Twitter as a Marketing Tool

So some of the Twitter numbers are looking very impressive – an estimated 1 billion tweets per day and a valuation of US$10 billion ahead of a possible IPO. Revenue numbers are not quite so attractive with income from search advertising estimated to be bringing in about US$100 million, well below the company’s current outgoings.

While it is hard to escape the microblogging site, does it have a role as a marketing tool? Like many of the other social media vehicles, Twitter has its own ‘what-not-to-do stories’, most notably Habitat’s use of keywords relating to the Iranian election in 2009 in an attempt to have its tweets picked up by those following trending topics. So far, Twitter has been used in about three main ways. The first, popular with technology companies, is using it to provide updates and product information. Second, popular with consumer goods companies is using it as a sales promotions medium where special offers are available only to Twitter followers – a good approach as appealing offers will quickly be passed on. And finally, some service firms monitor any negative commentary and seek to address it (if possible within 140 characters).

The big attraction of Twitter is its ‘permission marketing’ angle – followers opt in – so they want to hear from you. This is where the best marketing opportunity lies. For example, innocent Ltd uses Twitter to talk to its followers in its usual quirky fashion about a variety of topics. The two way conversation is a perfect medium for the development of the firm’s brand values. And if Twitter is to be used strategically, this is what needs to be done. Understand who is using Twitter (apparently it is mainly older age groups and also more women than men) and make sure all outgoing communications reflects the organisations brand values.

Book Review: Consumer.ology

I had the pleasure of reading this book while travelling to the EMAC annual conference last month. It wasn’t hard to keep the pages turning. This is a well-researched, lucidly written book that will force the market research industry to address some fairly troubling questions about what it does and how it does it. By implication, the academic research ‘business’ is in the firing line too, given that empirical data is often collected using the same techniques.

The core of Graves’ argument is that people are unlikely to be able to accurately explain what they have done in the past or are likely to do in the future. Doubts about the value of market research have always been there, particularly when one looks at the long line of research mistakes such as Coca Cola, Absolut, the Millennium Dome, Chrysler Minivan, Red Bull and so on and on. One can only speculate how many potentially successful ideas have been shelved based on some erroneous research findings. The key to the problem as Graves points out is that most consumption is an unconscious activity but research participation is a conscious exercise. He cites a wide range of studies from the fields of psychology and neuroscience which demonstrate how the environment, context, priming and so on influence people. Unfortunately, these types of influences are pervasive in marketing research. For example, the ever popular focus group is a particular offender with its boardroom-style environment, the video recording of discussions and the inevitable social influences of the moderator and the other group members. How can the findings of such an activity measure the reality, whatever that is? In short, Graves argues that the research process is inherently flawed and provides compelling evidence to back this up. By studying the subject we influence it and even if we didn’t, responses are likely to be inaccurate anyway. As a research consultant, he has also had the opportunity to observe first-hand the kinds of misleading results that it can generate.

So if research doesn’t work, what are the options? Graves proposes that if research is to be carried out, it needs to meet certain criteria that he outlines which are designed to limit the influence of the process. However, it is better still not to ask customers at all. Instead just monitor what they do, where they go on the website, how they behave in a shopping environment (but be careful what conclusions you draw!). Create situations where live tests can be carried out to observe what people actually do. As he suggests, we should believe nothing of what we hear from consumers, half of what we see them do and almost everything the sales data says they have done. Uncomfortable for some alright!

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