Guest post: Taking off with Twitter #FlightSchool

After working in the digital media industry for the best part of four years, one thing I’ve learned is that you must be open to change. The industry is so fast paced that it’s very easy to be overwhelmed, but this also gives us a massive opportunity to be pioneers in a constantly evolving space.

After completing Flight School (Twitter’s personalised e-learning program that you can access on the go) it became clear to me that Twitter offers a lot of utility and can help achieve many business objectives. It also gave me increased confidence in the fact that I can approach a client and authoritatively talk about Twitter.

Even though Twitter has been around for over a decade, I feel with some marketers there is an element of misunderstanding about the best way to utilise Twitter.

With over 500 million Tweets sent everyday, Twitter is today’s news platform that delivers real-time marketing and gives brands direct access to their audiences. There is no arguing that majority of the news stories and trends break on Twitter first, and it is a go-to platform for getting information.

An example of this was the #PutOutYourBats movement. The death of Phillip Hughes was devastating not only for the cricket community but for the whole world. Paul Taylor, an IT worker from Sydney, put out a cricket bat and cap and posted it on Twitter. Less than 24 hours later this went global as people all over the world joined in as a way to pay tribute.

What this movement illustrates is that people who use Twitter are very deeply engaged and highly influential. It is the stomping ground for journalists, celebrities, bloggers, podcasters, politicians as well as industry and community leaders. These are everyday people who can influence the world in one way or another and therefore can have a considerable impact on the way in which we live our lives.
To make the most out of moments and live conversations for a brand, it is important to map out a strategy that identifies a range of scenarios ensuring they connect with the target audience in the moments that are relevant to them. This means aligning marketing, creative and legal teams so that when a story breaks, brands can activate content in a timely manner. Here is one of my favourite Tweets when Germany won the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

To really get the most out of Twitter, it’s essential to look beyond a 140-character Tweet and understand how you can reach the right people by using precise targeting (gender, geo-location, device, interest, keyword, followers, tailored audiences or Tweet engagers) in more innovative ways and adding value through rich-media formats.

I encourage brands to determine how Twitter fits into the social strategy but also how it fits into their wider marketing mix. While this might involve many stakeholders across the business, this first step is important to quantify the value that Twitter brings or can bring to the business. From there spend time exploring how your content and data strategy aligns to meet this objective.

I’d tell you more but I’d suggest you take Twitter Flight School. Plus, it’s free and open to anyone!