There’s no denying the power of Twitter. Anyone who chooses to use it has a voice in a global arena, which allows them to be part of a buzz and spread the latest newsworthy information.
It’s also become an integral part of business, with many major companies incorporating Twitter into their social media strategies. The following six Australian marketing gurus are all business-minded, tech-savvy individuals that have learned how to make Twitter work for them—and their businesses.
1. Gavin Heaton: As the author of Servant of Chaos, one of Australia’s leading marketing blogs, Heaton has established himself as one of the nation’s go-to online marketers. He’s worked with McDonald’s on a number of creative and digital strategies, including the online “Are You Mac Enough” promotion.
So, how has Twitter helped Heaton? “Twitter has collapsed both time and distance. It has impacted speed to market and responsiveness to changing conditions - I can not only monitor what is happening with our customers, I can engage, respond and resolve issues or improve the customer experience in moments. And interestingly, I don't need to be located somewhere specifically. I focus mostly on North America yet live in Sydney. Twitter and associated tools helps keep that fresh.” Follow him @servantofchaos
2. Pete Williams: He’s an award-winning entrepreneur, author, and marketer who’s been called “Australia’s Richard Branson.” Known for his ability to identify and create successful businesses, Williams successfully started On Hold Advertising, Infiniti Telecommunications, Simply Headsets and Preneur Group.
What does this young entrepreneur think about the benefits of Twitter? “The real benefit of Twitter is that larger companies are only starting to understand and grasp is the ability to really connect in real-time with their communities (read: customers) and join in the conversations that are happening around their brands. In this Twitter and Facebook revolution, word of mouth is spreading quicker than ever and if you’re not involved in that conversation, it can be very dangerous.” Follow him @preneur
3. Mick Liubinskas: He’s a social media and digital marketing master that’s been involved with major web business investments like Spreets, Friendorse and Travelcandy through his business, Pollenizer. When asked what the greatest benefits of Twitter are, he says, “Granular conversation subscription. I can follow a person or keyword to have a completely customised stream wash over me.” Follow him @liubinskas
4. Ryan Junee: Now based in San Francisco, the Sydney-born Junee can still reach an Australian market thanks to Twitter. The entrepreneur, start-up advisor, investor and technophile worked for YouTube when his previous startup, Omnisio, was purchased by Google in 2008.
What’s Junee’s favorite thing about Twitter? “I think the greatest benefit provided by Twitter is the speed of information propagation. Years ago it was a struggle to find readers for my blog posts but now I can get 100 thousand views in a matter of days largely thanks to Twitter and similar services.” Follow him @ryanjunee
5. Tomer Garzberg: As the director of Strongman Digital Media, Garzberg’s philosophies on Social and Search embrace the fast-pace evolution of the digital era. He consults and speaks professionally for TEC and is a co-founder on a multitude of digital projects.
Garzberg says, “Twitter has revolutionised the immediacy of communication. Information on any given topic is now sourced with such immediacy that it makes traditional communication methods seem sluggish. There has never been a faster, easier and more powerful way to say something, and to have the world as your audience.” Follow him at @TomerGarzberg
Honorable Mention
Bart Jellema: In 2007, Jellema co-founded Tjoos.com, the online discount coupon site that grew by 400 percent each year to boast over 1 million unique visitors in February 2010. Last year, Tjoos.com was acquired by US-based Internet Brands. Jellema has found that Twitter has been invaluable for his business.
“For Tjoos.com, we created an automated feed Tweeting one coupon per hour and the account now has over 38,000 followers generating a fair amount of sustained traffic. Still, the nice thing about my personal account is that while I don’t have thousands of followers, the ones I have are ‘high value.’ When I Tweet something, it always surprises me how many people have read it and bring it up in conversation later.” Follow him @BartJellema
