Everyone is doing it;  Celebrities, news anchors, athletes and teens.  And guess what – more and more of your customers are doing it too.  What are they doing?  Tweeting on Twitter of course!  Now you may have been living under a fifth wheel lately and you might not know what Twitter actually is, how it works and what it has to do (if anything) with selling units on your lot.  We’re here to help.  This is the first in a series of articles will explain what Twitter is, how it’s used and how some dealers are already using it to market their dealerships.  We’ll also include some real world examples along with some do’s and don’t to keep you on track.

So what exactly is Twitter?
This is a little hard to explain since it only really makes sense to users once they start tweeting.  Essentially, Twitter is a website where you can post very short (140 character) “status updates” about what you’re doing.  Unlike email, where you send messages out, on Twitter only the people who are following you will see your updates.  This mean’s it’s a pull or “opt-in” concept by it’s very nature.  So, you post something on Twitter like “Just had a roast beef sandwich at Molly Malone’s and it was good” and anyone who is following you see your status.

Of course, there are better things to write about that sandwiches, but more on that later.

“Tweet tweet”  What is a Tweet Anyway?
A “tweet” is a message you type into twitter.  It’s short (under 140 characters) and therefore to the point.  A tweet might be something like:

Just met with the President of Fleetwood RV.  I like where they are headed this year

or more personal

I can’t believe my daughter just left for college today. This is harder than I expected it to be

or straight up marketing

We just took a clean Country Coach on trade.  This thing won’t last long

Who is using twitter?
Ben Stiller, Britney Spears and Larry King are.  But so are millions of normal people, businesses and yes even your customers.  Heck, we’re using it too (you can follow us at twitter.com/myrvadvantage). 

Most of the mainstream media uses it to get news out quickly and popular users like Lance Armstrong have over 1.8 million people “following him”. The latest numbers show that twitter has 5 million unique visitors every month and has been growing at nearly 800% a year. 

Some of our dealers are already using it too.  Longview RV was an early user and is just starting to get their feet wet with this new media (you can follow them at twitter.com/longviewrv).

Is Someone Following Me?
The concept of following someone is a critical part of how twitter works.  Unlike most forms of public relations or communications you can’t send your message out to people.  Instead, people decide you’re interesting and they opt in or “Follow” you on twitter.  This is a double edged sword in that the people who decide to follow typically are genuinely interested in what you have to say so they stick around but it also means if people don’t like what you have to say they can drop you like a bad habit by simply “Un-Following” you with a single mouse click.

Brutal isn’t it?

The other challenge to using twitter as a marketing and PR platform is that people need to know you’re there and that you have something interesting to say in order to follow you.  So you need to market your twitter account just like anything else.  You can include it on your website, in your email signature, on postcards and flyers, etc.  Just like you’re domain name make sure your account is easily connected to your store.  Try to get your personal name and your store’s name if you can.

Once you’ve established your twitter account you need to say something.  Ideally you should tweet a few times a day.  There are iPhone and blackberry applications that make this pretty easy to tweet no matter where you are or what you’re doing.  Most experts agree that the majority of your tweets should be about other people or things related to but not specifically about you. 

So, basically, its not effective as a “sale-o-gram” where you posting up deals on units every five minutes.  It’s a relationship tool what connects you to your followers on a both a personal and business level.  Therefore, your tweets should include both personal and business messages.  Messages should be relevant to what it is you do and somewhat interesting.

For example:

Just had a roast beef sandwich at Molly Malone’s and it was good

Not so interesting but this:

Campgrounds are all full.  Someone needs to tell RVers about this recession since they seem to be ignoring it entirely

What’s Next?
In the coming weeks will publish a simple “how to” video along with some tips and tricks on using Twitter for your dealership.  We’ll include real world examples and as many customer experiences as possible.  Until then, enjoy this video of Ben Stiller trying to explain Twitter to Mickey Rooney.