Community Management - Tweet Tweet little bird, whisper in my ear

TWITTER

If you don't use it personally - Go sign up. Now. I'll wait here.
Done?
Search for a few companies you like, a few celebrities
and maybe some people that are big in your industry.
Look through their Tweets.

Now compare those to Tim Schafer @TimOfLegend
See the difference?

Tim Schafer is a grand example of how to market your ass off via Twitter.
He posts personal things, official things,
pictures of him and friends or celebs and most importantly, he responds to mentions.


Be The Tim

I'm not endorsed by, related to, living near or in any way connected to Tim,
I just follow him on Twitter. That's important to note.
I do however study those I follow and Tim shows the best parts of how to be a profile.

Your company should do this to.
John does it. The Twitter account is named after the company,
but John isn't shy of letting people know he's sitting there.
Again making people directly relate to his personal and friendly persona.


Here's the thing about Twitter you may not know or want to know:
People follow celebs on Twitter because it makes them feel closer to them.
Getting updates from their lives and talk to their favorite star makes them feel
like they know their hero/rolemodel/whatever, a little more than 'the rest'.

It's an annoying reality, I know, but real none the less.


Comparison:

@TimOfLegend:
Making a break for the bathroom. So is John Romero. This could be magic.

@Microsoft:
Video: Oscar-winning director Davis Guggenheim discusses education reform http://bit.ly/9c4iuF

Which one feels more special?
A lot of people do the same mistake Microsoft does: Think about money.
If people want to see your news and links - They go to your website.
Twitter isn't your website. It's not your blog. It's not your news feed.
Don't treat it as such.
Be the Tim.


Stop Stalking Him!

Another common Twitter mistake I see is celebs trying to reach out. A lot.
So they follow 1000-2000+ people just to have a hook.
Make people think "Well if he follows me I can't stop following him.."
It works. But it's not optimal.
In reality, any normal human being can, at most keep track of 150 friends.
AT MOST.
If you're planning on nurturing your personality, don't follow more than 150 people.
It doesn't feel real and your follows won't feel special.

Instead, follow things that matter to you, and your product.
Follow people who post things that may be useful to your users.
Again, taking a load off you.
Say you're in the same industry as Tim Schafer (That is - Console games),
follow him.
When he posts something that has *anything* to do with Your product. ReTweet it.
By this you force other people to endorse your product in a context
which it might not have been intended.
This also applies if you know someone famous is near you,
attending to a convention or such, follow them during that time.

Example:
Tim Schafer shortly discussed the spelling of the gaming-term "Nerf"
(To reduce the power of something in a game) and stated
"I like Nurf better. Might I suggest "Nurph?""

Now, if you're the owner of the company Nurf....
ReTweet that, Tim Schafer just said he likes Nurf better..
Doesn't matter What he liked it better than, or that he wasn't talking about Nurf,
he just endorsed you.


So, be on Twitter, talk about nothing, chat with your followers and ask them questions.
You'll get tons of feedback, your profile will grow
and all this at the price of an hour a day.