08 Jan
There is great New York Times article talking about the future of Twitter. You can read it here. The article tells of the author’s journey in becoming a full on Twitter user. It is very entertaining to say the least, but the title ties into the articles overall message well.
He cites examples of how he uses Twitter on a daily basis. Through his examples, he points to one overall factor. Twitter allows him to be updated and educated in a matter of minutes instead of hours. He notes that he can get a feel for the day’s news within minutes just by looking at his Twitter page. Those who he follows, bring the news to him. He doesn’t have to go looking for it.
The articles’ message is that Twitter will not be going away anytime soon. I agree with him in a sense, but I think it goes beyond Twitter. I think you have to consider exactly what makes Twitter so popular and useful.
The ideas and habits that came from Twitter are what will endure. Twitter itself could fail tomorrow for unseen reasons. If that did happen, users would find a way to duplicate its services. What will endure will be rapid networking on the Internet and real time updates. It is important to understand that Twitter is only the beginning of this Internet revolution. It will not end there.
When you hear that the marketing landscape has changed forever, it has. Try not to focus so much on the tools such as Twitter and Facebook, but more on why they are beneficial to your marketing plan. This is crucial when developing a new marketing strategy. By understanding why they work, you will have a better chance of utilizing them successfully. Don’t start a Twitter account just because everyone else is. Try to figure what, if anything, your marketing plan can gain from it.
This ties back to what I tell all of my clients. You must understand the benefits of social media before you start planning a campaign or strategy. Social media doesn’t dictate the strategy or goals, the strategy and goals dictate whether or not you use social media.