of the office culture then we will start to see some real shift in how things are done.

NAC Orchestra launches electronic newsletter - Technology and support provided by Ottawa-based Prospectics

March 21, 2007 - OTTAWA – Prospectics (www.prospectics.com), an Ottawa-based provider of online customer communications and lead nurturing technologies, today announced an exclusive contract with the National Arts Centre in which Prospectics will manage the NAC Orchestra’s customer communications activities through the timely delivery and distribution of its new electronic newsletter Prestissimo.

“Organizations are under increasing pressure to be more innovative in how they communicate with their patrons and very careful about how they allocate resources and funds,” said Chris Neil, president and founding member of Prospectics. “One way to maximize resources and increase customer touch is to minimize the use of paper and to automate the instant delivery of news and information. We are very pleased with this ongoing relationship with the NAC: they have creatively embraced technology to not only manage costs, but to improve their communications with patrons.”

“The NAC Orchestra will continue to provide its subscribers with the behind-the-scenes news of the Orchestra that they are used to receiving by mail. But this tool allows us to inform them about events and news at the NAC more immediately and more frequently. The electronic newsletter will be monthly rather than three times a year, allowing us to establish stronger relationships with our patrons,” said NAC Orchestra Communications Officer Jane Morris. “Prospectics is a catalyst in reducing costs and increasing our visibility – all without having an impact on our ticket prices.”

The first issue brought this immediate feedback from subscriber Li Ming Huang: ”I’m just writing a quick note to let you know that I much prefer the e-format. It not only saves trees, but also saves costs for the NAC, and is less work for me to dispose of once I finish my reading.”

With online newsletters and upcoming event information delivered in real time, NAC patrons can choose the type of information they receive. In addition to the newsletter for Orchestra subscribers, patrons can sign up to receive house programmes in advance, and for regular ebulletins. The Prospectics tool allows patrons to customize the incoming information. They can also immediately adjust their requirements through the Prospectics platform, as the tool is customizable to suit the diverse interests of the NAC’s valued customers.

About the NAC
The NAC is the only multidisciplinary, bilingual performing arts centre in North America, and one of the largest in the world, showcasing the best in Canadian talent and presenting exceptional performers from around the world. The organization was created by an Act of Parliament to be Canada's signature in the performing arts, and launched in 1969 as one of Canada's centennial gifts to its citizens.

About Prospectics
Prospectics is an innovative, Ottawa area based start-up. The Company delivers online customer communication and lead nurturing technologies in both full service and self service, hosted environments. Prospectics serves companies across North America allowing marketing teams to maximize their impact and minimize their investment. Working in a hosted environment empowers teams to rapidly implement solutions with out the need for internal IT resources or expensive hardware. Prospectics fuels growth and improves ROI for companies in the Internet age.

For more information please contact:
Chris Neil
chris@prospectics.com
(613) 220-0033
www.prospectics.com

content content content

I think the next step to approach after you have determined your goals is to look at your content.

Take inventory of what you have that lines up with your goals. What can be repurposed? What can be leveraged from other campaigns, like a tradeshow?

Once you have your inventory, you can look how to map it to your goals. From that you can see where you have gaps and make a plan to fill them.

I think it is a good idea to have several emails in the pipe rather than pulling the trigger on the first one and then looking at what to do next.

Think about creating an editorial calendar to map out your content.

With these pieces in place you are well on your way to creating a successful campaign.

new email feed added

don't have an rss feeder?

don't want to keep checking this site to see if i have made an update?

now you can sign-up to receive this blog by email.

the form is on the right - just drop in your email address.

the service is called FeedBlitz.

what is FeedBlitz you ask?

FeedBlitz is a service that monitors blogs, RSS feeds and Web URLs to provide greater reach for feed publishers. FeedBlitz takes all the headache out of converting feed and blog updates into email digests, delivered daily to subscribers' inboxes. FeedBlitz manages subscriptions, circulation tracking, testing, and is compatible with all major blogging platforms and services such as Blogger, Typepad and FeedBurner.

FeedBlitz also enables end users to monitor any feed or blog, anonymously if they wish, regardless of whether the publisher of that feed is using FeedBlitz. FeedBlitz therefore provides a simple way for users to receive updates from their trusted sources using a familiar and ubiquitous medium - email.

email best practices??

a common question - what are the best practices for email marketing?

sadly, that is too broad of a question to answer in a short blog post and, i think, not the real question that is being asked...

i think the question is really, "i don't know where to begin - what should i do?"

to this, i do have an answer.

the first thing to do is to set your goals and objectives. it may sound too corporate, but if you don't know why you are sending emails, then how will you know if you are doing it well?

so, go ahead, ask yourself "why am i sending out emails?"

not always easy to answer.

now that you have that question answered. try the test question "does my audience care?"

if the answer is no, then you should re-think you goal. if the audience does not care about your goal then they will not help you to achieve it.

your goal needs to be win-win. if you are stumped on this one, try asking "how will email do this?" to your goal.

example:

Goal = Drive Revenue ( test: audience does not care )

how will email drive revenue?

answer: by letting prospects know about our latest products ( test: audience still does not care )

how?

answer: by compiling best practices, tips and case studies to help the customer maximize their return on investment using our product (test: now this has something in it for the audience )

eureka!! an objective that has meaning for you and your audience.

this process can take time and can require testing with some key clients, but this is the first step to implementing a successful email program.