When I first discovered that anyone can follow you on Twitter, and you don't exactly have to accept them, I was a little freaked out. I don't have to follow them back, but I usually check to see if I want to. A certain amount of spam is to be expected, but then there are the weird ones like these:
Zero tweets? Following 1,920? What I want to know is who the 554 followers are and why? Weird. The egg avatar is almost always a dead giveaway.
When I first started tweeting, I was clueless about how to do it. But after awhile, I became more comfortable with it. In fact, downright addicted to it - worse than Facebook! And here are some of the reasons why:
My Tweeps.
I have met a lot of cool people on Twitter who I would not have otherwise found. And my bloggy friends who are on there? I really get to know them. Reading someone's blog lets you into their minds to a certain degree and tells you if they would be someone you would want to hang out with. Tweeting with them takes it to another level. It results in actual conversations. I miss chatting with them on days when I'm not on Twitter. I've mentioned it before. So has Liz at A Belle, A Bean and A Chicago Dog. She's got several posts about how important Twitter is, but one of my faves will always be our macaroni and cheese chat.
Current Events.
I can't stand to watch the news. It's not that I don't care about what's going on in the world, it's that the headlines are always negative. There's never any focus on the positive. I prefer to listen to the updates on the radio or scan the Internet. But I only do that occasionally, so most of the time I have no idea what people are talking about. Now that I'm on Twitter? I'm all over it! People want to be me. Ok, not really, but I can carry on a conversation without sounding like I live in a bunker with only access to "Sesame Street" for news updates.
Marketing.
Done right, marketing on Twitter can be incredibly effective. For example, Tim from Sogeshirts. While I'm not one to buy funny t-shirts often, I know the day will come when I need to get something like Little League shirts made that aren't the boring, run-of-the-mill ones you get at the local Dick's Sporting Goods. And I will have Tim in the back of my mind, ready and waiting. Why? Because he isn't just posting updates about the latest thing they're selling. He interacts with everyone. He has almost 14,000 followers, and he still makes time to chat it up with people. It's not always about work or sales, it's just him being the cool guy he is. Plus he retweets and Friday Follows like a madman.
And finally, what prompted this post, is that companies who pay attention? Can increase customer loyalty and get good publicity. Take, for example, the recent convo I had with Lynn from All Fooked Up and Kris from Pretty All True.
Downy
Even without a hashtag, the people at oneCARE Co (who distribute Downy Wrinkle Releaser) saw my post and sent me one back saying they would send me a free sample.
At first I thought maybe it was a scam, but I checked it out the best I could and gave them limited contact info just in case it wasn't legit. And then about a week later, I got a package in the mail. Twelve 3-oz., travel-size bottles. Sweet! They have no idea that I'm going to post this, Tweet this, FB this. I'm sure they hope that I will, and their hopes will be realized.
And to share the Twitter/Downy Wrinkle Releaser love, I'm going to give half of them away to one lucky entrant.
There are three ways to enter. Here's how:
1. Post a comment below.
2. Tweet this and copy me (@MidwestMomments) for verification. Post a comment below noting that you did.
3. Go to my Facebook page and if you don't already, "Like" it. Then post a comment on the wall that says:
Midwest "Mom"ments and I are wrinkle-free!
Then post a comment here to tell me about it.
Do one or all - you get an entry for each comment below. Be sure to include your email address with your comment so I can contact you if you win.
9 comments:
Hahaha...the irony of me appearing in a post about ironing is certainly very Fooked up! I mean, I don't even do laundry. This is why Twitter is the shiz! Convos like this make me laugh and make my day. Thanks for reminding me about the upside of social media, the downside of laundry and apparently, the merits of Downy!
LOL, what Lynn said.
I want to know why the Mac and Cheese people didn't step in and send food ... so much better than sending stuff for laundry.
Laundry you have to stop and do, mac and cheese we can eat and tweet ... a marketing campaign in the making don't you think ;)
Wow Jenn thanks so much for the kind words. I agree with you that twitter is great and there are so many great people on there such as yourself, Liz, KLZ, Lynn, Kris, Surferwife and many more. I think that is really cool that they sent you a sample just from seeing that you are a loyal customer.
Nothing is better than Twitter for getting to know people. I sure love it a lot more than facebook too. Keeping up with my twitter friends has become an addiction for me.
I saw the RT for this post via Liz. Proof that Twitter really does work!
Twitter is where it's at, baby!
And isn't the power of social media amazing!
Thanks for the shout, Jen! You are one of my fave tweeps!
I posted on your wall!
It really is amazing! This summer, I wrote about a shark scare with my 12 year old and husband while they were surfing. I tweeted about it and within an hour was contacted by the discovery channel, who sent us a press kit with nice tee shirts, dvds, ect. Even adopted a virtual shark in our honor. It was the funniest thing!
Haven't tried this before, but would like to! Thanks for the entry!
Thanks for the giveaway - what a great thing!
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