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ESSAYS
STYLE AND CONTENT Unsurprisingly, Levin and Schneider have given a great deal of thought to the technique and technicalities of compressing a message into 140 characters. The anatomy of a successful Tweet, they explain, can be analysed according to clear criteria. “There are certain things you can do
that’ll just make you sound better as a brand or business,” says Schneider. “By which I mean like more of a human being. Brevity, of course, is important, but aim for 100 characters rather than 140. Contract, as the midwife might say. Use ‘there’s’ rather than ‘there is’ and suddenly you’re a human. Formal language has to go. On my own account I try to get rid of every comma I can. I’m always thinking: can I take out more? “It’s also interesting to look at the
structure of a Tweet and compare it to the structure of a joke – even in something like a missing person announcement or if your business or brand is outwardly po-faced and not actually making jokes. You can always write it in such a way that the content’s more arresting. Joke structure provides the best template for how to write a Tweet.”
With so many brands now vying for
users’ scattered attention online, who do Schneider and Levin hold up as successful practitioners of the eye- catching Tweet? Big-hitters Oreo, Betfair Poker and Skittles all get props for engagement and personality. But size, on Twitter, isn’t necessarily what matters. The beauty of the medium is that anyone with imagination can create and lead their own stories and community. For Schneider, who concedes he’s
rarely in the market for buying bouquets of roses, @ArenaFlowers is a perennial favourite. “I’m interested in the Betfair Poker idea of doing a funny account that’s simply entertaining and doesn’t try to sell something. Arena Flowers is similar in its approach but much more
36 issue 21 july 2014
mainstream in its humour and therefore probably more open to growing the account.”
EXTENDING THE STORY Schneider and Levin believe that many brands are still paddling in the shallows of Twitter, but there are those pushing at the boundaries of what the medium can achieve. One of these was the #JFK50 project, launched by CBS News in November last year and chronicling - in real-time - the last eight days of JFK’s life, had the US President had access to Twitter back in 1963. “It was incredible,” says Levin. “On the final day – it gives me goose-bumps just thinking about it – he’s Tweeting that it’s a beautiful day in Dallas. He’s about to step out into the motorcade. And thousands of people were Tweeting: “Nooo! Don’t get in the car!” This, they say, demonstrates Twitter’s potential to develop whole narrative arcs and recreate the experience of long- form fiction or movies. “Just imagine,” says Levin, “applying something like that to a brand.” Infectious though the pair’s enthusiasm for the speed and agility of Twitter is, don’t commercial concerns present an immediate obstacle? Sign-off, brand guidelines and compliance all run counter to the free-flowing, constantly refreshed picture of now that make Twitter such an exciting medium.
THERE ARE VERY FEW TWITTER ACCOUNTS THAT CAN’T BENEFIT
“This is something which
FROM BEING MORE HUMAN”
at first I thought was going to be slightly tricky,” concedes Levin. “Actually, it’s not. One of the brands we work with doesn’t really want to get involved in what’s trending. In cases like that it doesn’t matter if you need sign-off. In other cases, yes, there’s nervousness with brands; if they do want to get involved in things that are trending then sign-off is going to have to be very
quick. But I would actually suggest now having some form of sign-off during the first couple of weeks - it helps ensure the tone is bang on. There’ve been some accounts where I think, at the start, the tone’s been a bit too far one way or the other. Then it evens out and you know what you’re doing. Some brands do want sign-off but, as trust develops, they realise it’s fine.” Schneider agrees. “Brands have to
realise that the lighter they can be on their feet, the better.” So, Twitter can be fertile territory for
anyone prepared to sow their brand’s seeds with care and attention. It can also be a reputational minefield, as plenty will attest. What tips do Levin and Schneider have for those who want to reap social media’s rewards? “Don’t be afraid to try something
different,” says Levin. “You can be boring all week. But if on Friday morning you do that one interesting thing, you’ll be ten times better than someone who’s just slightly above average all the time.” “Be short and be human,” says Schneider. “Be like a jockey, basically. Also, listen to the responses you get and adapt. Know thy audience. If something doesn’t work, Twitter will tell you very, very quickly.”
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