This post is by Ben Whitford, contributing editor of SmartBrief on Social Media.
Korean researchers just published an important new analysis of the way people use Twitter, notes the lead story in this morning’s SmartBrief on Social Media. Boffins at Korea’s Advanced Institute of Science and Technology vacuumed up Twitter’s entire database to study the way people relate to one another online — and their results offer a startling snapshot of the ways in which the site is changing how we interact and share information online.
One of the group’s key findings is the extent to which Twitter is shrinking the world we live in. Offline, we’re supposedly six degrees of separation from anyone else on the planet — but on Twitter, the researchers found, any user can connect to any other user in just four follower-to-follower jumps. (Now if only Kevin Bacon would sign up …)
What does all this mean for marketers? Well, the biggest implication of Twitter’s interconnectivity is that re-tweets have the potential to broadcast your original message to a huge audience. Think about it: Just three re-tweets could theoretically carry your original message to the farthest-flung corners of the social network and reach even the most remote Twitter-user.
That’s good news for those who’ve been calling for marketers to use re-tweets, rather than new followers, as the critical metric for social ROI. It also gives marketers an incentive to think carefully about the timing of their campaigns. The Korean researchers found that half of all re-tweeting took place within an hour of a message’s original posting, so it might be worth timing tweets to coincide with peak Twitter use (generally around lunchtime EST), or even engaging in a little Guy Kawasaki-style repeat tweeting.
What do you think — are social marketers better off focusing on acquiring new followers, or should we be spending our time crafting messages that are likely to recirculate? And what are your top tips for boosting a message’s “re-tweet appeal?”
Image credit, iLexx, via iStock
Twitter
Facebook
Linkedin
RSS
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Ana Hoffman, Santi Chacon. Santi Chacon said: Are you harnessing the power of the re-tweet?: This post is by Ben Whitford, contributing editor of SmartBrief on … http://bit.ly/90rzre [...]
Mary,
To answer your question, I believe that both making sure that your message can be shared and focusing on a following are almost both equally important. If you don't format your message to be easily read and seen through all "noise" on Twitter the chances of it being spread are minimized greatly. On the same token, without a proper following with power users and "fire-starters," even with the right format, it will be almost impossible to get the message to pass on to other people. I wrote a couple articles on this subject.
http://www.drivinmedia.com/2010/03/19/5-benefits-… http://www.drivinmedia.com/2010/04/07/8-ridiculou…
-Dave http://www.Twitter.com/DrivinMedia
I think it's important to use a variety of tactics to get the most out of Twitter. You can't just focus on one or two things — come up with a list of best practices related to spreading the message and be diligent about using them on a regular basis.
My recent post Created For A Purpose!
Re: ReTweet – We have released a new Social Media site for posting any events (http://tweetmyevents.com) and then tweeting it using a Twitter account. We are amazed with the ReTweet of events posted on the site (of course here using ReTweet software) and how it can spread quickly and drive traffic back to the site within Minutes. So ReTweet works well and multiply the marketing impact! Just Re-Tweet an event you like onhttp://tweetmyevents.com so you can experience it first hand!
As for repeating tweets – I am not sure about this as it will be considered as SPAM and sooner or later followers may block your Twitter account. There are 3rd party software to highlight such tweets as well!
On the matter of number of followers Vs focusing on ReTweets, I think the use of keywords (also balancing with #Hashwords) are more important than focusing on growing followers as the latter will happen automatically if the keywords (i.e. subject matter) of the tweets are interesting to others. This will be particullarly important as the use of Twitter becomes mature and the users also get smarter using it in the months and years to come!
[...] some with commentary, some without. Editorial commentary shows more engagement and thought, but whatever style you use, RTing demonstrates love and thought towards the larger ecosystem. That includes highlighting your [...]
[...] some with commentary, some without. Editorial commentary shows more engagement and thought, but whatever style you use, RTing demonstrates love and thought towards the larger ecosystem. That includes highlighting your [...]