It’s hard to believe that Twitter was created “way back” in March 2006. The service currently handles 1.6 billion search queries per day. As of December 2014, Twitter has more than 500 million users, out of which more than 284 million are active users. For marketers, its options for utilizing content and engaging audiences only continue to grow. Below are a few examples of leveraging Twitter via hashtags, sweepkstakes, direct messages and more.
Hashtags
Ragan’s: 4 Ways PR and Marketing Pros Can Use Hashtags
Introduced in August 2007, hashtags are one of the most fundamental elements in social communications, with 83 percent of all social campaigns in the past year featuring nothing more than a prominent hashtag. PR and marketing professionals should pay attention, because they will be the key to campaign success in 2015. Read more for four ways brand managers can use hashtags to get the best results.
Sweepstakes
The Verge: Amazon Giveaway Lets Anyone Run a Sweepstakes and Rack Up Twitter Followers
Amazon’s new tool, Amazon Giveaway, has simplified the process of holding contests around products in the company’s massive inventory. So long as the item you want to give away is sold by Amazon.com and under $5,000 in value, you can set up a promotional sweepstakes with a few clicks. Here’s how it works: you choose the item being offered up, and Amazon handles pretty much everything else.
DM Marketing
Mashable: Adidas is the First Major Brand to Use Twitter’s Group DM for Marketing
On Friday, Adidas started rewarding fans for their support of the brand’s #ThereWillBeHaters campaign by offering a private group conversation with some soccer stars on Twitter, including Real Madrid CF star Karim Benzema. The brand is choosing three fans who have been most engaged with campaign on Twitter; they will be privy to a 30-minute chat with Benzema. Twitter introduced group DMs on Jan. 27. The format can accommodate up to 20 people at a time.
Engagement
Ad Week: Big Brands Got 105% More Twitter Engagement During Q4
The social analytics provider Simply Measured recently said total engagement for marketers jumped 105 percent year over year in the fourth quarter. After studying Interbrand’s list of the 100 Best Global Brands from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, it also found that brands authored 11 percent more tweets year over year in Q4. Even with the extra messages showing up in users’ Twitter feeds, brands grew their followers by 38 percent during 2014 as a whole.
New Stories on the GFM blog this week:
Keep Social Networks Buzzing During Busy Times
The Art of Saying “No”
