I have observed several different kinds of Twitter users as it seems to be gaining in popularity. They are the givers, takers, zombies, and spammers. Here’s a definition for each:

Twitter Givers: A Twitter Giver is the best kind of Twitter user. These are people who see the medium for what it is: an opportunity to converse with people you know, connect with people you should know, contribute knowledge with links/observations/experiences, and convey the in-between moments of life. Jeremiah Owyang from Forrester Research is good at this as is Steve Rubel. So is Michael Hyatt, the CEO of Thomas Nelson. If you know any Twitter Givers please mention them in the comments to this post.

Twitter Takers: A Twitter Taker is active within Twitter but doesn’t share much information either personal or in helpful knowledge and learning. The Twitter Taker’s tweets are regular (meaning he/she is active daily or nearly daily) yet the bulk of their time in Twitter is spent reading other tweets rather than sharing much him/herself. I think I’m guilty of falling into this category but am trying to break out of it and become a Twitter Giver. I get a lot of great information within Twitter but recently realized I didn’t give a lot of good information beyond sparse updates and a notification when I had a new blog post. I want to do better because I see the collective value in more Twitter Givers helping everyone learn and grow. It just doesn’t seem right to me to take and not join the conversation and learning…so, like I said. I’m going to try to be a Twitter Giver from now on. There, I’m accountable. Feel free to hold me to it!

Twitter Zombies: A Twitter Zombie is someone who signed up for Twitter and gave it a shot for a while but then dropped off at some point and only rarely gets back into it. I was a Zombie for a while until several months ago when I decided to give Twitter another try (and have been very glad I did, by the way.) I heard that Leo Laporte had dropped Twitter at one point but he’s very much back to life in recent months from what I’ve seen also. The nice thing about being a zombie is that you can come back to life and hopefully be a Twitter Giver.

Twitter Spammers: A Twitter Spammer is a person or organization that clearly just signed up for Twitter to promote whatever they’re doing and not engage anyone in conversation. You can generally spot these folks by looking at two things. First, if they don’t reference a website or blog on their bio there’s a good chance they’re a spammer. There’s no way to take a step further to see who they are if they don’t have a referring link. Second, if the number of people following them verses the number of people they follow is drastically different they may be a spammer. More specifically, if there’s something like a 4/1 ratio of the number of people they follow to the number of people who are following them, they may be a spammer. Spammers seem to request to follow a lot of people and don’t get followed back by a large percentage of the people.

If you don’t know what Twitter is, start with this helpful video. If you’re on Twitter and we’re not following each other, you’ll find me here. I’ll be a Twitter Giver for you. Will you be one too?

We have another batter up for social media batting practice. Dave Delaney has recommended five tips for a pediatrician. The full scenario and his ideas are below. While we’re on the social media batting practice topic…Mitch Joel included a comment from me on his most recent episode of Six Pixels of Separation. He had some great additional info to include. Here’s the scenario that was pitched to Dave and his ideas follow…

Scenario: A pediatrician wants to know how she would be able to use social media to promote her practice. She’s currently spending money on local advertising in multiple areas and wants to know how social media marketing would work for her. She’s not viewed as the best pediatrician in her community but is widely recognized as one of the top five.

Dave’s ideas:

1. I would recommend that the pediatrician create a Google Adwords campaign targeted to her local zipcode(s).
2. I’d advise that she be sure she is included on Goggle in their business search results by adding herself to Google maps.
3. Depending on her available time and interest, I would suggest developing a blog and posting to it regularly. The blog would also offer all appropriate social bookmarks and tags.
4. She should also considering posting on local parenting forums always being sure to link back to her website.
5. Finally, she should consider sponsoring a quality parenting Internet radio show (AKA “podcast”) like Two Boobs and a Baby.

Thanks for the ideas Dave. I’ll include a similar real-life scenario I discussed a long time ago about a blogging dentist I know here in town.

I had a friend in high school who loathed the old saying, “he’s just like everyone else…he puts his pants on one leg at a time.” To prove he wasn’t like everyone else he would jump into his pants a lot of the time. I saw him try this on multiple occasions after gym class when we were back in the locker room getting dressed. Sometimes he got it and sometimes he fell flat on his butt. This video is dedicated to him. These guys definitely don’t put their jeans on one leg at a time.

Here’s the video for the feed readers: Put your pants on two legs at a time.

The next episode of The New Mediology is now online (or in iTunes if that’s how you like to listen to it).

In this episode, Nathan and I discuss social networking and how (and even if) new media marketers can use it well. This was a different sort of podcast for us because we’re usually on the same page but we have some different views when it comes to social networking. Personally, I struggle with social networking platforms as a helpful means of promotion. I think they’re great to connect people together but most people don’t want to be sold or promoted to in the same space. I know I don’t. I think a better thing to do is create a more focused social network in Ning, though Nathan made a great point that you don’t want to miss an easy opportunity to gain awareness through the use of a Facebook group. I think I’ve just seen a lot of Facebook and MySpace groups that were started because it was easy to do but then there’s virtually no upkeep to it. It’s easy to create one but should you do it just because you can? I question whether that’s a good enough reason to do so. Without a plan and intention to maintain it I don’t think it’s the right move.

This week’s social media batting practice involves a local, upscale music venue trying to figure out how social media marketing can work for it. This “pitch” was submitted by Steve, a MicroExplosion reader and our batter was Lynn Terry of ClickNewz.com. Lynn’s full list of recommendations and ideas follows the entire scenario below.

Scenario: How would a local entertainment venue (mainly musical arts) use social media to grow its fan base and increase single performance sales and season memberships? Assume the venue has a reputation of being a “black tie only” establishment, but in reality caters to music lovers from all walks of life. It recruits some of the most famous acts in classical, jazz, pops, cabaret and rock music and is known throughout the region. They sell out several shows a year for the more famous names, but want to be full for every weekend and weeknight show as well. What should they do?

Lynn’s ideas: They obviously want a social media campaign that will cover two objectives: gain local interest and also create a specific impression. In order to attract people from “all walks of life”, those people need to see others just like themselves.

I would recommend a photo/video campaign as the base for the online marketing strategy. They can be used to display the wide variety of entertainment available, as well as crowds & individuals (various types) that frequent the venue.

Use Flickr to host the photos and YouTube to host the videos. This serves two purposes: it saves on hosting space & bandwidth usage, and it also helps to create a broader reach. The goal is to “go wide” so that you are easily found online in a variety of places online. Not only will you be found at various social sites, but it will create more opportunity to be found in search engine results as well.

The primary web presence should be a blog, or a website + blog. Using a blog format will allow people to engage in discussions about specific shows they attended, subscribe to the calendar of upcoming events, and interact both with the business and other customers.

Elements to feature on the site/blog might include:

• About Page -written to give the impression desired
• Location/Directions -including photos and Google Map
• Entertainment Calendar -with RSS & Email subscription options
• Show Reviews -photos, videos & written reviews of recent shows
• Photo Gallery -invites visitors to submit photos as well
• Mailing List -notification for upcoming shows
• Testimonials -encourage visitors to send feedback & publish it

A great way to encourage visitors to sign up for the email list is to host a monthly giveaway. It might be a dinner, appetizer or door pass from a random drawing of subscribers. You can also use the drawing strategy to get customers to submit testimonials.

Tip: A prize of higher value could be offered for video testimonials, shot on scene.

Using the blog to feature reviews of recent shows will serve two purposes: it helps create the impression desired by featuring the variety of musical arts available, and it also allows you to optimize pages for keyword phrases such as: acts, names, music types, etc. Ranking well in the major search engines for the name of a well-known band can help you reach their fan base online.

Setting up a well-optimized blog and website, and optimizing your photos on Flickr and videos on YouTube, will allow locals and fans to find you. The next step in the marketing campaign is to find them.

Set up an account on MySpace, as their primary share in the social media market is with music. Use the name of the business for the account so that the URL is myspace.com/business. This makes it easy to find online, both by memory and by search. Use the calendar feature to display upcoming events. Search for bands and independent musicians that have played in your venue and add them to your friends list. Next, search your town and local area and send friend requests liberally.

When a band is scheduling a show, ask them if they have a MySpace account. Offer to feature them on your Top Friends space prior to the show and encourage them to send out an invite to their own friends list by posting a bulletin.

Set up an account at Twitter.com also, which is a micro-blogging service. Again, use your business name for the account. Publish updates daily that feature upcoming shows and artists, and link to the full write-up on your website. Use the search box in your Twitter account to find bands and locals just like you did with MySpace.

You now have presence on five different online properties - your own domain, Flickr, YouTube, MySpace and Twitter. Done right, you can “own” 50% of the search results for phrases your ideal visitors are searching for online. Meaning if someone searches for XYZ Band on Google, you can easily show up in 5 out of the top 10 results.

Getting them to your site is the key. Interacting with them and engaging them in your content is what will turn them into loyal, repeat customers at your local venue.

—–

Lynn, thanks so much for your ideas and giving us a lot to think about. Anytime a business can own 50% of the search results for the keywords or phrases they want is a big win. That’s the beauty of what social media marketing can do. Interestingly enough, almost everything you suggested here costs nothing to get started but it takes time (sometimes significant time) to set up and maintain well. It just shows that in the economy of social media marketing time is the new money!

Also, thanks for the pitch Steve. All right…who’s got another pitch and who’s our next batter?

Joshua sent me a link to this video with a really good story. I found this video with interviews of the players involved after a quick search on YouTube. It’s inspiring to hear what the opposing team’s players did here. This was truly selfless on their part. They lost the game because of this…but I think you’ll agree they are the real winners in the end.

Link for the feed readers: Winning by losing.

Last week I was in a meeting with people from a number of different organizations all discussing a common issue. I was the “social media” guy at the table with a few traditional marketers with various specialties along with non-marketing people working through an particular situation. During the course of the discussion I realized again how stark the difference is between the way I approach marketing and promotion compared to some more traditional marketers. I attribute this difference in thinking to people like Seth Godin, Chris Anderson, and Robert Scoble…all of whom have provided books and blog that have formed the way I approach the new technology for marketing purposes. I took some notes of my thoughts at the time and here’s what came out…

It’s not that television as we’ve known it doesn’t matter. It’s just that it doesn’t matter as much as it used to.

It’s not that newspapers as we’ve known them don’t matter. It’s just that they don’t matter as much as they used to.

It’s not that radio as we’ve known it doesn’t matter. It’s just that it doesn’t matter as much as it used to.

It’s not that marketing, advertising, public relations, and any other form of promotion as we’ve known it doesn’t matter. It’s just that it doesn’t matter as much as it used to.

It’s not that the way you’ve been marketing isn’t effective anymore. It’s just that it’s less effective today than it was yesterday and it will be increasingly less effective tomorrow, next week, and next year.

The lesson here isn’t that you have to make a total switch to social media marketing today. The lesson is that you need to be moving toward social media marketing and as you do, you can’t think about it the same way as the old way you did marketing.

Tomorrow morning from 9:30-11:00 CST will be the social media micro conference for marketing and communication professionals. There were five free spots available for non profits but those have been taken. There are still paid slots available. We’ll talk social media marketing strategy and tactics with some specific things I do when I’m working on a social media marketing campaign.

Up to 10 people from your organization can listen online or on the phone and an MP3 recording of the entire micro conference will be provided after the event is over.

If you’re ready to join us you’ll need to go here or if you want a little more information, check out the full description of the event.

Scott Schwertly and the folks at Ethos3 are presentation consultants and designers. Didn’t know such a thing existed? I didn’t either until recently, but once you see a really good presentation that tells a story like they do, it pretty much messes up every other presentation you’ll ever see…and that’s a good thing. This video is basically a presentation about how to do good presentations without feeling like a presentation. Watch the video and you’ll see what I mean.

Link for “The Voicemail” video for the feed readers.

PresenTired: “The Voicemail” from Scott Schwertly on Vimeo.

[Full disclosure: Ethos3 is a new MicroExplosion Media client]

John W. Ellis is our first batter to step to the plate for social media batting practice. He has some great insight on what he would do with the fly fisherman example. You can see the full post on John’s blog or read most of it below…

First up: How would a weekend fly fishing guide and instructor use social media to grow his business?

Here are 3 quick tips for this small business:

1. ‘Fly Fishing Tips’ Blog
   Creating an instructional blog is a great way to target specific customers. Don’t worry about revealing too much. You want to do just the opposite. This is a great opportunity to show your expertise in fly fishing.As an instructional blog, it has a clear focus. Many blogs are all over the place and have no consistency. Creating a clear, precise blog is a great way to target customers. Remember it’s not the quantity of visitors you want, it’s the quality. Five strong customers are better then 100 5-second visits.
2. Start the conversation on Twitter
   Start following friends, colleagues and competitors. Now of course, tweeting with friends will not expand the bank account. However, it does start the conversation. By discussing “fly fishing” the conversation expands beyond friends. After friends, begin following local lodging companies, restaurants, and local organizations. Don’t just follow. Join the conversation. Make friends. Make partnerships.Twitter creates followers, it creates buzz, and it eventually creates customers. It all begins with one sentence: “What are you doing?”
3. Flickr Photo Contest
   Ask for photographs of favorite fly-fishing spots. Then, give away free instructions to the best entries.After it’s over, be sure to give something to all entries. Even if it’s small, everyone loves winning.Flickr requires minimal time and investment. Plus, it has great photo sharing tools that allow you to integrate those photos into your blog and more importantly it allows “customers” to share those photos.

   Other tips, outside of Social Media:

   • Create packages with local lodging companies
   • Place brochures in state border Welcome Centers
   • Find ways to give away lessons. A small gesture will lead to great word of mouth
   • Email is a great way to talk with customers. Look for ways to collect email addresses.

John, thanks for the insight here. Very good thoughts. Ok, who’s ready to bat next?