Author: Michael Senger CEO, StoneMass

Twitter is technically speaking, a multi-platform blogging service. It was designed as a way to post short messages of 140 characters or less, to update your friends and network with your current “status”, i.e. “What am I doing right now?” or share insightful information, “Look at this great article.”  Over the past year it has gained significant traction as a business tool with everybody from entrepreneurs, small business, and to larger companies like Dell and Comcast.
But has Twitter reached its peak in popularity and is this darling of social media waning? Naysayers have been predicting the demise of Twitter as early as 2007 but it is still around and generates a passionate following.

“The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long….and you have burned so very, very brightly, Roy.” - Blade Runner

Let’s look at a real life example of a twitter account that you could subscribe to: The National Geographic Society.  Here is a sampling of their ‘tweets’ over a six hour period.

@NatGeoSociety

1.  Pluto Has “Upside Down” Atmosphere http://tinyurl.com/b4xkal

2.  EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS: Rare Artifacts Return to Afghanistan http://tinyurl.com/arx4j63.

3. Whale giveaway 5! How many calories per day does the average blue whale need for survival? Be the first to answer and win a prize

4.  Our final giveaway is happening at 3P et. Be the first to answer and win Nat Geo prizes

5.  Near Costa Rica, scientists study a stronghold of the blue #whale. Read the Nat Geo Magazine article http://tinyurl.com/da4bqs

The assumption is that because I have signed up for their Twitter account, I am interested in all of these topics.   The “Pluto Has ‘Upside Down’ Atmosphere” article sounds interesting but is that enough to sustain my interest in their twitter feed.  And if I subscribe to a few other feeds, my cell text alerts will increase 10x fold.  This may be a lot of information to digest.

It is also rare that a communication medium maintains such popularity when it is controlled by a private entity.  Successful opensource mediums have open standards and work in a distributed fashion, for example: newgroups, email, webpages, etc.  Twitter’s growth as the defacto social communication medium may be limited.

However, its private ownership makes it very attractive to suitors; Facebook had expressed interest in purchasing them and the latest suitor is Google. They are less interested in the technology but desire to absorb Twitter’s bloated subscriber network.

As long as the media loves twitter, and oh they do, then it will continue to generate news.

Twitter’s business model will change for the sole reason that eventually the audience will move to a new medium. It is the same reason we have abandoned malls for online shopping sites.  Before that happens, Twitter will probably be acquired by another company.  Any time you have a convergence of newness, mass popularity and little understanding you are liable to get an overrated, and very simple, technology.  Twitter is not the first, and it will not be the last.

FYI: You can follow me on twitter at http://twitter.com/webmarketers

Author: Michael Senger CEO, StoneMass

Does Social Media marketing bring back personalization to digital media? The ability to deliver customized content across targeted multiple social media platforms should make marketers rethink their communication strategy. Or is Social Media just another latest fad for marketers to consider in their bag of tricks.

I attended the Online Marketing Summit 2009 in San Diego. Social Media was of course the hot topic and invoked much discussion. There was one meeting debate over the effectiveness of Facebook versus Twitter to deliver personalized message. The argument for Twitter was if you manage an account and develop a good relationship with your followers, you have created a viral communication medium. Arguments for Facebook were the numerous marketing communication applications that gently exceed the 140 character limit that defines Twitter, period.

In summary, today’s economy mandates marketers derive greater ROI from investments, increase response rates and advance the customer experience. Successful marketer’s match the target audience with the right message and offer. Sounds pretty straight forward but many companies fail at this. Audience’s needs are constantly changing and timing the right marketing message and offer make this a complex endeavor. Data from CRM or customer support systems lie unused as marketers lack the understanding or motivation to analyze. Worse too, many companies rehash marketing programs every year without documenting the campaigns pros, cons and leanings. Unfortunately, marketers tend to jump to personalization to justify budgets and to over promise leads, conversions or ROI.

Author: Michael Senger CEO, StoneMass

One to one marketing epitomizes a marketer’s dream. Personalization sought to satisfy this need by offering the capability to market one message to the individual. Personalized URLS was the early technology leader but does Social Media marketing bring personalization back to digital media? Unfortunately, it does not.

About Personalized URLs (pURLs)
Personalized URLS (pURLs) was first hailed as the true technology platform for personalization. pURLs give a personal touch to your outbound communications. It works this way; I get an email offer and there is a URL link with my name in it, e.g. michaelsenger.cooloffer.com - by clicking on this link I am taking to a webpage where it reads “Hi Michael Senger, we have an offer just for you.” The concept of pURLS is that you will see increased conversion because the prospect believes you care about him and knows exactly what he needs. Variable Data Printing (VDP), like pURLS, personalize direct mail to improve response rates. Did this work to lift conversions as they were so hyped to be?

My research into the pURLs industry identified two early adopters; MindFire & EasyPurl. Both companies have moved to a 100% reseller model; selling their services to partners who then resell to the end-user. In summary, these two companies dominate this space, followed by a plethora of online and printing boutique shops reselling pURLS and/or VDP (variable data printing) services. As a result of these two companies dominance, their services do not differentiate greatly and their fees are fiercely competitive.

Although pURLS did find avenues into some marketing circles, they never really became a part of the marketer’s arsenal to improve conversion with personalization messaging. I was surprised in my research to learn there has been little innovation into personalized URLS in the last five years. Personally, either working for companies or now running my online marketing agency rarely has the “pURLS” topic come into conversation. If fact, a colleague who works for one of the nation’s largest tax preparation companies, just finished a 2009 direct mail campaign utilizing personal URLs with no impact to conversion rates. In summary, pURLS did not work to lift conversions as they were hyped to be.

Next - Part 2: The new darling couple: Social Media Marketing & Personalization