In a recent interview with Fast Company, Ashton Kutcher was portrayed as a new kind of celebrity one that transcended the bounds of That 70’s Show lore and instead has risen to become a mini mogul in his own right.
His company Katalyst Media is on the forefront of the social web trying to make some major changes in the ways brands advertise and connect with their markets. And Twitter is a huge part of their scheme. This new type of Twitter celebrity that people like Ashton and others are creating melds the old school notion of fame with the new media ideas of word of mouth and permission marketing.
This new social celebrity in the twitter era is one that is voted on directly by the people, they either follow or don’t and when the do follow they shift the social trends so others jump on board as well. Needless to say Ashton has probably risen to much more fame via his Twitter presence that he ever would have continuing on portraying the handsome but dweeby characters on the big screen. He may actually become a major force to be reckoned with as advertising goes more and more viral.
The good news for you and I who aren’t television stars and don’t get the luxury of using our old careers in the lime light to springboard massive social media success is that we can still have a piece of the pie. The great thing about the social web and especially Twitter celebrities is the come in all shapes and sizes. If you have enough interesting things to say and use savvy, wit and charm to get a dedicated loyal fan base you too become a twitter celebrity in your own right.
Marketing yourself on Twitter can be tricky, you want people to know what you do without feeling like your shoving links or “hey buy this” offers down their throats. Well what have all great powers done when they want to get something but can’t do so too openly… gone stealth is what, and that is what you must do too! Its kind of like Ninja training for Twitter but it works & if you apply these principles correctly you can make flying under the radar really profitable!
Tweet like a Ninja
Create a false sense of security. To be ’stealth’ like or Ninja-esque one must make their opponent (or prospect) feel a sense of calm, peace & ability to trust you (the Ninja). Only when the trust, like & enjoy your company (i.e. your tweets) can you really lay the marketing death grip on them (i.e. known as a soft pitch). So be friendly, tweet regularly & interact with your followers and those you follow. Get them to trust you, feel comfortable with you & feel ‘friendly’ with you before you all stealth like swoop up some business from them (i.e. put up some links/offers).
Go deep, deep undercover. Say I own a dog grooming business in LA and I know that if I could just get introduced to the right pet owners I’d have more business then I knew what to do with. Well Twitter allows you to do just that, only more Ninja like. So since you know your crowd of people search for users in the LA area & those tweeting about pets (twitterfall.com is great for this) you find that crowd & start interacting with them. Just simple pet tips or responses to their tweets are great, then when they check out your profile & start a relationship with you in return they’ll notice: “hey this gal is a dog groomer & darn Sparky smells”.
Sneak in the occasional self promotion like a Ninja. Have you ever watched a Ninja? They are probably some of the most stealth people on earth, so stealth that most of us have never seen one… me included. So the answer would be no, no we haven’t seen Ninjas but we know if we did they would move around real fast & we’d barely be able to catch what they were doing most times. Now apply this to your tweeting, most of the time you tweet about interesting, relevant things your audience will appreciate & you respond to others… but once in a while, all fast like a Ninja you’ll sneak in a tweet about your business, what you do or why others should check out link blank (did you catch that stealthies?).
Hopefully all of you benefit from this stealth, Ninja training program… If used correctly and with care it can maximize your Twitter returns with just a few quick karate chops. Also if you didn’t catch it early on before you leave me nasty comments I am being sarcastic in most of the titles, but the gist of the information still stands!
Love it? Hate it? Wonder why I keep capitalizing the word Ninja? Comment below!
So I drew up this awesome Twitter map for you all, but it wouldn’t record right… So I made a video explaining it. I’ll put the map again in this blog post, don’t make fun of my stick men. Hopefully this video helps you understand how to use Twitter to promote yourself and how Twitter works.
So that’s it folks! Tell me how you liked it in the comments, should I do more Twitter videos or am I a bore? Thanks either way Twit & soon-to-be-Twits for watching!
What is Twitter and How Does it Work: Stick Figure Map
How was that? Did you like my artistic talent, I am sure you were asking “Why isn’t she an artist? She has pursued the wrong passion in life”. You know, I work with what I’m given and if that is a below average drawing ability than darn it thats what your getting.
Anyways, one of the most important parts of Twitter is NOT to be heard. This may confuse most, but Twitter is about listening & interacting now tweeting your agenda and hoping it sinks into to others brains. So even when you tweet try to interact with others. I forget this rule all the time but when I remember it the results are always great. Even asking a simple question of your followers like “what do you think I should wear?” and attaching a Twitpic of you holding up a yellow or blue shirt will get people far more involved than “My eye itches” or “Please buy my eBook at www.iwantyourmoney.com”.
The goal of Twitter ISN’T to sell… no one makes their money on Twitter directly and anyone who tells you they do LIES. The goal is to use Twitter to network, to meet others, to form partnerships, to make friends & to get viral. After people like and trust you then they will be much more likely to click through on a few links you sprinkle out there, but not if all you do is drop links. Treat your Twitter followers like friends, you wouldn’t spam your Facebook friends would you? Then why do you think its okay to spam those on Twitter? Each relationship on Twitter is important and worth cultivating. Granted the amount of relationship and networking contacts you’ll actually make is far smaller than your followers but it is still very worth it to try… those 10, 100 or 1000 Twits who interact regularly with you are worth their weight in gold, so treat them as such
Questions? Criticisms on my awful drawing or borderline sexist stick figures? Comment below!
Of course, depending on your likes, interests & motives on Twitter the people you consider ‘celebrities’ and the people others do will differ… but there are some people who have reached this coveted position of Twitter celebrity by their sheer Twitter influence & mass appeal. Agents of influence that span across the Twitterverse who are fun & informative for anyone to follow.
celebrities on Twitter birds
Add these celebrities on Twitter as friends or put them on special lists the new option Twitter gives you to keep track of micro-groups within the people you follow.
Why is Twitter better on a MAC? Well maybe I’m biased (I am) but both Apple & Twitter have positioned themselves as such revolutionaries in the world of technology and new media that it only follows the two form a beautiful union together.
Twitter MAC down
Firstly look at the iPhone, a plethora of applications abound to help you connect more seamlessly with Twitter. Over 29 iPhone apps for Twitter are compared on Mashable here and those aren’t even all of them! Can the Storm 2 offer you 29+ ways to Tweet from your phone?
Secondly if your on Twitter and have a MAC you can use Twitterrific from IconFactory, an application that runs of your desktop so you never have to be more than a click away from updating your Twitter stats.
Thirdly, look at the celebrities on Twitter, a whole heck of a lot of them are MAC addicts. Check out iJustine who does a series of video shoots in various Apple stores all over the country. She’s gotten famous just by loving Twitter & MAC.
Want more Twitter MAC info? Check out MacWorld’s tips for the creative MAC Twitterer. Thats it, if your a PC I’m sorry you can tell me how wrong I am in the comments
Some of you may be laughing, or scoffing… why title a blog post something so, so byzantine considering most of the civilized world knows the answer to What is Twitter and how does it work? But if you know anything about keyword optimization within blogs or have gotten out in the real world lately you’ll realize actually that’s wrong. The vast majority of the world, especially those of the middle age variety and up don’t know what twitter is and much less know how it works. They think its a bird, a plane, maybe even Superman but they don’t know what the micro-blogging service is or realize the incredibly long grasp it has over the social media community.
I wrote a post on what twitter does and how it works on my other blog and surprisingly people thanked me, because many didn’t realize Twitter’s abilities or how it could be used in their lives. So I thought I may give a brief description & bullet style break of exactly what is Twitter and how it works.
Twitter is micro communication. If you can’t censor your thoughts or ideas (called tweets) into 140 character bite or less then don’t bother. But if you like people getting to the point & little tid bits on info and updates delivered in a lovely, bite sized variation then check Twitter out.
Twitter can be used to network, make friends or even find love (i guess?). Actually right after I typed the previous sentence I googled Twitter Dating and found out about Flirt140 a Twitter based site that does actually allow you to find love (or stalkers) through Twitter. But if you don’t want 140 character love notes you can find friends & colleagues through using Twitter’s search option.
Twitter works likes this: Get a free account > upload a picture of yourself (not a supermodel or a your cat, yourself) > write something about your day, a interesting article you found online or a tip on anything & press enter. Look, you’ve just tweeted.
This is Twitter 101 people, refer this article to your friends who laugh at you for being on Twitter or to your great aunt Ethel who you think has a lot to tweet about or would just like the company. Twitter, used right, can be a great tool to build relationships, forge friendships and expand your reach from local to global. Use it right and reap benefits!
P.S. now you know the secret of what is twitter and how does it work (wink, wink other even mildly savvy bloggers, don’t judge me I need page ranks!)
What is the difference between the Top Twits & the tweeting masses? Well besides one has gobs of followers and the other has none… its the tweets man, the tweets.
Killer Twitter Twips
So what can you do to make killer Tweets that will bring other Twits a clamoring for more? Well firstly try to make it not about you… People love themselves. This means that probably you also love yourself, but fight that urge in the new media age, try instead to make your twittering about & applicable to others in the Twitterverse. One good way to do this is to ask a question. This opens the lines of communication between you and your followers and helps you decipher between the Twits who are just driors and the Twitterers who are there to interact with others.
People often ask me who is on Twitter that makes it so important that they should be. First the answer is, a lot more people than you think. The President has a Twitter account, so do celebrities, corporations like Starbucks & house wives. Its like the best thing to hit networking since the Elk’s club. Without the creepy antler hats.
Even if you barely have any idea what a Tweet is its still important that you learn. This new media age is upon us and people will either convert or get left behind. I know it sounds harsh but look at the telephone? Or the internet or any other modern technology. Many people dug in their heals for a long while, but finally they conceded. So why put up the fight, instead whether your 17 or 77 take some time out to learn a little bit about social media, especially Twitter and why its a great resource for both business and personal relationships.
One of the main reasons people join Twitter is because of the sheer volume of their friends, coworkers & idols who are on it. Its the ’stand in a line because everyone else in mentality’ but heck, its working! I did it. I kept hearing about Twitter & at first thought it was silly… but finally my curiosity peeked & *wham* I was addicted. Now I need a Twittervention!
celebrities on twitter
Anyways, so who really is on Twitter? Celebrities, business people, politicians, Oprah, authors, artists and many others… here is a list of the interesting and unique “celebrities” (i use the word loosely) and non-celebs who fill the Twitterverse with Twitter juice and throw their Twitter weight around
