A telescopic whistle-stop tour of Twitter: what it is, how it works, what's new, how it fits in with current trends, who's using it for what and why does it matter. Presented at the Revolution Forum at the Oxford Belfry in November 2009.

1. Twitter
what’s all the fuss about?
jenni lloyd / strategy director / nixonmcinnes

2. hello! I’m Jenni Lloyd
i’m strategy director at
social media agency
nixonmcinnes

3. we help connect brands with
people through the social web
The UK’s largest dedicated team of social media
specialists; founded in 2000
Full service social media agency: strategy,
network mapping, outreach, design, build &
community management
Thought leaders: instigators of
‘MeasurementCamp’

4. a little bit of social proof :)

5. what is it?
how does it work?
what’s new?
how does it fit in with
current trends?
who’s using it & what for?
why does it matter?
let’s talk twitter

6. hands up who…
has a personal twitter account?
has tweeted in the last 48 hrs?
promotes an organisation through twitter?
can measure (and confidently explain) the value?

7. let’s start with how
it all works

8. Twitter enables friends, family, and co–workers to
communicate and stay connected through the exchange
of quick, frequent messages of 140 characters or less.
These messages are posted to your profile, sent to
your followers, and are searchable on Twitter search.

9. it started in 2006, but exploded in 2009
Sept 2009:
50,000,000
accounts
active
accounts
unique visitors to Twitter over the last year: Compete.com

10. what is twitter?
http://www.slideshare.net/madebymany/twitter-whats-all-the-fuss-about-1111019

11. anatomy of a tweet
username
message - 140 characters or less favourite this tweet
avatar
timestamp app reply to this tweet

12. how tweets spread
retweet @reply
URL shortener
#hashtag

13. #Skittles has changed
its entire homepage to
a Twitter search -
brave!
http://skittles.com/
#skittles
lists nster ’s fo
#Skittles has changed
its entire homepage to
a Twitter search -
brave!
bo http://skittles.com/
al ll #skittles
m
ow
e
RT @mashable
rs
#Skittles has changed
its entire homepage to
a Twitter search -
brave!...
m
a RT mashable
#Skittles has
changed its
sh
entire...
ab
le’s follower
juxtapozed
RT@mashable
#Skittles has changed ju
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xt
a Twitter search -
brave!...
ap
ozed’s follo
#Skittles has changed
its entire homepage to
a Twitter search -
w
er
s
brave!
http://skittles.com/
RT @mashable
#Skittles has
changed its entire
#skittles homepage to a
Twitter...
mashable
http://www.slideshare.net/madebymany/twitter-whats-all-the-fuss-about-1111019

14. people powered
search

15. trending topics

16. lists allow greater discovery

17. twitter capitalises on
some key current
themes

18. twitter is open
co-tweet twitpic
tweetdeck
Text hootsuite
twistori
?

19. twitter is real time

20. twitter is an echo chamber
22,000
complaints to the
PCC, withdrawal
of ads & an
apology
illustration courtesy of @rossbreadmore

21. yeah, yeah - but what
about marketing?

22. twitter is used for campaigns

23. twitter is a customer service channel

24. twitter is a sales channel

25. twitter engages TV viewers

26. twitter gives objects a voice

27. twitter connects people in real life

28. a client perspective
we’re using Twitter
as a pilot - a way of it’s the fastest way for
learning about real customers to get a reaction
time interaction in real time - faster than tech
with consumers support, customer care or
quality control - we’ve had
to speed up internally in
it’s a lot more personal - and order to react
we’re still trying to get to grips
with what that means & how we
do it... are the people
communicating the right
people to do so? what is the
persona and how is it
generated?
thanks to Mike Heroys @ Coca-Cola

29. but twitter’s just one
tool... it’s not a social
media strategy

30. it’s really about something
bigger…

31. it’s about a fundamental shift

32. from the time when we relied on
our websites as a destination
‘build it and they will come’ (and we’ll drive shed
-loads of traffic through advertising)

33. brand sites are seeing a decline in traffic
daily unique visitors / july 07 - july 09 from Google trends
http://www.digitalbuzzblog.com/loosing-to-the-social-web-visualized/

34. whilst social networks are growing
daily unique visitors / july 07 - july 09 from Google trends
http://www.digitalbuzzblog.com/loosing-to-the-social-web-visualized/

35. we need to recognise that our
customers are playing elsewhere

36. if we want to talk to them
we need to be where the
conversation is

37. we need to be useful
and we need to be wherever
they want us to be

38. …we now have a platform that creates both expressive power and
audience size. Every new user is a potential creator and consumer,
and an audience whose members can co-operate directly with one
another, many to many, is a former audience.
Clay Shirky / writer. teacher. consultant / shirky.com
The broadcast
model of
communication
is dead

39. Technology is shifting power away from the editors, the
publishers, the establishment, the media elite. Now it’s the
people who are taking control.”
Rupert Murdoch* / Media Magnate / Wired Magazine / July 2006
* Rupert Murdoch said this… in 2006!

40. how will your organisation thrive
in a world of connected
consumers?

41. over to you...
thank you for listening -
please keep in touch
nixonmcinnes.co.uk
jenni@nixonmcinnes.co.uk
twitter.com/jennilloyd