The Case for Relevance: Free App Facilitates Twitter Engagement

I stumbled upon an interesting application to get more “oomph” out of Twitter social media management for b-to-b clients.

It’s called “Formulists” and it’s a powerful tool to create and engage with relevant, related and influential Twitter followers (you know, the ones who are related to the business or organization, which is the point of engaging on Twitter, right?)

With Formulists, it is fairly intuitive to create and manage Twitter Lists. This application lets you organize Twitter into smart, auto-updating Twitter lists: filter based on location/bio keywords, Twitter activity and more.

Not sure how long this tool (which seems to be in Beta) has been available, but it is quite powerful to help facilitate engagement. 

What’s the Goal?

Simply posting tweet after tweet on Twitter is not the goal, only to be read by a group of unrelated and random followers.  Instead, the value comes from engaging with relevant followers….the ones who use keywords, topics and hash tags in their tweets and Twitter profile.

This is one of those applications that helps cut through the Twitter universe of unrelated, outside-the-scope type folks, and find and engage with targeted followers who list keywords in bios, or Tweet using key hash tags,

Formalists Defined

 Formulists does the work of grouping your tweeps into twitter list feeds so that you can focus on reading and talking to them more!

The first screen takes you through a key question asking:

What is your goal on Twitter?

             Organize Your Network

             Expand Your Network

             Track Followers

             Strengthen Social Ties

             Track Competitors

             Customize Existing Lists

Just that question alone shows this is a spot-on tool to optimize Twitter management.

Find, Engage Related Followers

For one client’s program, I created a list called “TwitterActive” that shows those “social stars” in a specific keyword or area, folks who are talking to the same people as the client’s account.

These lists help find new, related followers, or followers like someone else, or even Influential hubs in a given network. 

You can even see who is using a hash tag or search term the most in their Tweets, which is pretty cool.

Making the Case

I’ve been making the case for some time that to be of value, a b-to-b Twitter program needs to stay on topic, target key followers, cull those followers who are not in the target, and be strategic in use of keywords and hash-tags. 

Why would a corporate trainer Twitter account be interested in amassing follower profiles, hash tags, keywords and tweets that stress marathon running, for instance?

This new list tool proves the case!   If you have some time, give Formulists a try!

Buzzwords and the Bull***t Generator

The buzzwords are getting to me.  Previous B-to-B Blog posts have addressed this same topic, but lately I’ve got buzzword fatigue.

In meetings, I’m hearing phrases like: “Dial it back”, “Let's get on the same page”,  “Let’s table this”, “Circle back”, “leverage”, “disconnect”, “synergize”. Are these words supposed to streamline communication and boost work camaraderie?

They seem to be having the absolute opposite affect.

Much of marketing-speak is the same way. Why make it difficult for prospects?  Why put a high falutin name to a product to make it so much more complicated then it is, which only serves to confuse?

Example:  why call something a “manual scribing implement” when it is simply just a “pen”? 

Please Hold the Fluff

A fast look at high-tech marketing materials reveal a plethora of meaningless marketing words including:

• Leverage
• Empower
• Best-of-breed
• Functionalities
• Integration
• Mindshare
• Synergistic (ergh!)

The Bullshit Generator

Today’s exercise of wading through volumes of buzzword-laden documents reminded me of a funny website I recently stumbled upon called “The Bullshit Generator”

The online calculator randomly generates phrases like:

• streamline innovative methodologies
• enable dynamic communities
• reintermediate user-centric networks

Just hit “enter” and you’ll get gems like: “Seize mission-critical convergence” Wow!  What fun!

Less is More

Corpspeak, buzzwords, lingo and marketing-speak can drive me crazy.  It drives readers crazy, too.  Fluff adds no value.

And I’m guilty of generating these terms myself.

The trick is to make copy concise, clear, and actionable.

Keyword: Usability

I’ve been lucky enough to participate in several “Writing for the Web” workshops as part of Nielsen Norman Group Usability Week Conferences.  

When writing for the web, or in any marketing communications,  experts  remind us: that “people read very little on Web pages. They tell us “marketing communications folks not to waste word count on generic, feel-good material. It's not going to make prospects feel good anyway. They care only about getting their problems solved as quickly as possible so they can leave your site.”

Amen to that!

Enough Said

I just visited the Bullshit Generator again and it randomly spewed this phrase: deliver cross-media schemas.  There are a few clients I know who would love that phrase, but what the heck does it mean?

Please, hold the fluff!  

Everything You’ve Always Wanted to Know About Hashtags (but were afraid to ask)

You likely know about Twitter, the micro-blogging site where folks post updates and interesting content in 140 characters or less.

Many previous B-to-B Blog posts address Twitter’s use in business-to-business marketing communications. 

When executed strategically, Twitter makes a big impact for folks in a range of business-to-business sectors.

What is a Twitter Hashtag?

A hashtag is a word that includes placement of the “#” character in front the desired keyword.

In the Twitter Universe, inserting a Hashtag in a Tweet helps Twitter users “tag” updates with keywords. These keywords categorize a Tweet.  They are then useful for performing Twitter searches in order to find updates related to a particular topic.

For an example, here’s a Tweet about this very post, with strategically inserted hashtag that folks in the marketing world follow on Mondays. It also includes a hashtag of the word hashtag…how #zen, eh?

Ever wondered about #Twitter #hashtags?  Blog post answers all http://ow.ly/5IoUT #marketingmonday

How are Hashtags Created?

You, along with the Twitter community, create hashtags.

A hashtag is essentially user-defined, nobody owns them per se. Anyone can create and use their own hashtag in a post or comment. (remember #winning?) Other Tweeters are free to either use it or ignore it. Like many aspects of social media, it’s an entirely democratic process that polices itself.

How Can You Use Hashtags?

Folks Tweeting about marketing communications use hashtags often.  In other sectors, like corporate training or HR consulting, use of hashtags is growing.

How does one know what hashtags are out there?

An easy way to do this is to simply use Twitter Search and put the # symbol in front of a word.

The results show popularity of a hashtag. Other tools to monitor Hashtags include:

-       Twubs.com


-       hashtags.org


-       twemes.com


-       Tagalus


-       HashDictionary


-        What the Hashtag?!


-        What The Trend?

This screenshot shows a result from hashtags.org.

Why Hashtags?

Hashtags broaden the distribution of your Tweets.

When a Tweet does not contain a hashtag related to the topic, your followers are likley the only people reading it, and that’s if you catch them with Tweets in their message feeds.

By adding a hashtag to your tweet, more people read it who are interested in that topic. You have a better chance of engaging with relevant followers, which after all, is the point of the thing.

For instance, if you Tweet about manufacturing, add the hashtag #manufacturing to each tweet. This categorizes the tweet for those who search for that topic on Twitter. 

If you’re a corporate trainer specializing in leadership developing, Tweet relevant content or blog posts and use the hash tag #leadership – this way a lot more people will find it. Why?  Those folks are looking for related content by using the hashtag. You will engage with related and like-minded folks this way. 

Hashtags are useful at live events. You can see all about that on a previous post.

Using the hashtag designated for an event, it’s easy to follow the proceedings on Twitter. Tweet about the proceedings or any conversations during the event. The key is to create and publicize the hashtag before the event starts.

Hashtags help with "virtual events" such as the 

#pr20chat for a weekly discussion focusing on public relations trends and management.  

WARNING WARNING:  Only use hashtags if it adds value to the topic.  Don’t stick a non-related popular hashtag in a Tweet just for more exposure.  That strategy can backfire big time.

 B-to-B Hashtag Directory

Here are a few popular hashtags related to business-to-business marketing communications.

Please suggest other hashtags in the comments to keep this fresh.

General Industry Hashtags include:

#communications

#pr

#marketing

#marketingmonday – a good day to Tweet about marketing!

Virtual Discussion Hashtags include:



#pr20chat

#imcchat- chat about integrated marketing communications


#journchat- chat with journalists, bloggers and PR pros 
#socialmedia

Additional Sources to Review:

35 Big Hashtags for PR Pros 


Hashtags for Journalists 


40 Twitter Hashtags for Writers 


The Art & Science of Business Story Telling

I recently attended the 2011 International Association of Business Communicators Detroit Chapter Renaissance awards. 

Two projects for Rogier Communications clients, Leader Dogs for the Blind Media Relations and IntegriTime Hospitality Case study, received Awards of Honor and Merit.  

Two Market Strategies &PR team awards received recognition -- a business-to-business web redesign and a b-to-b marketing communications program.

A Story of Welcome

One of the joys of the evening was hearing the opening remarks from my former employer, Gerry Turgeon, founder and principal of a fantastic agency known as Turgeon Group Marketing Communications.

It struck me during Gerry’s welcome remarks the power of good story telling. 

Instead of reading from a PowerPoint slide or script, Gerry relayed from memory a moving story about the power of connections and community, whether in a personal or  work setting.  

Gerry recalled a story about a time-tested experiment from middle school science, where folks relay static electricity when joining hands.  His engaging story was an analogy reminding us that working together, connecting for a common cause, is more effective than when working alone. It was an artful and meaningful presentation from the heart.

Gerry’s remarks are memorable several weeks later because of the story.  If Gerry just read bullet points from a series of projected slides, this level of recall would not be possible.

Association of Story Tellers

All who were gathered at the IABC Detroit event are in fact story tellers, weaving their tales in the business-to-business realm.  The stories tell of the value organizations provide, whether in multi-media, website content, printed annual reports, online communications, direct marketing, advertising or other mediums.

The professional communicators gathered that evening realize, whether they work for non-profits, health care institutions, Universities, professional service firms, manufacturing companies, hi tech or other sectors, purposeful and strategic use of narrative achieves a practical outcome with an individual, a community, or an organization.

 Stories help communicate complex information. A good story helps the receiver connect, learn, participate and remember.

That’s why in software marketing, testimonials, or articles written by the customer’s point of view, carry more impact then if the vendor provides a laundry list of features and functions.

Tweet Me a Story

In b-to-b social media, it’s more effective to Tweet a story or link to a larger story, then simply push out promotional content. 

As an example, which is the more memorable and interesting Tweet?  If you were another manufacturing supplier, which 140 character Tweet entices you to click for further information?

“Finally, no more cabinets full of paper!” Supplier avoids hassle of printing 20,000 quality documents each month.

vs

Software automates documentation processes to avoid costs of printing.  

Learn more here.

The first Tweet lets prospects relate to the pains and troubles another manufacturer had with the hassles of quality control documentation.   

So What’s the Story?

It appears there is a resurgence of interest among today's business and organizations in the art of storytelling.

This is a powerful concept at a time of boundless electronic communications – online videos, social media postings, mobile messages, location-based applications, etc.

As my MSU English professor used to remind me so long ago in a writing class, show, don’t tell.

10 Twitter Tips for B-to-B Events – (the first 8 need to happen BEFORE the event…)

Using Twitter at an Industry Event? Most of the Work Comes Before the Event

A business-to-business client recently asked me to pull together top tips for using Twitter at an industry event.  The

client goal is to broaden the impact of an industry event via strategic use of social media.

There are smarter folks out there who have assembled good ideas for using Twitter at trade shows and conferences, including MarketingSherpa.

It’s All in the Preparation

After noodling ideas around and assembling the list, it is clear that the majority of these tips pertain to activities that need to take place before the actual event.   It’s not enough to fire up a Tweet stream the day of an industry or business-to-business event. 

The key concept here is strategic planning (isn’t it always, eh?).  Tips one through 8 assembled below, for example, have everything to do with pre-event planning and tasks.

As this blog has featured in the past, the power of Twitter lies in building relevant followers, culling those outside of the target in a systematic fashion, and connecting with folks on an ongoing basis.  Only then can the use of Twitter be effective for an industry event or tradeshow.

10 Twitter Tips for Events – (the first 8 need to happen BEFORE the event…)

1) First Things First:  Set the Event Hashtag:  Decide upon an easy to remember, intuitive and concise hashtag.  Use http://hashtags.org/ to check if it is a unique choice. Minimize the character count to maximize the chance for retweets, plus avoid meaningless abbreviations. For our purposes here, the sample Business to Business 2011 Conference hashtag will be #b2bconf2011:

2   Pre-Promotions of Hashtag:  Starting as early as possible before the event, promote the event hashtag on all outbound communications (email signatures; web; press releases; advertisements; HTML email; print; event  website; invitations; etc.)  include the following:  Follow the B-to-B 2011 Event proceedings on Twitter #btobconf2011

3)    Build Relevant Following Before Event: Connect and follow via Twitter with key influencers who would have an interest in this event (media; analysts; executives) as soon as possible before the event in order to gain key followers

4)    Build Interest Before Event: Direct message all relevant key followers about the event.  If they are not attending, invite them to follow the proceedings during the event using the event’s hashtag. Remember, you can only direct message folks who follow you.  See point 3 above, the key is to engage with relevant folks early.

5)       Coordinate a TweetChat During Event: Consider extending an invitation to Twitter followers or media not in attendance to ask questions, participate in panels as events are occurring using http://tweetchat.com/  during the actual event.  This can only work if there are followers who can’t attend, who you reach out to via DMs, and ask for participation during the event via Twitter. This depends on pre-event promotions to be worthwhile

6) Consider Stream Options: Before the event, take time to consider live streaming some of the conference session speakers integrated with a live Twitter chat.  See how to leverage livestream.com or http://twebevent.com/whatistweb

7) Prepare Promotions of Tweets/Hashtag During Event: Using large monitors, or on the presentation screen at the bottom of PowerPoint slides, set up a live feed widget at the event to showcase live Tweeting; include hashtag on signage, presentations during the event.  Remind presenters or any emcees to announce the hashtag for participants to Tweet from event. Consider adding a small footer to nametags “Follow Event on Twitter at #b2bconf2011”

8) Showcase Tweet Stream: Set up a widget on the client’s website, relevant blogs to display tweets using http://www.tweetgrid.com/

9) Organize the On Site Team: Establish two or three folks to be the designated Tweeters during the event. Assign sessions to attend to cover the entire event.  Tweet items of interest, engaging headline-worthy content and keep less than 125 char for optimal chance of retweeting by others. Consider a 3^rd party collaboration tool to manage Tweets such as Hoot Suite, TweetDeck, CoTweet or other tools to track who is saying what and when.  Use appropriate twitter handles  and other key words and hashtags and embed links of interest as relevant. Assign one team member to monitor tweet stream during event; correct any erroneous hashtags being used; reply to any questions or concerns that might come up (don't let a Tweet go by that complains about the event for instance, without replying and trying to remedy the situation); retweet and comment; or connect with others who are at the event

10) Steady Stream, Consistent Messages: Keep Tweets “human” and personal during the event, but stay on topic (for our purposes for the sample conference, keywords include #marketing, #socialmedia, #business, etc) which will help put this information out to those already following those key hashtags.  Intersperse live Tweets with scheduled Tweets.  A tool like Hootsuite makes it easy to create and schedule Tweets in advance. 

The Lesson of the Orange Shoes

For me, shoe shopping happens when there is an immediate need -- either because an old pair of shoes has worn out, or a new pair is needed for a fast-approaching special event.

The task is not entertaining. It’s no-nonsense pursuit, moving fast to complete the task.

Yesterday I took a few spare moments to zip to the shoe store for a new pair of sandals.  The chore squeezed into a frazzled day of juggling the demands of teen-agers, attending end-of-school events, hosting out-of-town in-laws, attempting to exercise, conducting a lengthy phone meeting and working on business-to-business marketing projects for 3 different clients in one day. 

It was a typical day of hyper-speed multi-tasking.

A Lesson is Offered

After a fast look at the store’s inventory, while simultaneously keeping a frantic watch for work-related emails on my Smartphone and fielding a call from my son’s Orthodontist, the final choice was between two versions of the same model of sandals: one pair in brown and the other pair in orange.

Brown or orange?  A choice between sandals in a conservative, safe color or something with a tad more flair?

Taking a Moment

The shoe decision offered the chance to be still and become fully immersed in the task.

 By taking that moment, I realized I had been standing up the entire time since entering the store, even when trying on all the shoes that came before these sandals.   Here was a chance to sit in a comfortable wicker chair and contemplate the decision.

There was time to take several deep breaths. The concerns of the day were gone in that moment.

It was a chance to become fully immersed in the present moment.

A Single Focus

The focus was on brown or orange.  The other distractions and concerns momentarily quieted.

A gift, really, all because of the orange shoes.

If that sandal was only available in the conservative brown, there would be no chance to pause for mindful consideration.

I would have promptly chosen the brown sandals, and hurried out the door onto the next task.

Instead, I immersed myself in the decision and considered.

I chose orange.

Why Orange Shoes?

These orange shoes offer the opportunity for learning to be present.   Not a trivial matter.

Perhaps wearing them will help me get into the habit of remembering to focus, of remembering to be present, of being more aware.

When you see me in orange shoes, it’s because they serve as a reminder to do one thing at a time.  To approach tasks slowly and deliberately

The orange shoes will serve as a reminder to pay attention to the present more completely and with more concentration. 

Zen and the Art of Shoe Shopping

Don’t you find that it’s a challenge to focus on what one is doing, right now, and enjoy the present moment?

Maybe a pair of orange shoes can help in this important effort.

Or to paraphrase the Zen proverb: "When the student is ready the orange shoes will appear."

Addicted to Metrics: The First Step is Admitting There’s a Problem

The first step in any well-respected recovery program is admitting there’s a problem. 

When it comes to business-to-business marketing and monitoring social media metrics, this serves as public admittance of a potential problem.

The smarty-pants at Hootsuite, the social media management application, now offer robust reporting metrics showcasing the return on investment and value of social media marketing for Twitter.  (They offer this reporting for Facebook as well, but I’m not actively managing client social media on that platform, thus don’t run FB reports.)

In the case of Twitter, real-time reports show relevance of Twitter followers, usefulness of Tweets, and number of followers who click through any links embedded into a Tweet, along with other addictive analytics.

HootSuite Social Analytics from HootSuite on Vimeo.

Most Popular Links

Over the last few months, one report has become extremely addictive. 


The “most popular links” summary shows the number of click throughs followers take for anytime a link is embedded in a tweet.

As more clients request social media management of b-to-b Tweet streams, the more this addiction will get out of control.

Got Relevance?
In my mind, no matter the client, the report serves as a key way to measure relevance on Twitter.  

Another way of looking at the report is that it demonstrates that the higher the click through (Ie higher the number of people who click on the link), the more the content resonated with followers.  

As long as a Twitter program stays on topic; is consistent in frequency of Tweets; includes key words and hash tags related to the topic, and as long as the account has built a following of relevant followers, the “most popular links” report should be a joy to read.

There are so many important reasons to be thoughtful and strategic in social media management.  In business-to-business social media programs, the focus is on connecting and relating to like-minded folks, thought leaders, potential prospects, etc. in a professional way.  (Of course, I’m making the assumption that this is the overall goal…many folks have gotten into big trouble when using Twitter for other more sensational reasons, like celebrities and certain members of the US Congress) 

Simply put, tweets and comments must stay on topic to attract relevant followers. 

These same concepts are covered in a previous post about using Twitter as a branding tool.

In Search of Value

Think of it this way:  if you signed up for a conference or webinar about the latest industry trends in physical therapy, why on earth would a presenter stand up and devote a presentation to thoughts about movies, what they ate for dinner, or what funny thing their kid did yesterday? Why would the attendees find this content of value? And what motivation would participants have to connect, engage, or pass along this kind of irrelevant information?

There are other social media outlets for that kind of sharing other than a business-to-business Tweet account.

A Better Way

These useful reports show the value in staying strategic when B-to-B Tweeting. 

Attract a relevant community. Stay on topic to those who found you.  Cultivate a relevant following via consistent management; share information of relevance that offers context; reach out and connect to other relevant folks; and measure the effectiveness of such an engagement.

Now I’ve got to close this post up  – it’s been a day since I ran that Hootsuite “most popular links” analysis and I’ve got an itchy Twitter finger!