Some of the reasons that people use Twitter:
- Professional networking
- News and information
- Conversation about topics that interest them
- Fun!
When using social media for marketing, it’s important to reach people at a personal level. The social media sherpas and gurus constantly remind us that “social media is about relationships”. It’s not about being “sales-y” all the time.
Participating in popular Twitter memes and trending topics is one easy (and Fun!) way to connect and put yourself out there in a way that doesn’t make your followers feel that you’re always trying to sell them something.
1. Twitter Memes
Albert Qian used Valentine’s Day to write “7 Things To Love About Social Media” and pointed out one of the more common Twitter memes: “Follow Friday”. People participate in this fun trending topic on Friday to acknowledge people that they appreciate on Twitter. It’s a great way to recognize satisfied customers, people who share great content, and more. As Qian points out, social media is about giving. Follow Friday is annotated by the hashtag #FF.
Three more common Twitter Memes to take advantage of:
- #NF (now following). A great way to let your customers know that you appreciate them enough to follow them back.
- #MusicMonday. Remember that most people will follow you because you post interesting things. Show some of your personality by sharing what’s on your iPod. Be sure to make sure that the music you choose to share isn’t offensive to anyone. Keep it positive and fun (Fun!).
- #ShoutSunday. Give a “shout out” to your favorite Tweeps.
2. Trending Topics
Trending topics are displayed in a sidebar on the left of the Discover tab and the homepage.
Trending topics in your selected location are determined by Twitter algorithms. Algorithms identify current popular topics and change by the minute. Trending topics are often annotated by a hashtag (the pound/# sign) . To see posts in trending topics, click on any topic in the sidebar and you’ll see all Tweets that include the trending topic phrase or hashtag. To participate, simply compose a Tweet that includes the exact word or phrase of the trending topic, including the hashtag if the trending topic is annotated by a hashtag.
Some of the science behind trending topics can be found in this informative blog post at Tweetsmarter.com.
Twitter does have some very specific (but also vague) rules about abusing Trending Topics. Violating these rules could cause your account to be filtered from search or suspended.
- Adding one or more topic/hashtag to an unrelated Tweet in an attempt to gain attention in search.
- Repeatedly Tweeting the same topic/hashtag without adding value to the conversation in an attempt to get the topic trending/trending higher.
- Tweeting about each trending topic in turn in order to drive traffic to your profile, especially when mixed with advertising.
- Listing the trending topics in combination with a request to be followed.
- Tweeting about a trending topic and posting a misleading link to something unrelated.
Tips for making the most of Twitter memes and trending topics:
1. Don’t be annoying. For example, you should generally steer clear of popular Trending Topics such as #ThingsIHateInThemorning, #10FactsAboutMe, and anything #Kardashian or #Lohan.
2. Stay neutral. There are always a lot of religious and political themed Trending Topics. If you participate in these, do so with caution. You want to avoid alienating or offending your audience.
3. Participate in human interest trending topics, but do so with caution. An example is the recent hot topic of women’s rights and women’s health. Remember that this is primarily a political debate. If you have a predominantly female client base, you can help them show their support for women in a positive way. If you’re working with a client, talk with your client and ask them if they’d like to take a position in “hot topics”, and get a feel for what they’d like to say.
What ideas do you have for making your business more “Fun!” on Twitter?
Net Social Education 