10 Steps to Conquering Twitter Through Trustcasting

A simplistic platform with complex rules

As a vehicle for communicating with customers, Twitter is a deceptively simple platform that, in reality, is a challenge to truly master. First, there’s the format. How do you develop meaningful relationships 140 characters at a time? There’s also the overwhelmingly expansive size of the community. With 200 million registered accounts in the Twitterverse, how do you attract followers that belong to your tribe and will help your business grow? Furthermore, there’s the staggering pace of the flow of information and dialogue. With an average of 110 million new tweets every day, how do you make a meaningful contribution? Each of these complex questions share the same answer: trustcasting. As we established in the Trust Manifesto, “In a marketplace founded by, built by and existing for the people, trust is the only fundamental currency.” The results you yield from your participation in the Twitterverse will only ever be as good as the time and effort you invest in earning trust and developing genuine relationships with others. If ever there were an ecosystem built by and existing for the people, it’s Twitter. Each user is the sole arbiter of who is and is not granted permission to be present in their feed. Each and every user is judge and jury of good and bad content; the interesting, relevant stuff gets elevated and passed along to their own networks while the boring, self-serving stuff withers and dies out quickly. The one and only way to break through is by engaging in an ongoing process of building and maintaining trust. Following the golden rule of trustcasting, everything must be centered around developing authentic and reciprocal relationships between your company and other members of the community – a process for which no shortcuts exist. The results you yield from your participation in the Twitterverse will only ever be as good as the time and effort you invest in earning trust and developing genuine relationships with others.

Here are 10 essential steps you must follow to conquer Twitter by adhering to the principles and practices of trustcasting:

1. Be one with the medium.

Before you dive in and make potentially embarrassing or even reputation-killing public blunders, observe the ways in which other more experienced users engage and interact with each other to get the lay of the land. Nothing screams “Imposter!” like someone who goes tearing through the Twitterverse like a bull in a china shop with no regard for the nuances of the community. By showing disregard for the unique language and customs of the Twitter ecosystem, you also show that you’re disinterested in serving anyone’s interests other than your own.

2. Step out from behind the corporate curtain.

While the old familiar rules of marketing would dictate that your handle should be your company name and your avatar should be your logo so that your brand is always front and center, Twitter isn’t a collection of brands on a shelf but a living, breathing community of people. If your customers encounter a faceless brand, they don’t know if the person behind the curtain is the great and powerful Oz or your summer intern. It’s much more natural for your followers to have an authentic conversation with a human being. Set up your profile with a photo of yourself and a bio that tells us more about you than your official job title while remaining transparent that you also represent a company. Make sure to let your personality to shine through and to allow your interactions display human qualities – whether it’s candor, humor, generosity or even humility. By allowing members of the community to get to know you on a personal level, you open the doors to a deeper level of engagement.

3. Find real people you can have real conversations with.

With so much buzz around the concept of influence on Twitter, it’s tempting to go chasing after the users with the highest follower counts and try to entice them into your circle, knowing that one retweet will reach thousands of potential customers. However, it’s more important to find members of your tribe – those whose interests and needs align with the products or services you offer – who will be receptive to what you have to say. A good way to find these people is to regularly search for users in your area who are talking about subjects relevant to your offering. For example, let’s say you’re a dog trainer. You could enter the search terms “puppy near:Charlotte within:20mi” to pinpoint users near you who might be interested in the tips, articles and offers you have to share. By following them or replying to their tweets when appropriate, you’ll increase the likelihood that they will follow you in return. As you build a friendly rapport with this group of core followers, others will take notice and want to join in the conversation. It will be as if you are at the head of the cool kids’ table, and they want to pull up a seat. Contrast that with a scenario in which you have amassed a list of supposedly influential users who ignore your content and never respond to you. Where did all the effort to win their follow leave you?

4. Give before you expect to receive.

The holy grail of Twitter is transforming your followers into evangelists who retweet your content through their networks and give it legs to travel far beyond your immediate circle of influence. However, you can’t expect the rewards if you don’t put in the work. It’s up to you to find or create interesting content that’s worthy of a share. Promotions and giveaways are easy fodder for sharing, but they’re not the only share-worthy material. A link to a thought-provoking article, an inspiring quotation or a helpful how-to video are also highly sharable. Even if the content isn’t originally yours, you’re doing a service to your community by finding good information and passing it along.

5. Put sales objective second to trust objectives.

Twitter is a medium, not a broadcast channel.You’ll only be successful if you approach it as a means to cultivate a tribe of people you’ll enjoy conversing with, learning from and sharing with rather than a tool to give you unlimited access to a captive audience that you can barrage with marketing messages at will. Don’t engage followers as a brand with an agenda to sell but as an ambassador for your brand with intentions of making a meaningful contribution. For example, let’s say you own a store that sells running gear. You should make it a regular practice to pass along links to local races, share articles from around the blogosphere about good running form and nutrition, offer helpful tips to users who tweet about their struggles staying motivated and give shout-outs to customers who have achieved personal milestones like completing their first 5k. Without ever posting a direct link to a product, you can allow prospective customers to reach their own conclusions that you are the kind of company they want to support when they’re ready to make a purchase.

6. Reach out.

Remember that Twitter is, in essence, one sprawling public forum. As a result, you don’t have to sit back and wait for someone to approach you. It’s perfectly acceptable to jump into the conversation, as long as you follow the rules of trustcasting in doing so. Don’t be disruptive, and don’t go straight for the kill with a hard sales pitch or a link to your website. If you see an opportunity to join in a dialogue with something insightful, helpful or even funny, go right ahead. You might get a response or a follow in return for your efforts. More importantly, over time, you’ll cultivate a reputation for being a trusted source of interesting, useful or entertaining information, and your company and your brand will reap the benefits of your perceived authority in these areas.

7. Be responsive.

Always be responsive if someone directs a question or comment your way. It’s smart to keep tabs on mentions of your name or the name of your company so that you can reply as quickly as possible. Attention spans on Twitter are short, and if hours pass before you respond, chances are good that the person has moved on, and you will have missed the window of opportunity for a good two-way dialogue. It’s also important to be an equal-opportunity responder. While it’s always fun to reply to someone who is raving about your product or service, it’s dangerous to ignore those who have complaints. Respond to your critics with sincere concern and express an earnest interest in making things right, just as you would a dissatisfied customer who was standing in front of you in your store. Even if your efforts are rebuffed or ignored, you will have done your best publicly to demonstrate that you have their best interests at heart. In trustcasting, respect for the customer is paramount.

8. Be the kind of follower you want to have.

One of the best ways to earn goodwill in the Twitterverse is to promote others’ content. When someone you’re following shares a link to a thought-provoking blog post, news article or video, retweet their content, giving them credit for their great find. Elevating other members of the community is a simple, selfless act that demonstrates that you’re there to do more than toot your own horn.

9. Let your guard down.

The best thing social media – Twitter included – has done for business is removing the barriers that once stood between companies and their customers. No longer are you bound by the restrictions of mass media channels; instead, you can interact directly with your customers on a personal level. Therefore, your participation on Twitter must follow the rules of the culture of the Web. If you insist on holding your followers at arm’s length and only allowing them to see a perfectly polished version of your company, you won’t get the most from your efforts. Instead, go with the flow and keep it real. Your tweets are essentially part of a long-running chat. Keep your tone light, casual and approachable. You can even give your followers the occasional behind-the-scenes glimpse into daily ins-and-outs of your business. If you own a bakery, and you tweet a photo of your chef hard at work making your signature dessert, it’s a great way to remind your followers that they can swing by and pick up a freshly baked, handmade treat without explicitly asking them to do so. And they’ll feel more invested in your success because they will feel more connected to the people behind the name.

10. Be patient and persistent.

You won’t be an overnight Twitter sensation. You may not ever play on the level of Martha Stewart or Ashton Kutcher. But you also don’t need millions – or even thousands – of followers to make your participation worth your while. At its core, Twitter is a high-tech version of traditional grassroots marketing. You must build your community one follower at a time. Keep your focus on the quality of your community and the depth of your interactions, both of which you must allow to grow naturally and organically. In trustcasting, there’s no substitute for honest intentions and hard work. But while earning and maintaining the trust of your followers is a more indirect path to business growth than conventional carpet-bombing sales and marketing tactics, it will ultimately allow you to achieve the greatest return in securing ownership of your market.

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Vine 101: 10 Ways to Engage Your Customers in 6 Seconds or Less

Less than a year ago, three guys in New York City were working to build the next big thing in social media – a mobile video-sharing app called Vine. Their origin story echoes that of a thousand other start-ups we'll likely never hear about. But fortunately for the Vine guys, their little sprout got a big dose of Miracle-Gro when Twitter bought the start-up before it launched the app. Backed by the juggernaut of Twitter's resources, influence and platform, Vine reached the top spot in the free apps section of Apple’s App Store within just a few months of launch. Beyond this fast take-off and the Twitter fire-power that fueled it, it's also worth mentioning that Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey is believed to be the driving force behind the acquisition. Dorsey is also the co-founder of highly successful mobile payment service Square, so you might say he's kind of a big deal in the world of tech start-ups. So that’s the story of how in just a few short months this newcomer to the social media scene has taken root and made a name for itself as a viable contender among the more well-established platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.). Daunted by the idea of incorporating yet another social media site – with its own set of rules and idiosyncrasies – into your marketing program? Don’t be. Here’s a quick run-down of the basics and some inspirational ideas to help you get started using Vine to connect with your socially-savvy customers:

Getting to know Vine

Integration with Twitter

Even if you have no need or desire to support another social media tool, it's worth embracing Vine as an extension of Twitter. The two apps' tight integration makes Vine a convenient way to tweet video and audio. Vine’s short 6-second-or-less clips complement Twitter's 140-character microblogging format, so the name of the game is just the same: whatever you share, make it quick and compelling.

Simplicity

After using Vine for a few minutes, it will become evident that its development team focused on simplifying the experience of making and sharing videos. Creating a Vine requires little more than pressing the record button in the upper corner (conveniently labeled with a camera icon), touching the screen to start recording and releasing it to stop. Tap the checkmark to keep the video, add a caption and location if desired, then post to Vine, Twitter or Facebook. That's it. Concept, creation and publication in less than 30 seconds.

Big creativity in a small package

Doing more with less can actually push your creativity to yield impressive results. Without the complicated tools of traditional video production – with its expensive cameras, lighting and post-production – Vine both forces and frees users to focus on creativity, distilling ideas down to their purest form to tell a soundbite story.

Looping

Vine videos loop automatically. In fact, this feature is so central to the user experience that it's mentioned in the app store's very short description: "See and share beautiful looping videos." With their six-second time limit, Vine videos are often jumpy and hard to process on a first viewing. Looping enables viewers to catch missed details the second or third time around. But many Viners are also using this loop feature in creative ways, making videos in which repetition is central to the concept, like the 1990s cult-hit Groundhog Day.

Vine-spiration

Now that we’ve covered the basic how-tos, here are 10 ideas for using Vine in your marketing mix. One quick note: to pause any of the Vines below, just click on them.

1. Introduce yourself.

Share a behind the scenes look into your company culture, show off your super-talented staff or give a sneak peek into a special project. A simple wave from everyone will do, or like restaurant VIA, you can make it fun by making faces, or tap into an internet meme like planking as a team.

2. Make a stop-motion movie.

No matter how advanced video technology and special effects have become, stop-motion animation, with its often jittery feel, has captivated generations of children and adults alike. With its simple touch-based recording, Vine is built for stop-motion experimentation. Many of the most popular Vines use this technique, as seen in this gem from Twitter designer Ian Padgham (@origiful).

3. Build brand buzz.

Create a Vine tease to get followers excited about an upcoming event or product launch. Unlike commercials or marketing pieces with their long, resource-intensive production requirements, Vine is an easy way to promote in real-time. Late Night With Jimmy Fallon didn't need six seconds to tease a guest appearance by pop-star Justin Bieber – just a wig and a wink.

4. Introduce something new.

Maybe you can't afford a multi-million-dollar Super Bowl commercial to introduce a new product or service to the world, but hey, you've got Vine, right? Okay, okay. We know it's not the same thing, but even Pepsi, with its enormous marketing budget, turned to Vine to show off the new shape of its bottles. And their effort definitely did not cost millions to make.

5. Poll your peeps.

Want to take the pulse of your followers? Create a Vine that visualizes what you want to measure, and then ask for input in the comments. Comcast wanted to gauge the impact of promoting its SportsNet Twitter account during a hockey game. They owned the copyright for the broadcast, so they just published the clip on Vine. From the looks of things, they probably just recorded it right off the TV screen. Low tech, yes, but it works.

6. Create a moment of zen.

In the frenetic world of social media, a little tranquility is always welcome. Simply giving people a moment of calm among the chaos of the day can earn your brand some positive vibes by association.

7. Try some trivia to drive engagement.

People of all ages and backgrounds love trivia, and many can't resist a good riddle. Verizon mashed together game play, pop music and a feel-good holiday to give followers fun Valentine's Day-themed riddles.

8. Game on!

Like trivia, games are a great way to keep people engaged with your brand. We'll admit this one is a real challenge, but Vine user Brandin6 found a fun way to recreate a popular game from the 80s that gives new meaning to the term "video game."

9. Lure creative people to your team.

Want to find people for your organization that are social media savvy and creative? Vine is a great way to share your company culture in ways that will attract like-minded individuals that will keep that culture going strong. Better yet, hold a contest and have candidates submit Vines about why they want to work for you. It's a much more entertaining way to weed out applicants than giving resumes a ten-second look.

10. Celebrate the holidays (even the silly ones).

Even the most obscure holidays are good opportunities to produce entertaining content, like this geeky Pi Day celebration by our friends at VaynerMedia. The common theme underlying all of these ideas and examples is this: look for any excuse to make a Vine and then be as creative as possible. The Vine community rewards creativity. In fact, it's the driving force that fuels engagement with this new tool on the social media block...Hey, there's another idea: a New Kids on the Block parody. Vine win!

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