Are You Twitter Superfly?

1. Twitter and other social media sites don't work for B2B marketing.

True

False

Twitter can "work" for both B2B and B2C marketing, with a few caveats. You need to clearly define your goals for the social channel and match them to the channel's strengths. If your only goal is to convert leads, Twitter may not be the best platform for you. If you seek to engage, interact, and build relationships with prospects, Twitter could be a great B2B choice (so long as your target audience can be found there).

Explanation

Twitter can "work" for both B2B and B2C marketing, with a few caveats. You need to clearly define your goals for the social channel and match them to the channel's strengths. If your only goal is to convert leads, Twitter may not be the best platform for you. If you seek to engage, interact, and build relationships with prospects, Twitter could be a great B2B choice (so long as your target audience can be found there).

2. Twitter is a complete waste of time.

True

False

Twitter is incredibly important in managing your online reputation! In fact, Twitter is the most important social network: mprofs.com/twittersuccess1. Even if you feel your audience isn't active on Twitter, it is still a great reputation management tool.

Explanation

Twitter is incredibly important in managing your online reputation! In fact, Twitter is the most important social network: mprofs.com/twittersuccess1. Even if you feel your audience isn't active on Twitter, it is still a great reputation management tool.

3. Which of the following is a real hashtag?

#profschat

#fail

#sleepymonday

All of the above

Really, all hashtags are legitimate, but by listening on Twitter you'll see which ones pop up in conversations related to your target audience. Many people save searches of hashtags of interest (#marketing, #roi, #mobile). So by adding an existing hashtag to your tweets (those that are appropriate) you can amplify the number of people who may see and retweet it. Hashtags are also important if you want to host a Twitter chat (we use #profschat for our weekly marketing chats on Fridays at noon ET). People can easily follow the flow of the conversation and participate by using the hashtag. Hashtags are a great way to build your audience and make your tweets more useful to you and others - be sure to check our Twitter guide for suggestions!

Explanation

Really, all hashtags are legitimate, but by listening on Twitter you'll see which ones pop up in conversations related to your target audience. Many people save searches of hashtags of interest (#marketing, #roi, #mobile). So by adding an existing hashtag to your tweets (those that are appropriate) you can amplify the number of people who may see and retweet it. Hashtags are also important if you want to host a Twitter chat (we use #profschat for our weekly marketing chats on Fridays at noon ET). People can easily follow the flow of the conversation and participate by using the hashtag. Hashtags are a great way to build your audience and make your tweets more useful to you and others - be sure to check our Twitter guide for suggestions!

4. Which of the following statements is true?

Someone who follows you on Twitter is called a twollower. (Ex. "I have 543 twollowers!")

A post on Twitter is called a "twit." (Ex. "I was just twittering--I must have posted 10 twits in the last 5 minutes.")

Follow Friday (#FF) is a great way to recommend your favorite Twitter users to your followers.

Both A and B

A follower on Twitter is called ... a follower (amazing, huh?!). An update on Twitter is called a "tweet" (despite what you've heard on talk shows, they always get it wrong). Follow Friday does exist and you participate by using the hashtag #FF in a tweet in which you recommend some of the individuals you follow - it happens every Friday. It is a great way to build community and gain followers yourself!

Explanation

A follower on Twitter is called ... a follower (amazing, huh?!). An update on Twitter is called a "tweet" (despite what you've heard on talk shows, they always get it wrong). Follow Friday does exist and you participate by using the hashtag #FF in a tweet in which you recommend some of the individuals you follow - it happens every Friday. It is a great way to build community and gain followers yourself!

5. When dealing with a complaint on Twitter, it is best to:

Respond immediately and publicly so everyone can see you are addressing it.

Respond immediately and publicly and take the complaint into a private channel as quickly as possible (either DM on Twitter or via phone or email).

Ignore it. If you don't respond, they can't prove you saw it!

None of the above.

Research shows that when someone complains on Twitter they'd love to get a response (but seldom do). Take the complaint into a private method of communication as quickly as possible (direct message on Twitter, if possible) and then resolve it via the complainer's channel of choice.

Here is a sample: @ComplainBob So sorry to hear about your experience. Can you DM me or email me with the specifics? We'll get it sorted.

Explanation

Research shows that when someone complains on Twitter they'd love to get a response (but seldom do). Take the complaint into a private method of communication as quickly as possible (direct message on Twitter, if possible) and then resolve it via the complainer's channel of choice.

Here is a sample: @ComplainBob So sorry to hear about your experience. Can you DM me or email me with the specifics? We'll get it sorted.

6. Which of the following Twitter-related words are now in the dictionary?

Retweet

Tweeps

All of the above

Both A and B

Tweet and Retweet have both been added to the Oxford English Dictionary and the Merriam-Webster Dictionary! #cool

Explanation

Tweet and Retweet have both been added to the Oxford English Dictionary and the Merriam-Webster Dictionary! #cool

7. The best way to start using Twitter is to:

Jump right in, start tweeting, see how it goes!

Stalk all celebrities and ask them to follow you on a daily basis.

Test the waters, listen for a while before tweeting.

Hook up your RSS feeds so you have a steady stream of posts without having to spend any time on the site.

Our guideline: Assimilate before you communicate. Do some listening, searching, and learning, before sending out any tweets. This process is easy and will teach you a lot about the social network and your audience!

Explanation

Our guideline: Assimilate before you communicate. Do some listening, searching, and learning, before sending out any tweets. This process is easy and will teach you a lot about the social network and your audience!

8. Which intern should head up your social media efforts?

The brightest intern.

The most responsible intern.

Whichever intern will be on staff the longest.

None of the above

While it may be tempting to pawn the social media responsibilities off onto the intern, we urge you not to! Social media is something that should be taken seriously by your marketing team. We suggest creating a communications policy to guide those representing your brand on social networks. Your intern may be a valuable part of your social media team, but s/he needs guidance.

Explanation

While it may be tempting to pawn the social media responsibilities off onto the intern, we urge you not to! Social media is something that should be taken seriously by your marketing team. We suggest creating a communications policy to guide those representing your brand on social networks. Your intern may be a valuable part of your social media team, but s/he needs guidance.

9. What is the proper/accepted spelling of "great" on Twitter?

Gr8

Great

Please, please, please don't cut corners! By rmvng vwls frm wrds to mke posts shrtr, u jst cnfse ur adnce! (You see our point!) While teenagers may communicate this way, it is not appropriate for your professional Twitter presence.

Explanation

Please, please, please don't cut corners! By rmvng vwls frm wrds to mke posts shrtr, u jst cnfse ur adnce! (You see our point!) While teenagers may communicate this way, it is not appropriate for your professional Twitter presence.

10. Which is the best tweet for MarketingProfs to send?

Small Businesses Moving Aggressively to Online Marketing via @marketingprofs http://t.co/Z91GluQ #mprofs #marketingprofs #marketing

Small Businesses Moving Aggressively to Online Marketing via @marketingprofs http://t.co/Z91GluQ #mprofs #marketingprofs #in #fb

Great stats here: Small Businesses Moving Aggressively to Online Marketing http://t.co/Z91GluQ #smbiz

None of the above

Option C provides commentary, information, a link, and uses a popular hashtag all without being overly-promotional or busy. Some of the other tweets are bogged down with potentially overly-promotional info (should you really make your name a hashtag?). While it can be at times useful to automatically add your tweets to your LinkedIn (#in) or Facebook (#fb) accounts, you can miss out on some posting features unique to those platforms (and make it look like you only really care about Twitter!)

Explanation

Option C provides commentary, information, a link, and uses a popular hashtag all without being overly-promotional or busy. Some of the other tweets are bogged down with potentially overly-promotional info (should you really make your name a hashtag?). While it can be at times useful to automatically add your tweets to your LinkedIn (#in) or Facebook (#fb) accounts, you can miss out on some posting features unique to those platforms (and make it look like you only really care about Twitter!)