Pic by Rosaura Ochoa.

Have you ever thought that there’s a distinct lack of intelligent discussion to be found about Twitter marketing?

A lot of commentators seem to trot out the same tired points about their online marketing solutions by rote. “Don’t spam people’s twitter feeds. No-one will want to follow you if you’re too sales-y all the time.” “Be genuine. Form connections with people. Have conversations.” My personal favourites are: “Be educational/informative/uplifting.” It’s hard to fit all of those things into a slight 140 characters, I’m sure you’d agree.

Where are the practical applications to be derived from these statements in terms of your marketing campaign? Evidently, the mechanics are so top-secret that you’re supposed to accept these generic guidelines as actual online marketing solutions.

Is It A Linking Machine?

I once heard Twitter described as a ‘linking machine’ – the idea behind the description being that with limited space for content, links to external sources such as blog posts or news stories are perhaps a ‘default setting’ for Twitter marketing campaigns. If we think outside the box (pun intended) for a moment, in marketing terms, can we find a way to add more value to our Twitter product?

Here’s an idea. I prefer to think of Twitter as an ‘Invitation Engine’.

The Invitation Engine

Twitter can be used on its own or can fit very easily into a wider social media scope by ‘inviting’ users to follow links to other content, whether it’s yours or not – either way, a follower is being invited by you to discover your carefully-chosen web pages.

Every invitation (as good invitations often are) should be personal, whether it’s in the context of a tweet that engages a reader, or by actually replying to a query and sustaining a conversation with a follower. Context is king – there’s not much incentive for people to click on a random bit.ly link sitting on its own.

The ‘engine’ part of the above description is evident in Twitter’s actual construction. It’s interface is beautifully simple and intuitive to grasp.

One question. One box. One button. And limited space to express your thoughts.

Whichever side of the ‘Shallow versus Streamlined’ debate you sit on, that limit keeps tweets swift and easy to write and to read. And you want people to read them, right? You’re using Twitter as part of your online marketing solutions to achieve specific objectives, whether you’re looking for increased website traffic or just to offer exclusive deals to Twitter followers.

Putting The Pieces Together

Twitter was built to be a ‘Social’ tool, and it’s more effective to use it as such. People use Twitter to connect with other people. They want to hear a unique, personal voice in your tweets – or else why listen to you? Use the ‘engine’ to connect consistently.

Connecting consistently. That’s the Invitation Engine at work.

Tweets Away

There’s no real mystery surrounding effective Twitter marketing, though there are many who’d love you to believe there is. Spend half an hour looking at the latest trending topics, and you’ll discover the so-called ‘secrets’ of effective online marketing solutions right in front of you.

Now, I pointed out above that many commentators offer generic platitudes and often not a lot more, and I’d hate to join them. I’m running out of space here, though.

Since we’ve looked at Twitter theory together, let me give you some examples of this theory in practice. Have a look at my blog post, Twitter Tactics You Should Be Using, Part Two, where we’ll examine some of the most interesting Twitter marketing methods we’ve seen at work in 2010.

Don’t say LeadGenerators never gives you anything for Christmas!