Twitter

The Canada Line (a new speedy rail system) opened today in Vancouver and based on the activity on Twitter people around the lower mainland are pretty excited.

When deciding whether or not I would take advantage of the free ride out to the airport I decided to check Twitter first and came across a ton of people talking about it (mostly people waiting in line…). Thanks to @thebuzzer for pointing out there was a 2 hour wait on average which convinced me to stay home and try it during the week as I’m usually not one for long line ups.

Here are a few of the more entertaining Tweets I came across:

• @sanazj Avg human walking speed 6km/hr,#canadaline 19km long, walking from Waterfront to #YVR 3 hrs shorter than waiting in line!
• lyteforce To those who have gotten on the #CanadaLine – is it more comfortable & pleasant than the 98 Sauna Bus to RMD Centre?
• stryderjzw Hmm… I’m sure #canadaline will still be here tmrw. *cross fingers* I’m hoping I don’t miss it by not going today.
• dannydang @sanazj Lil’ wayne is stuck in the line waiting to ride the new #canadaline http://tinyurl.com/5o4r2y
• abusse I get reception even in the tunnels. Cool. #canadaline
• g_campbell Wow. The only word for response to #CanadaLine. What a difference it’ll make. Lines around the block for today’s free rides.

And no doubt the list goes on…follow this link to see more from #canadaline on Twitter.

This is a great example of what happens when you provide something that people want, I mean really want and have been waiting for, you market and promote it well and then give something away for free to generate some buzz: people talk.

The moment I finished that last sentance 47 more of them added comments to Twitter and no doubt when I login to facebook later on there will be pictures etc from people who took one of the 1st free rides today.

So in a nutshell, here’s what’s right about the Canada Line’s opening day:

• Pre-launch marketing and promotion to build desire
• Tapped into the power of free by giving away free rides on day one
• The product is slightly better (we hope) than previous versions and competitors (cabs, busses, old sky train)
• It services an area that people wanted (service to the airport) and does it cheaper

All great things to include in your next product or service launch in order to get people talking…and buying.

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Looking to learn more about Twitter’s business strategy? For an in depth look at what this social media giant in the making has in store, take a look at this post at TechCrunch in which loads of “secret” documents are covered in detail including strategy outlines, to do lists and strategic responses to Google and facebook are all laid bare.

A must read for anyone interested in what makes social networking services like Twitter tick.

Full article here.

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Check out this great slideshow by Radian 6 Twitter master, Warren Sukernek.

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I posted the following answer to how I use Twitter in a linkedin.com social media group I am a part of and thought it might be helpful for my readers if I posted it here as well. Enjoy.

Oh, and by the way, if you’re not yet following me on Twitter please visit http://twitter.com/adamkillam  and do so.

HOW I USE TWITTER

I use Twitter to: 

a) To connect with people online who I can later meet at networking and business events locally (competition, potential partners, potential clients, friends, current clients). 

b) To build a following of people who have related business interests. I find that by posting about my SEO/PPC/Social Media work, people interested in these topics find and follow me which makes my job of finding and following others in the industry easier. (Just follow back the people who follow you!). 

c) To create value for people in my network by quickly and easily connecting them with people I think they should meet and online resources I think they would find useful. 

d) To research the popularity of a given subject by posting links using http://budurl.com so that I can track the click through rate of a given article and judge how interested people are in the topic. 

e) To generate traffic to my site ( http://adamkillam.com/twitter ) and my client’s websites by posting links to articles that I believe are relevant to my follower’s interests. 

f) To do keyword research using tools like TweetDeck which enable you to monitor Twitter for any mention of the keywords of your choice. Often times people will mention all sorts of great related phrases to the keyword you had in mind or in relation to a particular product or industry. I then take these words and phrases and use them in my own Google Adwords campaigns for example. 

g) To build credibility. When prospective clients research me, they see that I have a decent following on Twitter which adds a touch of credibility (aka I might know what I am talking about just maybe

That’s all I could squeeze out right now!

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