The world of Twitter marketing is an ever-changing one indeed. Every hour, a new story involving Twitter seems to pop up in our newsfeeds, leaving us to wonder, “How’s a busy online marketer ever supposed to catch up?” That’s why we’ve devoted this week’s Five Things You Might Have Missed to the biggest, oddest and most fascinating stories to come out of TwitterLand.
1.) Twitter v. Tumblr: Facebook face-0ffs are so 2010. The hot social network showdown is the one currently brewing between Twitter and Tumblr. Things got sticky for the two social media megapowers when Twitter told Tumblr this week that it could no longer have access to a friend-finding feature that let Tumblr users search for contacts on Twitter who also use that blogging platform. While Twitter has remained tight-lipped on the diss, Tumblr is not happy. “To our dismay, Twitter has restricted our users’ ability to ‘Find Twitter Friends’ on Tumblr,” a Tumblr spokeswoman said in a statement. “Given our history of embracing their platform, this is especially upsetting.” Twitter apparently doesn’t like to share and we’ll see if this greediness bites the little bird in the backside in the months to come.
2.) Twitter Hearts NBC: Depsite the #NBCFail hashtag that was prominent during the London Olympics, an article in The New York Times this week said that both NBC and Twitter were as pleased a punch with their partnership during the summer games. Twitter head honchos say their platform wasn’t a spoiler as much as it was a teaser during the games and NBC says the Olympics aren’t about the results as much as they are about the stories. We say both sides wouldn’t be singing such a happy tune if the ratings and advertising dollars weren’t through the roof.
3.) Spooky Tweets: Warner Brothers came up with a clever way to spook out Twitter users while promoting its new horror film The Apparition. The studio tweeted freaky ghost filled-photos from the film along with scary tweets. Creepy and effective, this is pitch perfect Twitter marketing for a late-summer horror flick.
4.) Twitter’s Newest Star: Move over, Miley! Twitter’s most-talked-about star isn’t a person at all. Turns out the most lively conversations and creative tweeting are being inspired by Curiosity, the rover currently roaming the planet Mars. NPR reported this week that Curiosity has over 1.1 million followers. @MarsCuriosity is run by three women in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena who post for the spunky, one-of-a-kind robot. With direct-from-Mars pictures and a witty narrative, @MarsCuriosity is a new kind of Twitter marketing that inspires followers to learn more about science.
5.) Twitter Waffling: One Direction star Zayn Malick has returned to Twitter after a 24-hour break. I know. We’re relieved, too. All kidding aside, this sort of Twitter waffling by “celebrities” who leave then eventually come back to Twitter is symptomatic of our collective reliance on Tweeting. Also in the case of boy banders like Malick and other b-list stars, returning to Twitter reeks of the strong arm of a wise Hollywood publicist who undoubtedly convinces their clients to stay on Twitter if they want to stay relevant.
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