Twitter Consulting: Are You Adding Value or Adding Spam?

By Brent McLean
October 2, 2009

Twitter is a great platform because of its simplicity. But with that simplicity comes the potential for marketers to set up a Twitter page and start tweeting with little regard for good social media strategy. Like other social media platforms, Twitter is about having a conversation and providing value. There is no captive audience for your Twitter posts, and if you're just another spammer, your customers will stop following you.

How do you know if you're serving up nothing but a heaping plate of spam? Two words: common sense.

It's easy to forget common sense when you're too caught up in your own brand and have been drinking the Kool-Aid. This results in brand tweets like this:

• We just redecorated the 3rd floor kitchen at Brand X and it looks great!
• Buy Brand X! It's awesome!

Wow, fantastic. I so don't care. Try getting in your customers' heads. What do they want out of your brand and how should that translate to your social media marketing? They want value and they want relevant social interaction. Here are some good examples from Reebok:

• Congratulations to Rio for winning the 2016 Olympic bid - we'll see you there!

• Reminder: take $15 OFF your next of order of $75 or more @ Reebok.com (there are a couple exclusions). Code 15OFF. http://bit.ly/Wka4T

• Congratulations to @Reebok athlete @Jones_Drew32 on being named the NFL's Offensive Player of the Week!

Reebok is providing fun and informative sports tweets that are interesting to the Reebok target market, and valuable discounts on Reebok merchandise.

This combination creates value and makes following Reebok worthwhile. How this is best done will look and feel a bit different for each brand, but the key is to create value for your customers.

Happy tweeting!

AlterSeekers is a brand promotions agency in New York focusing on promotions consulting and planning, social media strategy, social media marketing New York (including Twitter consulting), go to market strategy, and overall strategic planning.