Every business that uses social media constantly looks for ways to measure the success of its marketing efforts. We check our follower counts and monitor hashtag performance to determine how many times our message is mentioned. Another statistic of interest to marketers is that of ‘reach,’ or ‘the maximum number of Twitter users who possibly could have seen our message.’

For example, say you have 100 followers. Send out one tweet and your reach is 100. If one of those followers retweets your tweet, and they too have 100 followers, your reach extends to 200 people.

Calculating reach can be difficult (if not impossible) to do alone. The more your hashtag is tweeted around the Twitterverse, the more adding up of recipients you would have to do. If you don’t like to be driven to the brink of insanity, then it’s best to leave it to the experts. Tweet Reach helps determine how far your hashtag, keyword or url spreads across Twitter. They can run reports not only to determine reach, but also to interpret how many times in total your message was received by all users (called ‘exposure’ — this number includes how many times one tweet was received multiple times by the same user), and  also who exactly tweeted or retweeted your message to their followers (for a more detailed description of these terms and their meanings, check out Tweet Reach’s definition page). By compiling these stats, you not only will learn how many times your keyword/hashtag/url was mentioned, but who was interested in it enough to mention it to their followers—which could help in determining who to contact for future campaigns.  

So just how important is a statistic like ‘reach?’ Just because your tweet had a reach of 200 doesn’t mean 200 sets of eyes actually saw and read your tweet. Reach is all about possibilities. ‘How many people did I reach?’ would then turn into ‘How many people actually read my tweet?’ followed by ‘How many people read my tweet and took action because of it?’

And that is the key here: we want to expose our tweets and share our information with as many people as possible. We want people to take notice of our messages and in turn, hopefully take notice of us and our products and services. If you have a specific goal in mind for a Twitter campaign, definitely keep an eye on reach, but also include a call to action. When we tweet about an upcoming Twitter party, we include a link to a party RSVP page. Our goal is to get as many people to sign up as possible. Another tweet might be to encourage people to take part in fundraiser for a non-profit. Or order something today and get free shipping with a special code that is included in the tweet. Here social media meets traditional marketing: having a call to action helps track how many people not only saw your message but reacted to it. 

I think of reach as being like the circulation of a magazine. Knowing the circulation of mags helps advertisers decide which one gets their ad business. However, with magazines it’s not strictly about the numbers, and it should not be in social media, either. Advertisers like big numbers, but they also look at the types of readers who comprise that circulation. No sense for a kayak manufacturer to place an ad in a magazine that reaches 500,000 subscribers who are into fashion (unless the fashion is limited to Teva sandals). Better for to place an ad in a paddling magazine that reaches 50,000 hard-core kayaking enthusiasts.

Monitoring a statistic like reach can help you modify your campaign so that you better target the audience you’re trying to, well…reach. For example, according to Tweet Reach, if you have a low reach rate but a high exposure rate, it could mean that a small group of people are tweeting your message too many times: not a good thing if you want to reach a more diverse group and not annoy the smaller group of users who might feel as if they’re being bombarded by your message. You might need to do some research and reach out to another group of users whom you haven’t targeted before who might find your tweets of interest and tweet it to a different pool of users.

Twitter stats can help you better guide your marketing campaign and fine-tune it. But remember that while the medium has changed, the basics of marketing hasn’t: you still need to utilize traditional tools such as including special offers and incentives to signup for lists or newsletters in your message to help determine how many people actually do turn that tweet into action.

Tags: hashtag, reach, social media marketing, tweet reach, twitter statistics

When I was in college, I studied the history of broadcasting very nearly religiously.

I was a journalism major specializing in broadcasting, but the history of the medium wasn’t covered much in our school. To satisfy that need, I had to head on over to the radio, tv, film department. After taking a couple of courses, one curious professor approached me and asked what I was doing there. Apparently non-majors didn’t care much about hearing about Guglielmo Marconi or Philo Farnsworth if they didn’t have to. But I did.

I loved hearing about pioneers in radio, film, television and documentaries. The development of the technology was fascinating (often various inventors pursuing the same results thousands of miles apart), as was the creation of content. People experimented on both ends: sometimes they made it work, other times they failed (depending on the opinion, Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds broadcast could have fallen into either category). The early history of radio, tv and film was one big invention, a grand experiment filled with passionate people trying to figure out how to reach people better to tell their stories. And, I suppose, to use broadcasting to make a buck.

When I was about to graduate and start my job search, I realized something that made my heart sink: my dream job didn’t exist. What I was searching for was long-since over. I wanted to work in broadcasting, but I wanted to work in the early days of broadcasting, when an air of excitement was paired with uncertainty. When the next few minutes could either soar or succumb to technical failure. I went out into the world at a broadcasting job that rarely varied—everything was set in place; it was my job to help keep things moving along as usual. There was a handbook filled with rules and regulations that I didn’t even really understand.

But then came the internet. It was mainly informational at first, then interactive. And now we have social media. It’s new. It doesn’t always work. It can be a source of frustration. Businesses are still trying to figure out what to do with it. People are constantly experimenting, seeing what works and what doesn’t work. Developers are trying to come up with ways to use it differently through the use of thousands of applications. These are very exciting times. The sky’s the limit.

If you own a business, be a pioneer. Dive on into social media. Explore it. Experiment. Don’t be afraid of failure. Be creative. Be fearless. And have fun. Social media is an adventure: a big, bold, vast landscape that is changing daily. And like kids from the old days who bought dime store radio kits, it doesn’t cost much to get in on the action.

In studying broadcasting, I often wanted to go back in time and take a job at an early-20th Century radio station. Now, if I could go back in time, I’d visit college-aged me and tell myself not to worry. That it’s true what they say: history does repeat itself. And to get ready for one wild ride.

Tags: history of broadcasting, radio history, social media, television pioneers

Last Saturday, like legions of other die-hard college football fans, I strapped on my oh-so-fashionable clear plastic rain pants and jacket, stuffed more plastic bags in my pockets, and headed through a downpour to my alma-mater’s football stadium. And while I and thousands of others sat there and watched the kickoff—little beads of water dripping from our hoods—I wondered what drives this kind of loyalty.

I’ve never played football. I don’t know any of the players on the team personally. But year after year, with a ticket in one hand and often a handwarmer in the other, I sit through blazing sun and biting cold and cheer on my beloved team to (hopefully most often) victory.

As the band played the ‘alma mater’ song and the rain clouds drifted along, I realized there are some lessons here that could be applied to business.

1). Loyalty matters. Whether you’re selling a product or service, nothing beats a loyal customer base. Fans of your products will not only return for more, they’ll likely spread the word to people they know especially through retweets and posts via social media. However, generating loyalty takes both work and time. Keep in touch with customers after they make a purchase. Send them a note, an e-mail, a special offer. Make your products and customer service unbeatable. Throw in free shipping if you can. Connect with consumers using social media sites and respond to questions. Address complaints and try to resolve them quickly. Make it impossible for your clients to switch teams and go somewhere else.

2). Be a cheerleader. Don’t be afraid to toot your own horn. If you do something positive, tell people about it. Get excited about your company and where it’s headed and let it show. Excitment is contagious. If you believe in what you’re doing and express this to others, in turn, they’ll get enthused about your company too. Sis boom bah!

3). Make your ‘fans’ feel that they’re part of something special. Everyone wants to feel that they’re part of a special experience. Whether I watch my team play in person or with a group of friends via t.v., I feel that by following them throughout the season, I’m being part of a unique experience that in some way, defines who I am. If I meet another Wildcat fan, I immediately have a connection and a sense of camaraderie. Make your customers feel that by using your products and services that they’re part of a club whose membership is something special, unique and cool.

4). Be consistent. When it comes to generating loyalty, people don’t like surprises. Return customers come back with certain expectations: good quality, good customer service, fast delivery and great prices. Don’t have good service one day and mediocre the next. Maintain brand consistency (imagine if for one game our beloved purple and black uniforms were replaced with orange and blue; or if Coca-Cola tasted differently from one bottle to the next). Be there for your clients and always be what they have come to expect.

5). Be a winner. It’s true what they say, at least when it comes to loyal fans: It doesn’t matter if you win or lose, it’s how you play the game. Play fair. Demonstrate good sportsmanship. Have ethics, honesty and integrity. Admit to your mistakes and try to correct them if they happen. Show your customers that they should be on your team because you are worth it. Always strive to do your personal best and you will earn the respect of your fans. You will always be a winner because of how you play the game.

My team won this week. It was a fairly easy victory, but next week’s away game is expected to be more of  a challenge. Whether they win or lose, come the next home game you’ll find me in my usual seat in Section 125, wearing my team’s colors (albeit possibly covered in some sort of plastic-wrap, weather-permitting), surrounded by the same season ticket holders who’ve sat around me for the past 10+ years. The team has my loyalty; they’ve earned it.

Social media is booming among all age groups. Businesses large and small are finding that Twitter is a great tool to help them engage with consumers, increase awareness about their products and services, and provide users with a quick and easy way to give feedback and ask questions.

As a way to better connect with users, businesses can incorporate special Twitter events such as tweetups, Twitter chats or Twitter parties into their social media plan. While all three types of events can be used effectively by businesses as a way to connect with their followers, all three are different. So exactly what are the differences and how do you go about hosting one? Here’s a brief summary:

Tweetups Tweetups (or “Twitter meetups”) are events where Twitter users meet each other in person. They are a great way to catch up with Twitter friends, make some new ones, network, and finally put a face to a Twitter ID. There is usually a topic, theme or purpose for the Tweetup, and may include a guest speaker or two to attract people to the event. The events can be educational, informational, and fun. Businesses can organize Tweetups and host them at their headquarters or another venue as a way to bring their followers and clients (or potential clients) together. When planning a Tweetup, make sure you find a venue large enough to accommodate what could be a large gathering (events spread quickly on Twitter), include Twitter ID nametags for attendees, and provide refreshments. While the tone of the Tweetup should not be one of business promotion, simply having a helpful event could generate good PR and good will amongst your followers. For more tips on how to organize a successful Tweetup, check out this article from Mashable.com.

Twitter Chats Twitter chats are events held entirely online and are primarily used as a forum for people to exchange ideas and discuss a specific topic of interest. They are also considered a way to network with other like-minded Twitter users. Twitter chats are casual, drop in events (you often do not need to register to attend), and are usually organized by a person (or persons), an organization or company. Even if hosted by a business, the main purpose of the event is educational and informative—this is not a place to hawk your products. Organizers pick a hashtag for the chat, which all attendees must use in their tweets in order for their tweets to be seen during the chat. Twitter chats often are held on a weekly or monthly basis, with the day of the week and time of the chat remaining consistent. Usually, a group will begin a chat with just a few people, but over time—if the chat proves to provide attendees with good discussion-can grow into one that becomes popular and regularly well-attended. A Twitter chat can be held on any subject: business, education, a specific industry, social cause, or hobby. Many chat attendees use a Twitter aggregator to follow all tweets using the specific chat hashtag, which helps users focus on the discussion by filtering out tweets from their followers that do not include the hashtag. Some popular aggregators for Twitter chats are TweetChat or Twubs. Here’s an article about how to organize a tweet chat, check out this article from Lisa Barone of Outspoken Media, Inc., including a link to a tweet chat calendar listing popular chats by hashtag.

Twitter Parties Twitter parties are very similar to Twitter chats in that they take place entirely on Twitter and use a specific hashtag as the way to follow along with the party. Like chats, Twitter parties select a specific date and time for the event, as well as an interesting theme to attract users. The main difference between Twitter chats and Twitter parties is that while a chat is purely a discussion, a Twitter party’s underlying goal is to help promote a company, brand or cause. While the theme of a Twitter party can be educational and informative, there are usually mentions of the company sponsoring (or hosting) the Twitter party, as well as tweets about their products and services, special offers and product giveaways. Companies and organizations holding Twitter parties also usually have an objective such as increasing their follower counts, generating more web site traffic, gaining more brand exposure and generally connecting with and engaging their followers and other Twitter users. However, promotion of the business should not dominate the party. Rather, the theme should be front and center while promotional aspects take more of a backseat. Some popular aggregators are Tweet Grid, Tweet Deck and Tweet Chat. For more information on planning a Twitter party, visit TweeParties.

Regardless of which path you choose, hosting a Twitter event can be a fun, low-cost way to reach out to and engage more of your followers. So dive on in and become of the life of the social media party!

Tags: business, event planning, social media marketing, Tweet chats, Tweetups, Twitter marketing, Twitter parties, Twitter party