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| What 3 American Idol Winners Can Teach Us About Twitter Part 4 of 4 |
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In the past few weeks we’ve seen how individually 3 American Idol Winners that now have incredible individual careers on their own are responding, reacting, and using Twitter.
If you haven’t read through the last few weeks and how we looked at Kelly Clarkson’s, Chris Daughtry’s, and Carrie Underwood’s approach to twitter you can read about them here:After looking at each of them individually let’s compare them together and see the success of connection with their fan base and followers as a result of their approaches to using Twitter.
All three of them had the same initial outlook of refusing to get on Twitter. After all they reflected the same sentiment that many have had in regards to adding yet ANOTHER Social Networking platform to “deal with” in their already crazy, hectic lives. However, both Kelly and Chris caved due to different reasons. Kelly from friends and family pushing her to at least try it, and Chris because his wife’s persistence to try it out fueled by Rob Thomas and Chris's wife “following” each other on Twitter. Carrie saw Twitter as a threat and not a valuable use her. Instead she saw it as a tool for stalkers and nosey people that were talking about details of what she was wearing, or what she ate wherever she went.
Kelly and Chris started seeing the potential once they tried twitter out. They both found that as artists they could use it as a valuable connection piece, and tool to prevent people from using bogus accounts to post bogus information as if it was from them. This helped them ENGAGE their audience while LIMITING CONTENT to only what THEY wanted TO SHARE. Carrie on the other hand persistently STILL refuses to use twitter and is firm on her belief that she is currently communicating most effectively via her fan page on her site and blog on her limited terms. She's comfortable in feeling this is all that is needed to be shared with her fan base to connect with them.
Kelly now loves Twitter and posts everything from personal family moments to music that she likes listening to. She posts via her phone during live events she’s attending or performing at such as the Grammy’s and yet limits her content to what she wants to share.
Chris in the same form connects while in route to an interview, and shares with his fans and followers about new upcoming releases, and special events. Chris even uses the platform as a way to promote concerts happening that night, and then to thank attendees afterwards as the bus pulls out of the backstage lot, to keep further connection with his fans and followers.
Carrie limits her content to her page or very limited connection points on the net. As a result impostors, and people that create bogus accounts with her name pop up constantly on Twitter. She doesn’t use it as a way to communicate with her audience and fan base in real time about things she wants to share in her life, and doesn’t establish a personal connection point. This in turn is limiting the potential promotion she has with promoting herself and her “brand name.”
Both Kelly and Chris are adding to their follower base on Twitter by the tens of thousands per month. They are sharing information while limiting the content to what THEY ONLY WANT TO SHARE. All this while at the same time deflating momentum and potential development of people creating bogus accounts and putting inaccurate information out on the net about them. Their OFFENSIVE approach to Twitter has created a SOLID DEFENSE and a SOLUTION to impersonator issues they’ve had in the past on Twitter.
Carrie STILL doesn’t have a Twitter account, and isn’t maximizing the potential growth of her fan base via the social networking platform that Twitter affords artists big and small. She STILL has problems with people impersonating her on Twitter, and REFUSES to give it a try to CONNECT with her fan base in areas SHE wants to share. She is limiting the marketing potential of her products and connection points before and after her tour dates with crowds. So it’s no surprise that she has ZERO followers on Twitter, and continues to have problems with bogus content from low lifes that have nothing else to do but impersonate her.
What can YOU learn from these 3 and their approach to Twitter?
The obvious has already been stated, but don’t be stubborn about using new technology. Even though it may be uncomfortable at first, or may take a little bit to wrap your mind around how to use it, the potential use you may find may be greater than you can imagine. If Carrie really allowed herself to think outside of her comfort zone, and “try Twitter” like the other two did, she would find that it would make her other connection points more efficient. Twitters integration abilities with your already established social networking platforms (Facebook, Myspace, etc.) allows you to be able to post a tweet, and immediately that tweet can be broadcast to your other networks you have connected to your Twitter account. You can even have it post to a stream on your front page and update in real time, to further add connection to your following. When used properly and CONSISTENTLY Twitter can help you connect with people that are LOOKING FOR ACCESS TO YOU, but otherwise may not have it.
Chris got it right when he said, “It’s the closest thing [to allowing fans access] on my cell phone and getting personal texts.” While balancing what he is sharing with what he doesn’t want to share, the content he CONSISTENTLY SHARES via Twitter helps his followers to feel CONNECTED to him.
So when you think about Twitter, consider it from the OFFENSE and don’t be DEFENSIVE about using the technology. The DEFENSIVE part will take care of itself once you create a strategy.
What’s your take on Twitter? Are you defensive, or are you finding it a valuable resource for connecting with others? Do you use it personally and with your business? Have you found benefits for the time and resources that YOU have INVESTED in Twitter's social network?
