Using Twitter to Improve Brand Perception

Interesting article by Tom Martin in the latest online issue of AdAge all about Twitter. Let me share some of his comments:

Tom Martin

The week before Mardi Gras, I invited you to "Come to Mardi Gras. My Tweet." What I didn't share was the goal of the experiment -- to see if I could positively change the brand perception of Mardi Gras.

Truth is, there is a whole side of Mardi Gras that non-New Orleanians never see. It is very family-oriented and looks more like the world's largest tailgate party than a scene from "Girls Gone Wild."

And here is what I learned about how to use Twitter to shape brand perception:

Relationships matter. To help me spread the word, I recruited my "Select Six." The strength of my "relationship" with these folks spans the spectrum.

Consumers will follow you for content. Prior to the experiment, I had 759 followers. By my first tweet(4 days later), I had 1,610 and by the end of Mardi Gras I had crossed over 1,700 followers.

Content humanizes. I'm convinced that my Mardi Gras tweets helped me develop a stronger relationship with my followers.

You can change perception using Twitter and embedded journalism.