Many clients over the last several months have been asking whether they should get in on this “Facebook-thing” and if they should start “Twittering.” The common oversight here is that these are just new tools for communication…and marketing.

The process and the methodology shouldn’t change just because you have some shiny new objects in front of you. What is the typical process to any advertising or marketing campaign?

A. Identify Audience
B. Define Goals
C. Track and Measure

And somewhere in between A and B comes Strategy and Planning, and before A might be Research. This shouldn’t change.

Before you Twitter or Facebook, or blog, or whatever. Ask yourself these questions?

1. Who is my audience? Who am I trying to reach?
2. What am I trying to accomplish?
3. Where is my audience online and how to they best like to be communicated with?
4. What types of content will get my audience excited?

If you don’t have these answers start with a simple customer survey or do some simple research online. Use Google Alerts to identify where and what your audience is saying about your industry, product, or service. Start listening first, this will help you create a plan to be successful online and in the social space.

photo credit: James Cridland

I started using Twitter a little over a year and a half ago. I know many addicted, veteran, and first time Twitter users. I’ve identified what I believe to be the 10 Steps to Twitter Enlightenment. Basically, the many phases we go through from first starting to use Twitter through to a somewhat enlightened perspective on how influential the tool can be used within our every day lives – both personally and professionally. I’d love to hear additional perspectives or experiences on your evolution of Twitter communication so please chime in.

Step 1: You’ve signed up and created a Twitter name
Congratulations. I’m sure this step took the longest, and you’ve signed up because you’ve either given in to the peer pressure of other folks asking you to get on Twitter or your curiosity finally caught up with you. Either way, you’ve done it. You have signed up for Twitter. Now what?

Step 2: “No one is following me, and who should I follow.”
No one is following you. You know someone, so you follow them, then look at their list of followers and then follow them. 6 hours later you realize you have accomplished little and have learned even less, but the nasty cycle continues and you are now following 50 more people.

Step 3: Forced Twittering.
You think “What do I do? No one is following me. Well, maybe one person.” You have this overwhelming urge to participate so you start Twittering. Your first Twitter is probably something like “I am using Twitter” or “I am drinking coffee” or “eating cheese.” But now you feel inadequate, because you’re thinking “does anyone really care if I am eating cheese?” And, the answer sadly is “No.” But hey, kudos to you, you have made your first Tweet.

Step 4: Obligation to Tweet something relevant and valuable and often.
Step 5: You hate Twitter. It’s stupid.
Step 6: You keep seeing weird symbols like RT, @, and #
Steps 4, 5, and 6 all seem to happen at the same time. While the obligation to Tweet something relevant and valuable becomes frustrating, your frustration is only further increased by your lack of participation and inundation of Twitters you keep receiving. You are conflicted with figuring out how many times to “check your Twitter” account and realize it cannot be scheduled and you will miss something if it is not checked several times per day. You become annoyed by others who are using RT and @ and #. You don’t understand what the buzz is all about and resort to “Twitter is stupid.” But you are not ready to give up, so you start investigating how to use: @, RT, DM, and #. (Read this ultimate article in Twitter shorthand, tools, and codes).

Step 7: “You mean, I don’t have to post from Twitter.com?”
During your investigation you realize that RT, @, and # enable you to interact without having to be totally original. . Then you stumble upon or learn from friends that you don’t need to have your browser open to Twitter all day long, but instead you can use phone applications like Twitterberry and desktop applications like Tweetdeck.

Step 8: Obsession. New world created.
You become obsessed with following people and you start to discover that there is a whole world that has been created around Twitter. From brightkite to twitpic, to cool crazy sites (these are just the tip of the iceberg) and realize that your Facebook and Friendfeed can be updated automatically through Twitter. You start to become obsessed with retweetrank and twittergrader, and the list goes on and on.

Step 9: Oh, Twitter is used for Communication AND Information?
After Step 8 you realize you’ve got to cut back on your Twittering and start to think of how Twitter can be used to your advantage. You’ve entered the information gathering and communication phase. You realize after following for a few weeks, months, etc. that there is valuable and timely information to be gained and researched. That there are major folks professionally and personally that you can learn from. You have now been enlightened by the “Twitterness” (defined as the greatness of Twitter). How could you have ever gone through Step 5 of hating Twitter? You are truly enlightened by the power and realize how informative all the folks you are following are.

Step 10: The great are followed. The great will be followed.
You’ve started following folks who are relevant and valuable to you (professionally or as it pertains to your personal beliefs, values, etc.) You want to learn about a new industry or a new passion, and are excited that it is easy to connect. And sometimes when you complain or praise a company you get a response back, quickly.

You have now reached enlightenment, but I am sure there is more to come.
Tell us about your journey to Twitter Enlightenment.

Follow us on Twitter @libertyt

Other interesting Twitter Articles:
Twitter Attitudes
Top 21 Twitter Applications
47 Awesome Twitter Tools You Should be Using
58 Twitter Innovations

Twitter added the following to the web version:
1. Post Embedded videos
2. Post Embedded photos
3. Retweet (RT) functionality
4. Shorten URL functionality
5. Rollover on profile “followers” – ability to see followers most recent tweets
6. Ability to search your own tweets

These are the only ones I have seen thus far, but the micro-blogging utility has a lot to glean from the many applications that have developed out of its phenomenon. From desktop applications like tweetdeck, iphone apps like tweetie, and even firefox add-ons like tweetthat it seems there is no end to how far developers and marketers can take it.

Here are a few examples of embedded videos:

Embedded images:

Follow me @libertyt

Now Plurk seems to add another layer to their Twitter clone by color coding their entries based upon what you are actually doing or ‘verbing’.  For instance, If I say “Jimmy feels like enjoying a string cheese”, the word feels gets highlighted to a specific color.  Also, if you want to share a link or a video, it automatically converts the link based upon the url ending.  So a jpg will show up as a mini image in your little plurk.  So it adds just the smallest amount of depth to your twitter-like experience.  It is like a personal mini-tumblr.

Besides, twitter is having massive problems of scale (clicky, you will enjoy).  Now is the time to check out those other services…

I’ve been delaying my second post about Twitter mostly because I wanted to get a better handle on its many benefits and uses. Luckily, Rand Fishkin posted a video blog this morning about Twitter so I’ll let him take the floor.

By the way, I’m posting this link to Twitter.

Okay, well why this may seem the case at first glance. I’ll provide you with one of two benefits in this post. The first of which is my take on the evolution of electronic communication, the second in a separate post will be on how Twitter can impact media and affiliates.

First, think about it…while you love your friends and family and would honestly like to have the time to talk on the phone with them for 2 hours every time they call, and boy, wouldn’t we love them to talk to us when we call as well, the truth of the matter is we just don’t believe we have the time to talk, so we don’t. Luckily, email came into play.

Email became a quick and easy way to communicate, but shortly it also became a time consuming and obligatory effort. While sending an email to a friend with subject line “Hi” quickly became spam and a completely moronic way to send a communication just to say hi, turned into a back and forth message of superficial catch up and not really communicating or catching up. You find yourself emailing back and forth in this endless email communication with friends that really wasn’t qualitative to either party involved.

So, even better, instant messaging came out. Finally, a way to say hi quickly and yet, unproductively. Once again you find yourself in and endless irrelevent chat with friends that leaves you unproductive and unsatisfied. (btw, I did not forget about text messaging – this takes too long unless you are tweenager and have fingers that text at 80 mph).

So, finally…Twitter arrived. A way to blast communicate to friends and family to keep them up to date on what’s happening in your life. A way to tap into your mentors, friends, and families lives without the obligation of chat…but yet more personal. Kinda. With the ability to reply, etc. at your own leisure and others leisure.

Of course there is more to Twitter than just this which I will attempt to cover in my next post….
Right now, I’m on the beach of Hawaii and not sure why I am blogging about Twitter (my new obsession). Until tomorrow, or next Wednesday. Twitter long, twitter hard, and most importantly…just Twitter.