To tap into the trend for ‘newsjacking’- real time marketing based around live moments- Twitter has launched a new planner tool that lets advertisers buy promoted tweets based on upcoming events.
To encourage this trend, Twitter has recommended that advertisers create a detailed editorial calendar, and its UK and Ireland small and medium business team has created an interactive calendar tool, the #OwnTheMoment Planner.
The European version features filters for seasonal, television, sporting, cultural, business and Twitter events (including Twitter for business seminars).
The planning tool also gives users the option to setup calendar reminders in Outlook – or download a copy of the calendar in PDF format.
Below are some tips from Twitter that could help your brand be successful with this tool and with Twitter in general:
It’s only as good as the content. Twitter is truly what you make it: tune in to your brands interests, and discover what’s happening. Find the things that make your brand tick, and curate them into a personalized timeline to spark conversations and engage with others. Share your brand with words, photos and videos, and tweet as it happens.
Who you follow matters. Using Twitter means the world is at your fingertips—all you need to do is adjust the dial and tune in. For most brands, staying in touch with your customers is important. But remember, you’re also looking to convert your followers to brand evangelists. If you can’t convert them or get them to listen, don’t follow them.
Take advantage of Vine videos. Vine, Twitter’s video platform, allows users to send out short, 6-second videos that provide just enough time to share some thoughts or make a mini-movie, and broadcast it in a Tweet. This could be huge for your brand – particularly since images and videos create an immediate impression and serve as a key element of successful viral campaigns.
Polish your profile. Your Twitter profile reflects your brand’s personality to anyone who might follow you. Be sure to update your profile photo, because it represents who you are with every Tweet (so use a quality image!).
Owning your moment on Twitter requires some preparation including message development, compliance considerations, and crisis scenario planning. And in the end, the brands that succeed are the ones that employ thoughtful in-the-moment communications strategies. Achieving such a strategy doesn’t start with good content – it begins with great content.
The new Twitter tool follows the famous Oreo’s tweet during the 2013 Super Bowl blackout. However, the race to gaining popularity on these channels has led to some brands losing their way – when brands on Twitter began to engage in real-time marketing, they found ways to inject their messaging into trending topics in increasingly irrelevant ways. For every Oreo Blackout or Arby’s/Pharrell Hat, there are dozens of failed brand trendjacks on Twitter – which sometimes even result in backlash against the brand.
View the ‘Own the Moment’ planner for May 2014 here
