My Twitter strategy on mobile & digital signage

My Twitter strategy on mobile & digital signage
Tags: Emerging Technology, Mobile Interactivity, Trends / Statistics
September 14, 2011 - Steven Gurley

It has been quite some time since I posted a blog entry. My inactivity has not been from lack of interest or dearth of things to say; it’s simply because I’ve been buried supporting my employer’s (Symon Communications) growth and new market development initiatives.

I’ve also been buried working on several writing projects, which includes a new white paper about the electronic wallet (to be released prior to CETW), a book about the mobile revolution (to be released next year) and a number of magazine articles about mobile/signage convergence. I have also been busy tweeting daily on mobile trends that will influence the digital signage industry.

Since many have asked me about my tweeting strategy, I’m going to use this post to discuss it.

My Twitter Strategy

If you follow me on Twitter, you already know I have a unique approach to tweeting. I call it the “Reasons Why” strategy. Most like it, but some absolutely hate it. Here’s how it works.

I have identified 25 reasons why digital signage network operators need to be aware of mobile. These 25 reasons are in fact rapidly evolving mobile micro-trends that are either having an impact on the digital signage industry or will have an impact on signage in the coming years. Example micro-trends include: Mobile Payments, Mobile Assisted Shopping, More Advanced Networks, More Advanced Devices, Mobile Commerce, Personal Safety, Personal Convenience, Mobile Entertainment, Personal Health, etc.

Each of my tweets highlights one of these 25 trends. Each tweet also contains a reference to an article that illustrates how the trend is being manifest. For example, I may have launched a tweet that says: “Mobile Assisted Shopping: Reason No. 24.15 why digital signage network operators need to be aware of mobile.” My encoding scheme indicates that Mobile Assisted Shopping is macro-trend number 24 and the tweet contains a reference to the 15^th article in a growing compilation of articles on the subject of mobile assisted shopping.

Each day I compile a list of tweets that highlights one or more of these trends. I then use software developed by a business associate to launch my tweets. It’s really an ingenious piece of software. It monitors when and how often people click through to the articles. It determines, based upon past click-thru activity, the best day and time to post a particular tweet. It also determines which tweet to launch based upon past receptivity.

The software will launch a mix of new and old tweets. If an old tweet has shown reader interest, it will re-launch that tweet on a day and time that is statistically conducive to viewer readership. If there is continued reader interest (click-thru), it will periodically re-launch the tweet until interest starts to wane. As long as interest is increasing it will keep that tweet in the re-launch queue.

The software offers great visibility into which trends people follow and their degree of interest. This allows me to target my research and information to provide my readers with the most exacting information possible. Suffice it to say, the click through analytics are extremely helpful. I know which tweets (trends and articles) generate the most interest, which have the greatest staying power and which tweets generate the most interest outside my network of followers (e.g. tweets that are forwarded).

Some people complain about repeated retweets. To those people, I say: “sorry, but as long as people are clicking through and forwarding the articles, I have to keep doing it.” My Twitter strategy is designed to educate the largest audience possible with the most targeted information available.

In the 8 months that I’ve been executing this strategy, I’ve gained hundreds of followers and lost a few as well. For the approximately 400 followers who continue to be interested in mobility, you have my commitment that I’ll keep the tweets coming until I reveal the lessons learned at an upcoming industry conference.

If you’re not following me on Twitter, please do so at @steve_gurley