The Future of Twitter Marketing?

The Future of Twitter Marketing?:

Twitter hashtags. They’re popping up everywhere! On sports talk shows. In presidential debates. Even on pre-recorded shows like Glee. And quite frankly, I think it’s great! In fact, I see it as an indication of the future of Twitter marketing.

Is Twitter marketing worthwhile?

Recently, I’ve had conversations with marketers who question the validity of Twitter as a marketing medium, and I can’t blame them. My own analytics show that only a small percentage of the links I tweet actually get clicked.

Twitter may fuel social movements, end political careers, and document historical events as they happen, but can it be harnessed by marketers for commercial purposes? Or will the Twitter bird refuse to be caged?

Enter the amazing Twitter hashtag

Personally, I think the TV networks have got it right. They’re using Twitter hashtags (that’s any word with the “#” sign in front of it, like #Glee,) to successfully tap into the most dynamic feature of this social media: It’s ability to facilitate real time conversations between tens, hundreds, even thousands of people.

Here’s how it works: Any viewer can check out what other viewers are saying about a particular program simply by searching Twitter for the associated hashtag (e.g. #AC360 or #Glee). They can then contribute to the conversation by typing the same hashtag into their own tweets. Encouraging this behavior has allowed networks to successfully bolster the number of people watching shows live rather than via DVR.

So how can you take advantage of hashtags?

Social media marketing is ever evolving and this is no exception, so there are no rules to follow. But if you host live events, such as seminars or trade shows consider creating a hashtag for it. Encourage your audience to use the hashtag to tweet about the event while it’s going on. Experiment with accepting questions via Twitter for presenters, or simply foster a conversation around a central topic.

A couple of suggestions:

• Keep hashtags consistent by promoting them ahead of time. Include them in emails, on presentation slides, and in tweets about your event.
• Participate in the conversation. Get on Twitter yourself and talk to the people who are talking about you.