Twitter users trend older than you think

The New York Times has an article all marketers need to read:  “Who’s Driving Twitter’s Popularity?  Not Teens”.

Did you think that Twitter was primarily a tool for young people to stay in touch?

Actually, only 11% of the Twitter user base is 11 – 17.  Young people don’t need it.  They got hooked on MySpace and FaceBook before Twitter was invented and see no use for it.  They want to stay in touch with friends, not the masses of anonymity in the Twitterverse.

There are two interesting ideas in this.  The first is that it turns the accepted notion that technology trends always start in the young on its head.

The notion that children are essential to a new technology’s success has proved to be largely a myth.

Second, that we marketers need to be more analytical in our thinking about new media.  How many event producers are missing out on key technology trends because they think they are only for the young, and aren’t being used by their demographic?  The worst error in marketing is to project from ourselves.

Though Twitter’s founders originally conceived of the site as a way to stay in touch with acquaintances, it turns out that it is better for broadcasting ideas or questions and answers to the outside world or for marketing a product. It is also useful for marketing the person doing the tweeting, a need few teenagers are attuned to. “Many people use it for professional purposes — keeping connected with industry contacts and following news,” said Evan Williams, Twitter’s co-founder and chief executive. “Because it’s a one-to-many network and most of the content is public, it works for this better than a social network that’s optimized for friend communication.”

Forget what you thought about Twitter.  The fact is that its main purpose is to connect like-minded groups of people to discuss areas they have in common.  Hm.  Sounds a lot like an event.  But year-long.

 

Planners prefer face-to-face events

J Spargo recently completed a pre-show survey of the members of  Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) that showed that the majority of their meeting planners felt that virtual meetings would never replace face-to-face meetings.

Here are the key elements of the physical experience they reported technology cannot replace:

1. Socializing and networking spontaneously
2. Helping attendees best put names with faces
3. Allowing more free and open dialogue between attendees and vendors/presenters
4. Training effectively via live and personal interaction
5. Paying greater attention to others when face-to-face
6. Engaging in real-time conversation that is not interrupted by technical glitches

What virtual events ARE good at is to cost-effectively extend an event’s reach to a much larger audience.

 

Follow through on networking devices

We’ve all seen events start a Twitter account and not actively tweet.  Launch a Facebook page with minimal content.  Heck, people are still creating web sites and not updating the content…but less often.

It happens in person as well.  I was at an event last week that handed out “Think Twice” cards at registration.  On one side the card says:

Here’s How it Works:

1. Write your name on this card.

2. Trade cards with someone.

3. Answer the questions on each other’s card.

4. Write your name on this new card.

5. Repeat!

On the other side is my thought provoking question:

If you could lie down in an open field in the country and enjoy either of the following, which would you be more likely to do?

Watch cloud formations roll by on a lazy summer afternoon

Watch the stars twinkle on a clear summer night

The conference wins a nice try but not even close award.  I failed to see even a single person use this card.  Maybe the directions were obscure/confusing.  Maybe it wasn’t explained at registration. Maybe it was simply too complicated.

And these things don’t just take off on their own. Where were the organizers using the card to get it started?  Talking about it in general sessions?

Social programs, real or online, need commitment and follow through to work.

 

Case Study: Twitter at a Conference

Time Magazine just published the best description I’ve seen for the power of using Twitter at a conference.  (Scroll down to the heading: The Open Conversation.)

At first, all these tweets came from inside the room and were created exclusively by conference participants tapping away on their laptops or BlackBerrys. But within half an hour or so, word began to seep out into the Twittersphere that an interesting conversation about the future of schools was happening at #hackedu.

Making the point that not only does the Twitter feed capture the thinking in the room, but also:

1. enhances the discussion by creating the second outlet that bubbles that into the verbal conversation

2. allows people outside the conference to join into the discussion, and have their thoughts blended into the conference itself

3. continues the discussion online among those who attended and those who didn’t long after the physical event is over

4. retains a written record of the discussion, including, essentially, running commentary, footnotes, and bibliography, with tinyurl links

What a powerful set of impacts, for the cost of one large plasma screen!

If the conference director or education lead does not feel inspired to extend the conversation online (really?!) then the attendee marketing side of the business needs to push this.  Because it is clear in this example that the online discussion made the physical meeting MORE of a must-attend, I can’t believe I missed it event!

 

Social media on Skittles

A Tweet recently sent me to www.skittles.com, which has a unique layout for its social media content.

Too few events and associations use social media to provide content for their websites…and it is surprisingly easy. Delicious is one way to tag articles relevant to your event or organization.  Then a simple applet/widget on your website automatically collects them for constantly refreshed content.

Skittles.com is basically a path into Facebook Updates and, separately, Tweets that use the word Skittles.  The Skittles portion of the website looks like a pop-up box: the meat of the site is the Facebook page and the Twitter page.

An opportunity for intersectional innovation here, for events and associations to learn from a consumer brand.