The recent Presidential elections are a great example of the power of Twitter when employed in the right way.
Twitter is a broadcast platform which allows you to use a maximum of 140 characters per tweet, which is really just a long sentence. The clever tweeter will think quite carefully about the words they are going to use to get their point across, to create maximum engagement and impact.
As Donald Trump repeatedly demonstrated throughout his Presidential campaign, with his strategic, very direct and unfiltered Twitter campaign, there is a large and engaged audience hungry for all updates and opinions, as they happen. Once harnessed, this audience of eager Tweeters can wield real power and act as a catalyst for real change.
What Trump did very effectively was dominate the political conversation. He was able to put his messages out quickly and succinctly to a very captivated audience which was always hungry for more. This enabled him gain a huge amount of Twitter followers in a relatively short period of time.
What’s interesting is that Trump did have a communications team around him, helping him to tweet at key moments – the 'tone of voice’ of these tweets was much more measured and considered. However, the tweets that created the most impact were when Trump had written them himself – they were more glib, spiteful and honest.
Like all professional communicators, Trump realised that Twitter is one of the most effective social media platforms at his disposal and he and his team employed it relentlessly to mobilise support for his campaign. It will be interesting to see how his personal online communication style develops as he takes the Presidential oath and becomes more immersed in the enormous challenges that lay before him.
If you would like to talk to one of the expert team here at Westgate about helping you to develop a creative approach to your online marketing needs, to deliver great commercial impact for your business, please email shaun@westgatecomms.com. We would love to hear from you!