In Jodie's Brain

Those of you familiar with Facebook already know what a ‘poke’ is in that context. For the uninitiated, a ‘poke’ is the equivalent of a wave across the office, a hello, a “yoo-hoo! I see you!” or a “hey, you know what, thinking about you.”

It’s used either when you don’t actually have a full idea to share/thought to articulate or to be cheeky; akin to someone looking at you, sticking out their tongue and both of you giggling.  A pull of the pigtails, a tap on the shoulder, then walking away – with a smile, mind you, and a hint of a “hey, engage me on some level.”

Those of us who use Facebook as part of our social media “strategy” (or probably more apropos: our “Procrastination Strategy”) have become accustomed to this even more fly-by way of connecting with people. Now that we have included Twitter in the buffet of staccato communicating choices, what’s a poor tweep to do when all we want to do is poke?

Earlier this morning, I got a friendly ‘poke’ from @GDGeek to which @VicTriviaQueen replied “Twitter totally needs a poke equivalent. Maybe a Flap or Flyby to tie it in with the bird theme?” @GDGeek had some ideas: “Maybe a “buzz” (low-flying bird) or a “squawk”"

I thought about this… twoke wouldn’t work. Twickle? Twouch? Twab? Twush?

My reply?

“I kinda fancy the term “goose” ;)”

After some social proof of approval for the term, I hereby announce that we can all start goosing our twitter friends.

What is Twitter?

Think of what we did at this meeting; we shared, we asked questions… we INTERACTED and ENGAGED. We ASKED QUESTIONS and OFFERED ANSWERS. It’s real-time, it’s schmoozing; like a meeting or dinner party. It’s not archival like blogs, newsletters or email.

Why would you want to use Twitter?

• Find out what – or if – people are talking about you/your brand/your service/your business.
• Increase customer loyalty
• Get real-time help/answers
• Opportunities to connect F2F
• Connect with markets you never knew you had
• Position yourself as an expert
• Help other businesses promote
• Create communities
• Offer real-time specials
• etc, etc, etc.

How do you use Twitter?

React first, promote later and seldom. If you were at a networking meeting, would you like it if someone were to go to each person in the room, only say “Hi, my name is George. Come down to my store and buy my stuff!”, handed you a card, then went on to the next person? Probably not, and George probably didn’t leave a good impression on you either, so the likelihood of you buying from him is close to nil. Nor would you feel like sending anyone his way.

People like it when you are curious about them. If George had shown a genuine interest in what you were saying and asked questions about you, chances are you’d want to know more about him too. You’d have the opportunity – and probably even the desire – to continue with this new “acquaintance relationship” and eventually you might want to buy some of George’s stuff – and he might want to buy yours. Or you’d both know people who could use each other’s things.

It’s all about the schmooze and engagement – THAT is “Web 2.0″

The logistics… sign up for an account, fill out your bio line, enter a URL and start looking for interesting people to “follow.” How do you find them? Start with people you know, like me, or the ever-growing list of people in Victoria who tweet. Then look at who THEY follow, talk about and “re-tweet”.

Have you heard yet “but twitter doesn’t work – I tweeted something and no one bought anything.” What if you had a store tucked away at the edge of town, went to one networking meeting then sat back and waited for people to come. They wouldn’t, would they? Potential customers would have had to have been at that meeting, at that exact moment to have seen it. Trust wasn’t built. Social currency wasn’t amassed. Twitter is a great add-on to your Top-Of-Mind Marketing strategy.

Patience is key: sometimes a lot of interaction doesn’t start until you reach around 50 people – both you following and them following you. Twitter is built for the long-term.