If you are my 69 year old retired mother, I'd have to say that Twitter is not vital.  

If you are a corner grocer in an outer suburb, it's possible that putting the majority of your promotional energy into Twitter might not be the most productive step.  

Just in case you are unsure about what Twitter actually is (and, no I won't titter at your bemusement, because in some ways I'm still working out what Twitter actually is): Twitter is an online social marketing tool where you can create a profile and send out messages (Tweets) that are up to 140 characters long.  

Many assume that being in marketing means that I am not only Twitter-savvy, I am also Twitter-obsessed.  I have to be honest…I’m not obsessed (as mentioned in my Burnout post on Twitter).  But I do have two Twitter profiles and I enjoy Tweeting when the urge takes me.

David Risley's view

David Risely, a very successful blogger who blogs about…well, blogging…says that:
“The people who fail to find value in Twitter
are the ones who are socially inept in real life.”  
David Risley's full post on 'Social Media Gripes'.

I'm not sure how tongue-in-cheek this statement is supposed to be.  It certainly tickled my funny bone.  Of course, it might be a sad raspberry to those who used to say that internet communicators (i.e. 'geeks') are those who are socially inept in real life.   Perhaps some well-meaning souls still stand by this claim.  But they are rapidly turning into the minority.  In general terms, I think this ‘geek-hunt’ was a phase and most of us have moved on.  

Of course, the more serious implication to David's statement is that being socially-savvy in real life means having to be on Twitter.    

So who’s socially inept in real life: those who Tweet or those who don’t?

If I had to pick one or the other I’d probably say ‘both – sometimes’.

Let’s put this in some perspective

UK comedian Stephen Fry appeared on the Graham Norton Show this year (5 Dec 2009, UK date).  Stephen, famous for his witty one-liners, is a well-known Tweeter.  So during the show Graham asked the audience to raise their hands if they had a profile on Twitter.  A surprisingly unimpressive number held up their hands.  It was almost embarrassing.  But it doesn’t stop Stephen Fry to continue his enthusiastic feather flutterings.  And why should it?   

Twitter is growing pretty fast though…

Neilsens, a measurement company, gave their Twitter growth assessment earlier in 2009.  In a nutshell, they said that unique visitors to Twitter increased 1,382 percent year-over-year, from 475,000 unique visitors in February 2008 to 7 million in February 2009, making it the fastest growing site in the Member Communities category.

But back to that perspective thing…I know people who have generated great business leads through Twitter.  But we all know people who are massively successful without a Twitter profile too.  So what should you do?

Are those you want to reach feathered?

The importance of Twitter depends on who you are trying to engage with.  Quantcast released its 2009 Twitter-user demographic findings (US only): Young (18-34), women (but only just), no or few kids (0-2), well-educated but less affluent ($0-$60k).  Apparently African Americans are particularly partial to Twitter. 

Neilsens reported Twitter as definitely an adult’s game, not teens.  And mostly working adults who have time to Tweet from the office.

Is this any help? 

Well it’s nice to know the big picture.  But Twitter really is about finding your niche within the big picture.  This means finding like-minded souls through ‘search’ and twibes, etc. 

Once you start, you might find you like it.  Give it a trial and see what the experience brings.

Rumour has it…You Tube (already big) is about to explode…Ready to jump on another bandwagon? 

Megan Hills is a writer, marketing consultant and cartoonist – more about Megan

What has the word 'marketing' meant to you?

To some, marketing has meant vertebrae-cracking limbo dancing to the lowest common denominator in order to make sales. Or it could have been whittling down your audience to a size 1 niche and pushing a camel through the eye of a needle…in order to make sales. But to most of us, marketing has been something in between.

Marketing definition: past

In the past, marketing has been about reaching the people you think you can help and communicating your solution to them with gusto.  Sometimes it’s something they need.  Sometimes it’s something they want.  Sometimes it’s a combination of the two.

Evil marketing

Sometimes marketing is introducing something that ‘they’ didn’t know they needed or wanted.  And then, upon this fine introduction, they decide they need it or want it.  This is where a lot of people think marketing is evil.  No axis.  Just straight-up evil.  But I'd beg to differ on that one…

Remember the wheel? 

It wasn’t always around.  But the wheel seems to have caught on.  When it was invented, someone had to explain what the wheel might do.  How it might make life easier.  Who did he (or she) explain it to?  Answer: the consumerist suckers that would listen.  And look at where that got them. Everywhere…

What’s great about now

What’s great about now – and what’s changing the idea around that word 'marketing' – is the internet.  But why I think it’s great might be a bit different to why you think it’s great. You might think the internet is great because:

• You can reach people globally much, much easier
• You can save on printing costs (and save trees, very important)
• You can set up certain ‘widgets’ (that word always tickles me – see My Cartoon Thing about Harold and widgets) that enable people to comment on your information (you’re getting warm…)

Why I think the internet is great

Yes, I agree with all of the above.  But what really makes me grin like a maniac about the internet is because people are gradually learning not to start sentences with “In the aforesaid viability…”.

Yes, there are people who are still writing like they have a pitchfork poised around their nether regions.  But the internet increasingly calls for human-sounding conversations.  Sometimes these conversations can go too far in the other direction.  A wee bit too brief, or too sloppy.  And perhaps what is being said may be so intimate it's offensive – or just plain confusing.

The conversational language that the internet inspires is now feeding back into other forms of communication (e.g. printed material).  This doesn’t mean a bow tie shouldn’t appear, or poetry even.  But the possibility for The Conversation now hovers in our atmosphere like oxygen.

The essential thing to remember is this:

Communication succeeds (whether in formal attire or wearing tracksuit pants) if it connects well with the people it has been created to talk to.  And there’s one more thing….

The ‘bottom line’ in marketing

Let’s not forget the ‘bottom line’.  It’s usually a tough person in a suit that talks about the ‘bottom line’ while I think of someone's bottom (sans-underpants) sitting on a wire fence.  But the bottom line for marketing is NOT just conveying what you want to convey to those who you want to reach.

No, that’s not all.

It’s also about getting a response. You can’t have a conversation if you’re the only one doing the talking, can you?

So what did you think of this blog?  Let me know. Start the conversation.