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Top Twitter Applications, Add-ons and Tools List
Welcome to Twitterapps! - I have 275 Twitter applications at the moment Twitter applications can be called by different names. They are sometimes called as "twitter tools", "twitter add-ons" and the likes. But whatever the name they are called, they are simply websites which have built-in scripts that complement Twitter. Here is a simple collection of all the Twitter applications I have encountered on the internet. Contribute more applications to keep the list growing. I also review twitter applications in-depth in my Twitter Tools ListHere's my favorite link:
Get to know Twitter
Twitter is a status-updating or microblogging social networking website. It is a breakthrough in social networking because it takes communication into another level. Before, a person can only update his status (eg. what he's doing, where he is) at a certain time. But with Twitter and it's mobile integration, he can update his status almost all throughout the day and get in touch with people that matters to him the most.
But the functions of Twitter do not stop there. It is now used by various fields. Business, for example, has used Twitter to get in touch with customers on a personal level. It is also a nice place to meet people from different parts of the world that shares the same interests. Furthermore, its possibilities to promote new technology, news and products can't be denied.Join Twitter and use these Twitter applications to spice up your tweets!Visit me on TwitterTwitter have been used by companies, bloggers and agencies to promote their brand. Promote your own brand today.
Twitter in Plain English
A quick and plain English intro the micro-blogging service Twitter. Follow us: http://www.twitter.com/commoncraft This video comes in an unbranded "presentation quality" version that can be licensed for use in the workplace. http://www.commoncraft.com/store-item/twitter
curated content from YouTube
Twitter Applications Directory...
Find Tweeters like You
Directories and User Search Tools
Twits like Me Find out people like you Twellow A Twitter directory sorted by occupation Just Tweet It A twitter directory sorted by interest Twubble This tool will automatically find people who are compatible with your interests. However, if you follow too many people, then Twubble may recommend some people that you already follow Twittie Me Search for similar users and advertise your twitter page Twitdir Search for words in usernames, locations or descriptions Find out what is the latest trends on Twitter
Sites that tell the latest stories and trends on Twitter
Twitter Search (Summize previously) Search for the latest trends on Twitter Twitscoop A search tool that tracks trends as well as certain events. Flaptor Search A search tool that can be installed on your browser. Tweet Scan Search keywords on Twitter Twitterment Search Twitter users and topics Twitbuzz Find out the latest links and conversations on Twitter Tweetmeme find out the latest Stories on Twitter Twistori Find out what twitter loves, hates, believes, etc. Twitturly Find out the most talked about stories on Twitter Twitterverse Find out what Twitter is doing GoodBadMe Keep track of the good and bad on the twitterverse Favotter Find out the most favored (saved to favorites) tweets Twitstat real time twitter analytics Track Twitter Users
Find out who the top Twitter users are
Twitterholic Find out who the top twitter users are Toptweet Find out the top twitter users on one place. Twitrank a list of the top 150 Twitterers Track certain keywords on Twitter
See keyword behavior on Twitter with these sites
Tweet Beep Find out who is talking about you or your website through certain keywords Site volume Enter five keywords and see their activity on Twitter Tweet Volume A more personalize version of Site Volume Monitter Monitor Twitter conversations on three keywords. Good for catching the latest news Hashtags Track a certain keyword on Twitter Twemes See twitter memes or tags for Twitter Tweetchannel Find out what people are talking about through certain keywords called channels. Twitter Meter Find the trends of certain keywords Flaptor Trends Compare the trends of three keywords on Twitter Twitter Spectrum Find out the dominant keywords via a tagcloud generated. Serendipitwiterrous Search for tweets of a certain person using certain keywords Twittertroll real-time Twitter search engine Twitter Links
Work with lnks on Twitter
Twitter Buzz See the most popular links on Twitter Link Bunch Share more than one link on Twitter Tweetwire Sorts out links posted on Twitter into news format Twitterlinkr Find out the latest links posted on Twitter Twitturls Find out the latest URLs posted on Twitter Twitter Split Change the way you post links by adding your domain on the beginning of the link Track Tweets Across the Globe
What do you get when you mix maps with Twitter?
Twittearth Watch as people from different parts of the world tweet. Twitter Vision Watch Twitter in real time and see the location of Twitter users My Tweet Map A high tech map that tracks the location of a person GeoTwitterous Track a person across the map Twitter Map Same with GeoTwitterous Twitter Local Find out Tweets about a certain locale TwitSpy Another way where you can track the location of tweets Geo Twitter Another twitter location tracking site Mibazaar Shows current posts as they are posted on maps Twitter Atlas Find the conversations at certain locations Twitter Faces Map + Faces Enhance your Tweeting
Some tools to add elements to your tweeting
Twitter Keys Brighten your tweets with little pictures Twi8r Translate shorthand text to English and the other way around for easy tweeting Phweet Phone + Tweet, talk to your twitter friends through this online phone Create Reviews via Twitter
Who thought 140 character won't make reviews?
Micro Reviews Post reviews on Twitter Notches Submit reviews. A partner of Microreview Louder Tweets Have your reviews of certain products posted Tweet Reading Tools
change how you read tweets
Twitter Digest Read tweets digest-style Tweet2tweet Read the conversations between two people on twitter. Twalala Choose the tweets you wants to read. Mute people or mute topics that you don't want to read All About Followers and Following
Track your followers as well as your own following behavior
Tweet Wheel Find out which of your friends know each other Twitter Karma Find out who is following and unfollowing you. Have a mass follow and unfollow tool. Twitter Snooze If you have noisy twitter friends, you can snooze them for a certain time so you won't receive their tweets. My Tweeple Evaluate your followers through the number of dings (recommendations) they have from other Twitter users Less Friends Find out who unfollowed you using this tool Qwitter Receive the names of the people who unfollowed you via email. Does Follow Tells you if a certain follower is following a person or not Twitterless Receive a direct message when someone unfollows you Twitter100 Find out the latest 100 posts of your followers Twitterator Follow a list of people all at once Twitter Who Invite lots of people in one go Twitterlex See your last 30 tweets along with your friends. Use on Mac. What's Up? Find out what people are up to Use Twitter on Your Site or Blog
Tools that can integrate Twitter to your site or blog
Add Tweets Make Twitter Update Widgets for site or blog using javascript Twitterfeed Post your blog to Twitter through your RSS feed Feed Tweeter integrate Twitter with Plurk, your blog and delicious Twitter Counter Display your follower count on your site or blog. Twit This Add this option so people can easily tweet information from your site or blog Twitter Tools A wordpress plugin that lets you integrate Twitter with your blog. You can send your updates to your blog as well as create tweets directly from your blog Twitter for Wordpress displays latest tweets on your blog Loudtwitter Ships your tweets to your blog Twitter Sharts 'Shart' your twitter status anywhere within your wordpress blog posts or pages Twitt Twoo plugin that will allow you to update your Twitter status right from your blog's sidebar. Twitter Updater automatically sends a Twitter status update to your Twitter account when you create, publish, or edit your WordPress post Twitter Wordpress Sidebar Widget a wordpress widget where you can send your tweets to your blog WordTwit a plugin that utilizes the Twitter API to automatically push a post to your Twitter account when it is first published. Comment Twitter SMS Notification plug in to be notified by SMS when a user post a new comment on your blog. Stammy's RSS To Twitter Not too many people have access to a Ruby-enabled server so the author decided to make a simple PHP script to get the job done. PingTwitter automatically update your Twitter Account when you publish a new blog post Update Twitter with other Social Networking Sites
Post to different social networking sites at once
Ping.fm Update twitter along with other sites like Multiply, Pownce, Plurk, tumblr and others. Hello.txt Same as ping.fm but with added services Moodblast A client which you can download. It does pretty much the same as ping.fm Twitter and your Favorite Websites
Integrate Twitter with other websites
Twibler Update Twitter with your current ebay listings Twizon Twitter meets Amazon iTwitter iGoogle gadget that have ping.fm, twitter videos, twitter news, twitter tips, twitter tools and more. Be Twittered iGoogle app that automatically updates every 3 minutes Twitter Facebook App Integrate Twitter with Facebook Friendfeed Twitter client Update Twitter through Friendfeed Twitku Twitter + Jaiku Buy Later Receive tweets when an item comes back in stock at Amazon Twitter Yedda integrate Twitter with your Yedda account Twitget gadget for Windows Live. Displays your tweets Twitter Planet Windows Live gadget that features the public timeline on the planet earth Twitt Import links on your tweets to delicious Twitter Viddler Integrate Twitter with your Viddler account Drupal on Twitter This module provides twitter notification for new posts. Each user can use their own twitter account to post updates too, as well as have a custom format string. Googlereader Twitter Script Add a Twitter button to your Google Reader Twitter King Widget Widget for Netvibes Your Minis Twitter widget for yourminis website Twitter for Groups
Effective when you want to only talk to a particular group
Group Tweet Tweet with only a particular group of people Live Twitting Host Conferences or conduct interviews on twitter and record it in an organized fashion Crowd Status Find out the status of a certain group of people on Twitter Twitter Groups Tag your followers into different groups Twitter as an organizer
Remind yourself of certain activities you have to do
Timer Set an alarm for things you have to do Retweet Me A reminder tool that sends a DM on your scheduled activities. Remember the Milk Manage tasks on Twitter as well as set notifications for yourself Twittercal Integrate your Google Calendar with Twitter My Chores Track your chores Planypus Make plans and export them to Twitter Server Mojo Monitor your server with Twitter Schedule your Tweets
Auto-tools to schedule tweets. Use wisely. Do not use for spam
Tweet Later Schedule tweets, auto-follow and auto-welcome people Twittertise Schedule your tweets. Very useful when you are advertising. Tweet Ahead Schedule your tweets on Mac Twit Response Imagine Twitter + Autoresponder. Send tweets automatically. Find answers to your questions
Think Yahoo Answers meet Twitter
Lazy Tweet Find answers to your questions by posting "@lazyweb" or "@lazytweet" Toanswer Easily get answers to your questions by posting "@toask" and "@toanswer [question ID]" At Answer Me Another question tool Twitter Answers Another question site with a nice layout so you can easily get answers to your questions. Polls on Twitter
Very useful for research
Straw Poll Create and answer polls on Twitter Twitter Polldaddy Create a poll on polldaddy and tweet it Poll Tweets Participate in the latest Twitter poll Twittpoll Join some twitter polls and receive the results in 24 hours Track Yourself Through Twitter Statistics
Check out your status on Twitter
Tweet Burner Track the links that you post on Twitter Twitter Grader find out your twitter grade. Computed based on how complete your profile is as well as the number and influence of your followers. Tweet Stats Graph your tweet activity Twinfluence Measure your Twitter influence through tweets, reach of followers as well as second-order followers Tweeple Twak Track your friend gains and declines Twit Graph Graph your tweeting activity Tweet 140 Track your direct message and tweet frequency Twitter Ratio Find out your friend to follower ratio. Make Money with Twitter
Ways you can use your twitter account to earn money
Twittad Place advertisements on your profile Magpie Advertise with 5 tweets and get paid Handle Multiple Twitter Accounts
These tools will help you handle those accounts at a certain time. Useful when you have a company twitter profile.
Easy Tweets Multiple account handling, scheduled tweets, overcoming errors, shorten URLs, add RSS The Mattinator Multiple accounts on Twitter Graphic Twitter Resources
Resources where you can get backgrounds for your profile as well as icons to put in your blog
Twitter Backs Free Twitter Backgrounds. Includes @problogger's background. Twitter Patterns 50 design patterns you can easily use for your twitter background Tweet Backs Some twitter backgrounds you could use Siah Design free Twitter buttons you could use as well as animated ones. Buttons Follow me on twitter buttons Twignature Create your own twitter Integrate Twitter with Files, Images and Videos
Upload anything to Twitter
Twitpic Let you share photos on Twitter Autopostr Update your Twitter when you post a Flickr picture Snaptweet Share your Flickr photos on Twitter Twixr Allows you to share pictures on Twitter via your mobile phone Visual Twitter Answers "what are you doing?" with pictures. Twitter Poster A huge conglomeration of Twitter user images. Twiddeo Think Twitter updates + video Twitplus Make tweets with pictures, videos and files Twittershare Share pictures, music, video and other files on Twitter. Twixxer Share photos and videos on Twitter Tweet Cube Upload files to Twitter Pikter Post pictures on Twitter Twitter and Email
Receive and send tweets via email
Twittermail Update twitter via email Twitter Reply Receive your replies on your email OuTwit Update Twitter with your Microsoft Outlook Vtwitter Vtwitter allows Zimbra users to send messages (or sometimes called tweets) to their Twitter account directly from their Zimbra email. mail2twitter mail2twitter is a free service that allows you to post tweets through e-mail Twitter and Music
Integrate twitter with your love for music
Twittytunes Tweet what you're listening, watching or reading regardless what player you are using. Blip.fm Listen to music and tweet it to Twitter Wiiizzz Lists the audio tracks on Twitter Twitter Downtime Saviors
Tools that will save you when Twitter has its downtimes
Twit a Bit The place to be when Twitter is down. Anyone can continue tweeting in this site. Tweetake Backup your twitter account Twitter Safe Another place where you can backup your account. Hahlo Another website where you can tweet Twitter Spam Watchers
Fight twitter spam with these tools
Twitter Blacklist Find out who's blacklisted on Twitter Twerp Scan Find out who's following too many people at a small span of time. Twitspam Report those spammers here Twitter Messenger Applications
Integrate Twitter with your Messenger
TwitterIM Integrate twitter with your MSN or ICQ Messenger Yahoo Messenger Twitter Sync Plugin Integrate twitter with your Yahoo Messenger TwitterYM Update your Twitter on Yahoo Messenger Twessenger Twitter tool for Windows Live Messenger Twit4live Update twitter via messenger as well as advertise the tweets of your friends. TikiTwit Integrate Twitter with iChat Twitter Softwares and Widgets
Clients you can download to your desktop
Twitterific A downloadable application which have multiple account support, auto refreshing mechanism, audio notification of new tweets and integration with AppleScript. Compatible with Mac OS X 10.4 or later Mad Twitter Twitterific for Windows Tweet-r An Air Application that differentiates itself from other downloadable twitter applications through its flawless drag-and-drop file uploading system. Twidget a downloadable application with all the features of twitter except that it auto refreshes. Twhirl popular software that can handle multiple accounts, URL shortening, crossposting to Pownce and Jaiku, Post images on Twitpic, and search tweets using twitter search and tweetscan. Tweetdeck Adobe AIR application that lets you view your replies and public tweets as well as group tweets at the same time Twinja another twitter client built on AIR Snitter another twitter client built on AIR Pwytter A standalone Twitter client Teletwitter Twitter client for Windows Twitterlicious Twitter for Windows that supports proxies, have a read-unread system and auto-refresh mechanism. Twitter CLI Tweet via a command line BLT Another tool to update Twitter on a command line Twitteroo Let you send tweets on your PC with URL shortening and sound notifications for tweets Chirrup A Japanese software which showcases your followers and accounts in other social networks Twadget Twitter tool for Windows Vista Twitgit Twitter widget for Mac users Vim Twitter Client A simple client by Vim ZenTwitter Update Twitter without opening a window Twitux Another simple Twitter client Deskbar Twitter Update Twitter on Ubuntu Gtwitter Update Twitter on Linux Twit.el update Twitter on Emacs Spaz open source desktop client for Mac, Windows and Linux Tweeter client that is Java-based and supports proxies. Inspired by Twitteroo GTwitter GTwitter is a Linux client for reading and posting to twitter.com web service. Natsulion Simple Twitter client for Mac Twitterpod TwitterPod can store logs to database and search Twitter logs quickly like Mail.app Twitterpost TwitterPost allows you to easily post to and read from your Twitter feed - plus a whole lot more Twittereeze SIMBL extension to add functionality to Twitterrific Twitter with your Browser
And save yourself some energy
Twit Kit Integrate Twitter with your Firefox browser. This plugin can work on Windows, Mac and Linux. You can also customize the look to fit your tastes. Twitterfox Find out the statuses of your friends on Twitter right on your Firefox browser Shareaholic Share webpages with your friends on Twitter. Can be integrated with your Firefox Browser Twitbin Receive and send tweets at the side of your Firefox browser Firefox Search Plugin Find out how you can post to Twitter right from your Firefox search bar Twitterbar Post to Twitter via the address bar Tweetbar A twitter sidebar for Firefox and Flock Twippera Twitter widget for Opera Power Twitter Twitter plugin for Firefox that have photo and video sharing capabilities. Yoono Firefox add-on that add different social networks to your browser Twitzer Firefox plugin that let you post more than 140 characters. Twitterlights Firefox addon that lets you Tweet any page you see. Twitterbook Post to twitter like Bookmarking Twitterline Displays your friend's public timeline on your toolbar Maxthon This is a toolbar you can download so you can tweet via your browser Twitter on your Mobile Phone
Twitter anywhere you like
Twitterfone Update Twitter using Voice Twitsay Record Voice Messages on Twitter Twitter for iphone Self explanatory Itwtr Another Twitter client for iphones Pocket Tweets another twitter client for your iphone Twittai mobile phone software with retweeting capabilities CCtwit windows mobile twitter client written in c# leveraging the .net compact framework. Twapper send updates from your 30boxes calendar to your phone via Twitter. Twittelator Integrate your iphone with Twitter Twitterberry Integrate Twitter with your blackberry Vlingo Another tool to integrate your blackberry with Twitter Email Twitter Get your Tweets on any email-enabled mobile phone iTweet Twitter Site for your iphone Qik A tool that let you share videos via your phone. Jargong Twitter client for your phone that has Flickr and other social network integration MoTwit Application for Palm OS Widsets Get content without sending SMS Moby Picture Post to your blog or sites like Twitter on your mobile phone Twixr allows you to share pictures on Twitter via your mobile phone Locify Send twitter updates on your mobile phone along with GPS location Fring Post to Twitter + other sites using your mobile phone Abiro Jitter Abiro Jitter (Java Twitter) is an easy-to-use and fully-featured Twitter client for mobile phones Jtwitter Java application which you can install on your phone Twidroid twitter client for android mobile phones Twitteresce Twitteresce allows you to access your twitter feed using your mobile phone. Twobile Twitter client for users of Windows Mobile Pocket PCs Tiny Twitter Client for any Java enabled device (that's a bunch & includes the CrackBerry) and any Windows Mobile Pocket PC or Smartphone Twitter SpellCheck Check your spelling while twittering on your mobile phone Specialized Twitter Sites
From funny, useless to weird Twitter sites
Secret Tweet Imagine PostSecret + Twitter. Tweet those secrets Curse Bird Find out who's swearing on Twitter Tweet What You Eat Tweet what you're eating at the moment Foodfeed same with "Tweet what you eat" Xbox 360 Gamer Tag Automatically update twitter with what you are playing at a certain moment Twee60 Another site where you can update Xbox live activities on Twitter @Trackthis Track your packages via Twitter with this tool Bkkeeper share what you're reading on Twitter Commuter Feed Share tweets on traffic and transit delays Foamee Tracks who you owe coffee or beer to InnerTwitter signals you through chimes where you have to let go of your thoughts. Qwitter Tobacco A twitter tool that helps you stop smoking Post like a Pirate Talk like a pirate on twitter Roll the dice Give you the power to roll a dice on twitter. Useful when you're betting or playing games with your friends. Twitter Me This A contest where you can win $5 if you answer their question Tweet gift Send gifts to your friends. Twaction turns your tweets into actions Xpenser Track your expenses with twitter Twithire The place where you can tweet job postings GasCalc Tracks your gas usage on Twitter Moonrise Tell twitter how you feel Deal Tagger Shop and tell your Twitter friends LOL feeds Have your tweets on lolcat images Textgasm Tweet your secrets Sad Statements Twitter + Flickr with an emotional twist. Post those sad statements here Twitter Nonsense Daily Twitter Comic Strip Xbox to Twitter app only updating when the title being played changes, not showing popups and even a preview of what your twitter updates will look like once they are combined with your template. Twitterbox a Twitter Client for Second Life Swotter Reads books to Twitter Twitterlit Twitters the first line of books ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Airabongco has compiled this massive list of Twitter apps. It’s very useful, and Guy Kawasaki recommends bookmarking this page. I agree, so here it is!
18 Essential Tools for Every Word-of-Mouth Marketer
By now, most consumer marketers know they could be using Facebook (
), Twitter (
), blogs, and other social media platforms to boost brand recognition, engage customers, and drive sales. But getting a social media marketing program started – and keeping up with the rapid pace of change in the industry – can be daunting. The good news is that with the right technology tools, social media marketing programs can be managed at scale and can help the entire organization (not just the marketers!) find out what customers are saying, sharing, even feeling about your brand or business.
When thinking about the technology tools you need to launch, measure, and optimize your social media marketing and online customer engagement programs, it helps to organize your efforts into categories: listening and monitoring tools; editorial, publishing, and content syndication tools; and conversation measurement tools. There are hundreds of tools out there, but here are some of the more popular and effective ones that can be put to work for you.
Social Media Listening and Monitoring Tools
The first step in any social media marketing campaign is “listening.” Find out what is being said about your brand, where, and by whom. The following tools provide visibility into conversations that are happening about your brand or company online.
1. Monitter allows marketers to listen in on the Twitter conversations taking place about their brand in real time. Visit the Monitter home page and type in the keywords you want to search, and all tweets with those keywords instantly appear. Free.
2. Google Alerts is one of the most comprehensive social media tools out there; it monitors millions of blogs and news sites. Set up alerts to easily target keywords that are important to your brand and receive streaming or batched reports. Free.
3. Alltop is an online news aggregation service that scans news sites, blogs, and forums to present a one-stop shop of thousands of news stories about a certain topic or trend. It also includes some useful historical searching tools. Free.
4. Visible Technologies TruCast and TruPulse are robust applications that allow licensees to monitor conversations about their brand or industry on blogs, forums, microblogs, comment threads, and anything else likely to be indexed by search engines. They include analytics features and integrated “engagement manager” workflow tools to assist in managing outreach/follow-up across the social web. Licensing fees apply.
5. Radian6 is one of the industry leaders in social media monitoring technology, and their application allows configurable monitoring dashboards, broad and narrow Topic definitions to target and focus your listening programs, and key features such as custom alerts and engagement workflow management. Licensing fees apply.
6. ScoutLabs has come on strong during the past year with a versatile listening and monitoring service and low per-month access pricing, as well as a 30-day free trial offer. Post volume, location, and even sentiment scoring are included in the service’s core monitoring feature set. Licensing fees apply.
7. TweetDeck (
[*Disclosure: TweetDeck partnered with Mashable (
8. PostRank Analytics combines trend analysis, engagement reporting and unified conversations to provide a hub for keeping track of your brands in the online space. Licensing fees apply.
9. BackType finds and connects online conversations in real-time creating a clear path of discussion. Free.
Editorial, Publishing, and Content Syndication Tools
Now that you’ve heard what’s being said about your brand, you’re ready to respond by creating your own messages. The following tools help you join the conversation and promote the sharing of your content.
10. Co-Tweet is a tool for businesses using Twitter to communicate marketing messages. The application offers Twitter account management and tweet publishing tools for brand accounts that utilize multiple contributors. Free.
11. HootSuite (
12. TubeMogul lets you syndicate your video content to multiple UCG video sites (YouTube (
13. Seesmic Desktop (
Conversation and Content Sharing Measurement Tools
The final, and perhaps most critical, step in your social media marketing campaign is measurement. The following tools enable you to measure and track everything from “soft metrics” like brand sentiment and buzz, to “hard metrics” like traffic and conversion resulting from your campaigns.
14. Meteor Solutions offers Meteor Tracker, which enables marketers to determine the real impact of social media marketing programs on traffic and conversion by tracking the flow of shared content via links, email, instant messages, social networks, and Twitter. Meteor lets marketers identify the most effective sites on which to make paid media buys, as well as sites to target for further community outreach. Licensing fees apply.
15. Jodange monitors word-of-mouth conversations about your brands or products to give a reading on customer sentiment. Jodange offers the TOM (Top of Mind) measurement tool, which tracks consumer sentiment about your brand or product across the web. Licensing fees apply.
16. Twendz is a Twitter monitoring and measurement tool created by public relations firm Waggener Edstrom that piggybacks off of Twitter Search to provide a snapshot of tweet volume, sentiment, and sample tweets. Mini keyword-clouds and sentiment mix estimates are automatically generated for brands or phrases that you input. Free.
17. Trendrr lets marketers set up configurable dashboards to see where conversations about their brand are happening, and how their industry, sector, or topic is “trending” across the social media web. Free.
18. Hubspot’s “Grader” Tools provide directional scores and metrics for channels such as Twitter and Facebook to help marketing and customer engagement program managers assess the relative impact of their branded Pages and accounts. Free.
via mashable.com
Nice article by Clay McDaniel. He is missing a few tools, but nice.
Marketing Healthcare Reform & Double Standards
We're just wrapping up a marketing study with primary care doctors across the country to test the appeal of potential new medical equipment and services. I am constantly hearing doctors lamenting the condition of healthcare in America, and very clearly saying what they do everyday - how they treat patients - is directly affected by what is r eimbursable by insurance and what kind of coverage a patient has. It is both understandable and frightening.
In the midst of healthcare reform, are you and I willing to sacrifice our benefits for the greater good? As the cartoon suggests, many lawmakers have a double standard and would not. Wouldn't that be like a marketer representing a product they don't believe in? Not a good thing. And it always shows. Integrity: Don't leave home without it!
Marketing Jack Daniels & the Power of Association
When I first saw this Audi license with the license plate frame Jack Daniels, I did a double-take.
I thought why would this renowned purveyor of Tennessee Whiskey be advertising on car license plates! After all, we all know drinking and driving don't mix, right? Then I realized, um, that Jack Daniels is also a name, as in maybe a car dealer's name. And so it is, in New Jersey - selling Porsches, Audis, and VWs.
As a foreigner to New Jersey, I suppose I can be forgiven associating Jack with liquor instead of cars. But in an odd way, what I took to be an oxymoron actually is quite memorable. Next time I want to buy an Audi in Jersey, I know where to go! And maybe they'll throw in a quart... of gas of course.
Marketing Matches
I mean matches, literally. For some reason I looked closely at our box of diamond kitchen matches today. It illustrates a fine lesson in marketing what I consider an inherently "low involvement" product (though these rave video reviews suggest otherwise).
What struck me is how many marketers emphasize "new" with products that have demonstrated limited innovation. As you can in the upper right corner of the matchbox photo, these matches sport a "NEW LOOK!" followed by reassurance that it is the "Same Great Product." Phew. (And would it be bad taste to say the new look (??) for these fine matches is very hot?).
Which reminds me - how many times has P&G's Tide detergent touted that it's "new and improved"? (click for funny spoof on Tide's marketing). And why do we equate "new" with better?
Back to marketing matches. By reading the box that I managed to never read until now, I also learned the many benefits of my diamond brand kitchen matches. They are fueled by the diamond ignition system. They are made from the highest quality Aspen wood. And diamond is the perfect match for all my fire-starting needs. Sorry, no testimonials from pyromaniacs.
The Day Social Media Failed
I recently read a post by Shar VanBoskirk on the always very interesting Forrester blog for Interactive Marketing. In this post Shar shared her experience at the P&G social media night; an event heralded as a way of giving to a good cause and testing the value of social media to market a product namely retro Tide logoed t-shirts. Shar, an admitted social media skeptic, felt the results of the event indicated that social media is not all it’s cracked up to be as far as a marketing tool.
In some senses I totally agree. The people tirelessly pushing uninhibited social media tactics seem to be doing so because of the novelty and “unexplored territory” nature of social media…or that elite cadre of social media “gurus”. J
But the way the event was executed illustrates some fundamental misconceptions of how to use social media as a marketing tool and here’s why;
1. Message
The medium is not the message. If you’ve selected your medium before your message you’re on the path to wasting time, energy and dollars. The medium is dependent on the audience; what kind of media does our audience consume and where can we add value? If the message is lame and/or irrelevant then it does not matter how you deliver the message – it will go nowhere.
What was the message of this experiment?
Assessment of the Tide Virus
Get a Retro Tide shirt
Price = $20 a shirt
Please buy tonight to help my team win!
Benefits a good cause
Part of an experiment
For the large majority of people there isn’t much in that message that is very sticky. On an off day, I might have bought one; (can you ever have enough retro, 80’s looking brand shirts?) and I might have shared the link with my friends. But one very telling thing to notice about Shar’s report of the evening is the absence of any comment regarding how word of the event spread. It probably didn’t. Relevant messages = Viral = Word of Mouth.
2. Audience
Equally as important as identifying a targeted message that speaks to the most relevant, profitable attributes, is identifying who in the world cares about that message. Who wants to know about your product? For whom is your product going to fill an unsatisfied need?
The truth of the matter is that there are essentially two types of people out there; those who care and those who could care less. There are groups of consumers that are subsets of those, like those who’ve cared in the past but have left the category and have now joined the ranks of those who could care less, but really it’s just those two.
Advertisements selling infant diapers to single males in their 20’s for example. The biggest factor in choosing an audience is relevance. Putting a bunch of people in a room and telling them to use their social networks to see how many shirts they can sell to an untargeted group of people with a pretty weak value proposition seems more like an exercise in futility than an accurate experiment of social media.
Shar continued by saying;
“The big deals were relationship sales. My team sold a lot of onesies and twosies, but what really moved our dashboard were a few 50 and 100 t-shirt sales. And these deals were made personally through phone calls to contacts who might need matching shirts in volume for teams, schools, work groups -- not through digital/online outreach.”
The success found through the phone calls had absolutely nothing to do with the medium they used to contact people – but everything to do with the fact that they actually got their message in front of people who had a need that they could fill. To that targeted group of people their message was actually relevant... and it worked.
Marketing Vega$
Las Vegas marketers know its all about the money, as you can see from the La$ Vega$, NV spelling on the San Diego airport departure board.
It's a subtle thing, making an S into a $. But effective branding often is. These little messages add up to create a strong, distinctive and lasting brand. What other city could add $ into its name and have it make sense?
Cape Canaveral has 3-2-1 as their phone area code, Hope Depot owns the color orange, as Nissan (formerly Datsun) does the letter Z. What do you think -- any other letters, numbers, or symbols that a company has effectively branded?
Sooner than Later — Your Message Shapes Your Market Strategy
You’re ready to bring your new product to market — or even your new company — so it’s time to develop your marketing and PR message. Right?
Well, now’s better than never. Ideally, though, you would have started to formulate your message at the same time you were developing your business plan. Because the image you must take to your publics — your customers, your investors, your suppliers, your competition, your employees, the consulting community, the media, the blogosphere and more — is one that is tied to your business goals and reflects them appropriately in the context of the marketplace.
If you have worked out your message early in the business or product develop ment process, you can use it to help prepare the market for your eventual announcement and product introduction.
Your message should incorporate information about the business problem your product responds to — the motivation for developing the product. It should explain potential applications and the benefits to be expected. It should spark the imaginations of your potential customers, so they can envision themselves putting your product to work. It should make your employees proud and energize them as ambassadors for your company and your products. It should inspire confidence in your investors and respect in the minds of your competitors. It should clearly differentiate your product in the marketplace and make the case to your customers for choosing your solution.
Most importantly, your message should leave no doubts about the capability of your product and your company. It should be accurate and fact-based, while generating the excitement your product deserves.
By crafting your message early in your strategic planning, you have the opportunity to prime the marketplace with expectations and to explore the business challenges your product is designed to address. You also have time to test your message and to fine-tune it for optimum impact. You can explain your product and validate your message with industry consultants and prepare the media for your announcement. All these activities will help you be completely prepared for your product introduction and confident that your message is “right-on.”
When you’re heading for market, developing your message should top your strategic “to do” list.
Photo by Alan Weinkrantz -
Going where the users are? Email + Microblogging
via techhit.com
Hmm. I'm not entirely convinced about this, however there is an argument that if you want to ease the introduction of new information work practices into people's work routines then you need to go where the users are. I was a big fan of Xobni when I was last using Outlook regularly. However Twitter and LinkedIn are very different paradigms to integrate into Outlook - Xobni augments what you are already doing in Outlook with additional information, but tools like Twinbox (the example above) is introducing a brand new information stream in parallel to email.
I also wonder if integration with an enterprise microblogging tool might actually be the better use case for this kind of integration? For example, Socialcast is an enterprise microblogging platform and they have talked about providing plugins for Outlook and Lotus Notes (I'm not sure if they actually came to fruition).
On the other hand, Socialtext's Signals takes a non-email activity stream approach. Their desktop applications (a cross platform RIA) combines microblogging with notifications about wiki page edits, blog posts, comments, profile changes.
What do you think? Is an email client the right place for enterprise users to learn about microblogging or are we just reinforcing the email interface. Or perhaps we should just give people as much choice as possible?
