Twitter Changes Afoot: 3 Things You Need to Know

by Daria Steigman on June 13, 2013

Wall Spigot: Only 1 Side OpenTwitter has rolled out three major changes in the last week: updating its API, opening up analytics, and expanding advertising. Each is  likely to have an impact on the way we interact with and on the platform.

Let’s look at what Twitter has done.

The updated API puts Twitter back in charge of tweets. An API, or “application programming interface,” is the underlying code that lets one software program talk to another. (That’s about as technical as I can get.) The practical purpose is to help Twitter regain control over its ecosystem. According to an article on CNET:

“The updated API … includes restrictions on how often third-party apps can access information on Twitter, as well as limiting the number of users for developers of third-party apps to 100,000 users unless it has permission from Twitter for more.”

This is huge.

When Twitter started out, the company encouraged the development of third-party apps (e.g., Hootsuite. TweetChat, Seesmic, Uber). In addition to making a lot of power users happy, it also helped to spread adoption of the platform. But as users flocked to deploy the capabilities of these new tools, from scheduling to search to chat, that meant they weren’t on twitter.com. (More on that in a minute.)

Why this matters to you (#1).

If you’re a long-time Twitter user, you probably remember the days when you were lucky if you could refresh your tweets every couple of minutes. In order not to hit my hourly API limit, at one point I had my “everybody” stream refreshing every 3 minutes, my mentions every 2 minutes, and direct messages every 15 minutes. It was streamtime, not real-time.

Streamtime is back–if you’re not using an application that Twitter has certified. The two-tier effect was in evidence  in the last solopr twitter chat–where it was all-systems-go for TweetDeck users (since TweetDeck is owned by Twitter) but just about everyone else was looking for a solution. (Check out the chat transcript for some options.)

Why this matters to you (#2).

Twitter has opened up its analytics (via ads.twitter.com)  so you can get information to track reach, engagement, and more. TechCrunch  has a good overview here. The purpose, of course, is to give you data that might help you figure out how to advertise.

Why this matters to you (#3).

So why does Twitter want your eyeballs on its own platform? Dollars (and euros, and more)!

One word: Advertising . What I’ve seen in the first iteration of Twitter ads has been either a sponsored tweet fixed at the top of a “search” column (especially hashtag searches) or the occasional ad tweet in my stream. I think we’re going to see a lot more of both. I received my first e-mail inviting me to advertise on Twitter the other day–meaning they’re moving beyond beta and big companies. My branding brain is already thinking about how targeted advertising might be useful to some of my clients.

Have you examined your analytics? Tested advertising? What stands out for you?

Photo by David Goehring (Flickr).

Have you grabbed a free copy of Your Social Media Checklist? Download it today to get 9 tips for being findable and attracting the right customers for your business.

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How to Create an Instant Brand Fan

by Daria Steigman on June 6, 2013

Purple Running Shoes atop a Zappos BoxRunning Shoes + Baseball Talk = Instant Brand Fan.

Let me explain.

My friend Deborah Brody mentioned that she’d just purchased new running shoes from Zappos. She also mentioned how convenient it was, and that she was able to purchase the last model at a discount. So I hopped on the Web site and located my shoes (at quite a nice price too, I might add). But I ran into a snag with the online checkout. So I reached for the phone.

Enter Jeff, customer service rep, transplanted New Yorker, and not fond of running. We start chatting about Las Vegas, awesome trails (for running and hiking), and somehow we get to baseball. And Jeff laments that San Francisco Giants, Oakland As, and Arizona Diamondbacks games are all blocked out in Las Vegas because they’re considered “local” teams. Which is absurd… but I digress. Jeff also upgraded me to VIP status and had my shoes shipped out for next-day delivery.

Yes, I’m buying shoes (boring!). Yes, we’re talking baseball (awesome!).

Zappos took me from brand virgin to brand fan in one phone call.

Now, I suspect not everyone loves running shoes (or baseball). And this isn’t really not about either one. It’s about connecting with your customers and delivering fantastic service.

Many companies train their customer service agents to complete the transaction (or resolve the problem), minimize off-script chatter, and get off the phone as quickly as possible. It’s a business strategy–and it certainly increases the number of transactions any one person can process. The problem: It’s a generic response. I don’t remember you. I’m certainly not talking about you. I might or might not buy from you again–but your pricing better be terrific because most people (me included) don’t only make buying decisions on price.

I’ve known about Zappos for a while. I reviewed Delivering Happiness when it came out. I’ve referenced the brand in several blog posts. I’ve seen tweets and case studies and heard stories about the 2-way free shipping and their customer service approach. But until this week I hadn’t sampled it for myself. Now, I’m sold–and I’ll be back.

What are you doing to connect with your customers?

Have you grabbed a free copy of Your Social Media Checklist? Download it today to get 9 tips for being findable and attracting the right customers for your business.

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Why Numbers Matter

by Daria Steigman on May 31, 2013

Girl Playing HopscotchThere’s a show on ESPN called Numbers Never Lie. As part of the brand, ESPN has done a series of short illustrated videos talking about sports figures (or sports events) and numbers. Simple numbers. Ratios. Statistics. Data.

Numbers matter.

I was at an event recently where the speaker asked the audience to choose the Top 3 things (from a list of 8) they think are important in terms of career and leadership. One of them was about knowing the numbers. It didn’t make the cut–but it made mine.

Business is all about numbers. I’ve written before about finding over $100,000 in fluff in one budget. I’ve found it in other budgets too. And it’s not just about how you spend your money–but how you make it. It’s Business 101 to understand how funds are acquired, appropriated, authorized, and used. Because if you don’t understand your numbers, how are you going to know if someone is playing with them?

Use numbers to tell a story.

The reason the Numbers Never Lie videos work is because they use the numbers to tell a story. How are you doing the same for your business?

Photo by D. Sharon Pruitt (Flickr).

Have you grabbed a free copy of Your Social Media Checklist? Download it today to get 9 tips for being findable and attracting the right customers for your business.

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Teaching Social Media

by Daria Steigman on May 20, 2013

Upside Down Sign: Do Not EnterWe’re teaching social media all wrong.

We focus on how to use these platforms for business. We teach employees how to upload and tag pictures on Google+ from their association’s annual meeting or how to post a status update on Facebook about all the cool places customers have been spotted with the company’s latest gadget. We provide tips on how to write engaging blog posts. We discuss video best practices.

Now you’re probably thinking: Isn’t this what we’re supposed to do? Of course it is. You can’t be a social brand if you’re not using social media for business purposes. And you certainly can’t evolve into a social business if you’re not social brand savvy.

This is the endgame.

I was speaking recently about social media at a meeting of Washington Union Women and the question arose about how to get members to be more active social media users. That’s when it hit me.

Forget the business case. First we need to make people comfortable using social media.

A lot of people are using some form of social media, but it’s all about the degree of use and their perceptions of their own proficiency and the size of the audience they are reaching.

It took me two days to push the switch on my first Web site. I had read it and reread it, and had my favorite editors (aka, my parents) read it and reread it. I had friends proof it. I was so aware that once it went live everyone, everywhere could see the site that I thought it had to be perfect before I could make a move.

A lot of people (most?) have this reaction. So why are we surprised that there’s a barrier when it comes to social media?

We need to put social media in a context where people feel comfortable. Teach seniors how to post pictures of their grandchildren on Facebook. Teach parents how to text with their teenage kids. Teach people to use medical apps or nutrition apps or parking meter apps.

Once people are comfortable using these tools for themselves, then they won’t be so afraid of “making a mistake” in the business setting. Because who hasn’t uploaded a photo upside down or been grateful for an “edit text” feature?

Photo by Nick Farr (Flickr).

Have you grabbed a free copy of Your Social Media Checklist? Download it today to get 9 tips for being findable and attracting the right customers for your business.

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What Does Free Speech Mean to Google?

by Daria Steigman on May 14, 2013

Blue BubblesWhen I read The Filter Bubble, it wasn’t the “search bubble” piece that caught my attention.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the book, author Eli Pariser‘s premise is that digital technologies are changing the way we get and interact with information–and that this has profound implications for democracy. The first part is pretty obvious: If you typically click on coffeehouse sites, Google is not going to recommend a tea shop. If you’re looking for Mexican restaurants, you’re not going to get Thai restaurant listings mixed into your search results. Run the same “Mexican restaurants” search a few more times, and then a broader search for “ethnic restaurants,” and what do you suppose will pop up first?

We can have a conversation about whether all this personalization is a good thing, but the reality is that most of us like having “relevant” search results. In the political context, this means that people who regularly click on Fox News stories aren’t likely to see a lot of search results for The Nation. So increasingly we hear what we want to hear; aka, we live in our own filter bubbles.

The new gatekeepers are anonymous.

Here’s what grabbed my attention: we might think we’ve done away with the middlemen (e.g., newspapers informing and interpreting events), but we’ve really just substituted one middleman for another. Pariser writes:

“While enthrallment to the gatekeepers is a real problem, disintermediation is as much mythology as fact. Its effect is to make the new mediators–the new gatekeepers–invisible…

“Most people who are renting and leasing apartments don’t “go direct”–they use the intermediary of craigslist. Readers use Amazon.com. Searchers use Google. Friends use Facebook. And these platforms hold an immense amount of power… But while we’ve raked the editors of the New York Times and the producers of CNN over the coals for the stories they’ve missed and the interests they’ve served, we’ve given very little scrutiny to the interests behind the new curators.”

Pariser is correct. I trust Google more than I trust Facebook, but that’s mostly in relationship to how my data is accounted for. It’s not based on corporate policies, or community investments, or labor practices, or any of the myriad of things that can impact where I spend my dollars. (I’m a Google apps user, so this isn’t about free versus paid.)

Maybe we should pay more attention to how these businesses operate.

The gatekeepers are regulating free speech. 

This isn’t a First Amendment issue, because these are private companies. (In contrast, this is, because it’s about the U.S. government’s actions.) But it is about free speech.

I’m pretty close to a constitutional absolutist on this topic, and I use that principle to guide my thinking. But a lot of people, and a lot of governments, have different concepts of what “free speech” means.

What does free speech mean to Google?

A fascinating article in The New Republic looks at how Silicon Valley’s content policy folks (self-dubbed “the Deciders”) are grappling with company guidelines over what can and cannot be posted online:

“As online communication proliferates—and the ethical and financial costs of misjudgments rise—the Internet giants are grappling with the challenge of enforcing their community guidelines for free speech. Some Deciders see a solution in limiting the nuance involved in their protocols, so that only truly dangerous content is removed from circulation. But other parties have very different ideas about what’s best for the Web.”

This isn’t easy stuff, but it’s profoundly important that we get it right–whatever that means.

What’s your takeaway?

Hat tip to Geoff Livingston for alerting me to the New Republic article.

Photo by Patrick Hoesly (Flickr).

Have you grabbed a free copy of Your Social Media Checklist? Download it today to get 9 tips for being findable and attracting the right customers for your business.

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