Digital Marketing: SEO, Social Media and Branding blog

Twitter, Aussies, Tottenham and rants

So, it seems like the old fashioned trend of leaving everything to the safety of an official press release is finally beginning to change.

In two instances this week, sportsmen have announce news on their Twitter pages that some of those involved would like to have kept internal:

1. Australian cricketer Phil Hughes found himself in trouble yesterday when he announced on his Twitter page that he had been axed from the Ashes team before it had been officially announced. We later found out it was Hughes' agent Neil D'Costa who broke the news via Twitter on behalf of his client,

"These things happen," D'Costa said. "I guess things got confused with the time difference."

2. Darren Bent has caused a potential rift in the Tottenham camp after postings about his current chairman Daniel Levy in relation to the strikers' desire to move away from White Hart Lane.

Writing on his Twitter page @db10thetruth, Bent supposedly said: "Do I wanna go Hull City. No. Do I wanna go Stoke. No...Do I wanna go Sunderland. Yes. So stop ******* around Levy."

Tottenham have apparently launched an investigation into this and Bent could face some form of action.

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Both incidents though are showing us the power Twitter can have in dodging barriers to get news out to the general public. I'm sure this will only be the beginning of this type of communication between annoyed, overpaid sportstar and the outside world
- In protest of their superiors (in Bent's case).

In Hughes case, learn the time zones!!

Letting the 2.0 battle Commerce

Web 2.0 yet to be fully embraced by the UK's leading retailers.

A recent study by dotCommerce has found that some of the biggest UK based retailers are still behind in offering 2.0 content and brand loyalty features to attract repeat business and engage the customer.

Simon Bird, Technical Director at dotCommerce: "With competition for every consumer pound at an all time high, it's more important than ever for retailers to engage with visitors to their sites.

"It is also important to recognise the role that ecommerce sites can play in encouraging shoppers to sign-up for other marketing and promotional efforts, such as email marketing or loyalty schemes.

"This allows the retailer to begin building long-term relationships with consumers and maximising revenue from their existing base."

Any such features to keep the customer coming back will surely add significant value to a site currently lacking in that department.

Turning back to 2.0, the ability for free flowing information that social media allows i.e. the potential for both good and bad comments made public about a company is putting off some of the bigger players.

If you can get it right, it can really add value to your business. If done wrong though, social media can potentially damage a brand's image.

The likes of video however can really add another dimension and lift the brand off the screen.

..he who dares wins!

The Wiki style Twitter 101

Twitter have released an online 'how to' guide, aimed at the curious business user perhaps still unsure about venturing into the microblogging world of Twitter.

I guess the point they are trying to get across in this Wiki like offering is just how effective the service can be if used correctly, to full potential and consistently. There are business case studies on there to back this up, there's a best practice guide and much more content to browse through.

Although it seems like they've got all bases covered, I can't help but find the little resource falls somewhat short in the level of depth I would have liked to see on Twitter issues and optimisation.

See for yourself here

In the meantime, if you want a list of just about every Twitter app possible follow this link, currently 275 in total.