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Look to Twitter for a treasure trove of data to enhance your business One dealer’s philosophy: ‘Trow a lot of stuf against the wall and see what works’ By Joy Kopcha Signing up to use Twiter is one thing. the number of times your Twiter profle Sending a tweet is another baby step. But was visited and the number of new folusing the social media network to draw lowers you picked up that month. Plus, atention to your business, engage with it tallies the reach of every tweet you your customers and ultimately measure sent (and calls it tweet impressions) and your results is another thing altogether. It counts how many times your handle was might sound frightening and intimidating, mentioned by others. but it doesn’t have to be. With that data alone you can set goals: Spencer Carruthers owns Kenwood goals to increase how ofen you tweet and Tire Co. Inc. in West Bridgewater, Mass., to atract new followers. Plus with several a one store, three-bay tire dealership. He months, or years, worth of data, you can manages his business’ social media accounts scroll back in time to see your progress. and says it gives him a good picture of his Now, going back to the main menu business, and his customers. at the top of the page, the tweets screen “It gives me some good insight. You get gives you even more data – for every single a good demographic of who’s looking at message. Te bar graph shows four weeks your site,” Carruthers says, noting he’d be of tweets and their collective impressions, dead wrong if he thought gearhead guys which is Twiter’s word for views. If the were the only ones watching. More than graph shows lots of peaks and valleys, it half of his followers are women. “I just Arfa Syed says sharing images on means you aren’t achieving consistency. throw a lot of stuf against the wall and Twitter is key. Research shows tweets Below the graph is an analysis for every with images receive 18% more clicks see what works.” tweet, one message at a time. Click on the Tat might not sound scientifc, but it’s and 150% more retweets. ‘view tweet details’ to see even more – how exactly what Twiter experts like Arfa Syed suggest. Syed is the many clicked on a link, retweeted or favorited the message, digital and social media manager at the Auto Care Association, expanded the details or shared it via email. and she wants others to share Carruthers’ give-it-a-try mentality. Syed likes another option on that screen. “You have the “Twiter has one of the most user-friendly, back-end analytics ability to export data to keep track of any campaigns.” and ads platforms,” Syed says. “Being socially connected to And, to determine what kind of people are following your your customers in real time becomes easier and seamless.” Twiter account, click on the followers screen from the main Yes, there are tools you can install and professional social menu. Te audience insights page and its submenus show media frms you can pay to measure your reach on any platform. everything from gender and general interests to the state where Twiter, however, has its own free, easy-to-use page to see the your followers live and what kinds of television shows they numbers. Go to analytics.twiter.com and log in with your like to watch. An added beneft is you can look at all of those Twiter user name and password. Look for the menu across stats, and more, for the Twiter universe as a whole, and then the top of the page. Te frst three menu options (home, tweets compare the big picture to your followers. and followers) are full of tons of data to get started. Here’s a Tis is all more than just random information, Syed says. “Tis quick overview of what you’ll fnd. is invaluable as you tailor your content to be most meaningful.” On the home screen, Twitter gives you a snapshot for And remember, this is all the free stuf. each month. It highlights your top tweet – the one seen by If you want to “pay to play,” as Syed calls it — or buy advertisthe most people, your top mention – the most popular tweet ing on Twiter — there’s another world of help available. She that mentions your Twiter handle (Modern Tire Dealer’s is @ suggests visiting ads.twiter.com, a platform that walks you mtdmagazine), your top follower – the most popular account step-by-step from goals to execution of an advertising campaign. that follows you, and fnally your top media tweet, which is “Twiter ofers free ad credits occasionally to start, and has your most popular tweet that features a photo. Te monthly ads experts that are willing to hop on the phone with you once report also features a summary of the number of tweets sent, you show interest.” ■
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MTD July 2015
