Does Twitter Have Actual or Perceived Value?

I will preface this entry by saying that I love new technology, new marketing outlets, new opportunities to reach out to potential customers. Having said that, I think it is time we all took a good, hard, REALISTIC look at Twitter.

Twitter introduced to the world the concept of micro-blogging. It offers the opportunity to send short, frequent updates to the myriad of "followers" you have acquired throughout the site. Here are the shortcomings I see from the site:

1. The Epitome of Self Indulgence

For most of the users, Twitter leads you to believe that all of your followers care what you are doing at any given moment of the day. Updating us that you just got off the bus, are heading to Starbuck's, and then off to your first meeting of the day isn't necessary breaking news, or anything that we care to hear about. I often wonder if Twitter is just fertilizer to individual egos. "Oh, I just found a dollar on the sidewalk! Where's my cell phone? My followers must hear about this!"

2. More About "Followers" Than "Following"

To me it seems like Twitter is walking down the dangerous path that MySpace ended up on. Rather than creating valuable connections where info, notes, updates, even jokes can be passed, it is becoming a contest of who can collect the most followers. It is basic Twitter etiquette that you follow someone who has decided to follow you. But what percentage of your followers are actively engaged in what you are posting, and what percentage are just upping the number of followers to gain notoriety in the Twittersphere?

3. What Are You Getting Out of It?

My biggest concern is this: while the functionality of Twitter is fascinating, and I myself explore its possibilities, I again and again run into the question of what am I actually getting out of Twitter? Is this expanding my network of professional relationships? Is this going to help generate leads for my organization? I ask these questions frequently, and keep coming back with "no".

I do see some Twitter-ers who are using their accounts in a meaningful way to interact with others, and maybe that will evolve and make the site more impactful. But as of now, I worry that it is nothing more than an online popularity contest.

What are your thoughts? What have you seen? Does Twitter have long-term potential or will it fade away?

Why Direct Mail is Still Relevant

In the crazy universe that is social media, Facebook, Twitter, and the like have overtaken the attention of marketing professionals everywhere. We are all guilty of jumping on the social media bandwagon. Not that it is a bad thing - social media has a very significant role in organizations today, and it offers a new and unique way to reach out to potential customers, referral sources, and other professionals. But left in the dust of the new generation of marketing is an often forgotten attempt: direct mail.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not encouraging you to buy one million white envelopes, fill them with a form letter and start flooding your contacts and leads with boring letters. That is not at all the case. But direct mail still plays a vital role in customer and lead communication. The tricky part is to find the right way to do it.

Personally, I hate junk mail. I hate mass mailed letters from my local cable company that doesn't even have my name on it; it is addressed to "Occupant" or "Resident". Those suck, and they make me dread opening my mail. This, of course, is not direct marketing.

Here is where the opportunity lies: I love getting actual mail. Packages, thick envelopes, self-mailers in crazy shapes. I'm fascinated by them. And I get small ego boost when I know that an organization has spent the time and money to create a piece especially for me. My thought process from there was that I can't be the only person in the world that loves getting real, actual, substantial mail. Think of how excited you get when your latest issue of {insert your favorite publication here} arrives in the mail. Don't you look forward to receiving the pair of shoes you ordered from Zappos? The same approach can be taken with direct marketing.

In one of my past lives as a marketing professional, I created a direct mail campaign for our business clients. Renewal rates were very low, our client turnover was significant. We didn't have an engaging relationship with our clients. But rather than send their account manager over to badger them AGAIN about renewing their contract, or sending them a boring letter in a boring envelope to bore them about our boring new contract terms.

INSTEAD, I worked with an amazing marketing firm to develop a five-drop mailing campaign to re-engage them with our organization. Each mailer was a box, about 5" x 3" x 3. Within each box was a toy, and each toy had a tie-in to a reason that we were the best company to serve them. A slinky to show our flexibility to meet their needs, a small set of Legos to show we could build a service plan to fit their needs, etc.

The goal of this campaign was not to instigate phone calls, or to force them to reach out to us. It was to open the door to a conversation, and to get them to see us not as a stuffy organization selling them a service, but a company that enjoyed what they do and wanted our clients to enjoy working with us. And the results were stellar.

Our account managers began getting phone calls after about the second mailer, with clients eagerly awaiting the next package. When our AMs were out meeting with clients, the toys were sitting out on their desks, proudly displaying our logo. We were doing more than selling to these people - we were building a relationship. And engaging them in a way that no one had before.

I'm not saying this scenario can be successful in every circumstance. But I think there is definite opportunity in taking a traditional form of outreach and finding a new and dynamic way to utilize it.

I'd love to hear about your success stories in this medium.

P.S. I do not work for any direct mail or marketing agency, so this is not meant to be a sales pitch. Just me, sharing.