I am not much of a drinker, but I do know the tragedy of drunk driving. I also realize that it’s often not the hard-core drunk driving 85 the wrong way on a suspended license but an average Joe who underestimates how much he’s had. I very much appreciate the work Scooter Guys do.

The owner is on Twitter (see STLScooterGuy). I’ve been thinking about how I would use Twitter to get people to use the service.

First, go to WeFollow.com and search for STL and St.Louis, and follow a bunch of people from The Lou (as the hip kids call it these days). Most will reciprocate and you’ll begin to generate a list of followers.

Go to News.Google.com and run a search on “Drunk Driving”. It will give a list of unfortunate or tragic stories about drunk driving (See this example). Use this as a source for links to use in Tweets, sort of a grim inspiration. “Don’t let this happen to you…”

Next, go to HootSuite.com and schedule your Twitters to go out in the days and hours preceding your normal drinking days, like Friday and Saturday, or in the run-up to holidays where drinking is part of the event.

Having observed how people re-tweet posts, and the genuine good being done by the service, I think St. Louis Scooter guy will get lots of support from the St. Louis Twitterati. Please leave any other suggestions in the comments below.

Understandably, folks are concerned that if someone is being paid to promote a product or service they are somehow less authentic than someone who does it for free.  I do understand this view though it does not carry the day in my mind.  We all do things for our own motives, and while I do think that most of us do many things because it feels good to help, that is still a motive benefiting oneself.    The Illusion Of Transparency In Social Media  does a good job of outlining the counter-argument that “objectivity” is illusory when you think about it. 

That said, I think  a Twitterer and Billy Mays (Mr. OxyClean & Miracle Putty) have categorical differences beyond the size of their paycheck.  Billy Mays is not a trusted expert in cleaning shirts or making permanent repairs with epoxy.  He’s a paid pitchman and I don’t think people think he is much more than that.  I doubt he has ever repaired a coffee cup and used it afterwards.   

On the other hand, the guys and gals I follow on Twitter are those I recognize as bringing useful stuff to my attention.  One of my favorites is 10minuteexpert, every day he puts out three or four web-related tweets that I look at closely.  I know he knows what he’s talking about, so if he pitched a software package, I am confident that that package would be a good one, and I would actually be pleased to learn he made a little scratch off the sale.

A Twitterer with a large following has credibility for reasons other than waking up one day and deciding to have credibility.  Billy Mays pays hundreds of dollars to pitch his products to me on obscure cable channels.  I choose to follow a Twitterer.  If 10minuteexpert suddenly started pitching golf clubs or invited people to sign up for a free Mac Air, the bubble of objectivity would be busted (at least for those products).  If he did it a bunch of times a day, the “unfollow” would be swiftly struck.

In my work, I manage pay-per-click campaigns, and I’m very interested in exploring pay-per-tweet.  I know we sell a good product (community pharmacy service) and it is up to the Twitterers to protect their credibility.  I can’t imagine a Twitterer who pitches nothing but payola tweets would get very popular.  I think it will all work out.  The market is a stern mistress and cannot be fooled.

Check out MyHelpfulAce. The folks running the Twitter account are doing EXACTLY what ought to be done when using Twitter as part of your marketing mix. Some business Twitterers (and Bloggers and Websites) spend all their time talking “at” the visitor. Everything revolves around the great products, great service, great history etc. The missed opportunity is to describe to the visitor how the business can solve a problem the visitor has.

In the case of RockyMountainAce.com, it is clear that the Tweets are all about the customer, not about the Ace Hardware stores. It would be tempting to lard up the tweets with sale items or coupon offers. This would be easy, and probably would be effective to a point, bu that isn’t a conversation, and it really isn’t centered on the potential customer. Note these excerpts from their Tweets:

A Helpful Tip – MyHelpfulAce is offering a helpful, eco-friendly tip to help the follower solve a problem.

@ZeekDuff Did you know you can buy praying mantis eggs, which will hatch this spring & eat mosquitoes? Cheap, eco-friendly pest control.

Thanks to a Customer – Here we have them saying a thank you for the business.

@momander Thanks for picking up your cordless lawnmower at one of our stores. They’re very popular – easy to use and great for environment.

Inform followers of a Sale – Some say that Tweeting isn’t for busnesess solicitation. In this case I think it is perfectly appropriate given that MyHelpfulAce is putting out plenty of other tweets centered on the user.

Today (Sunday 4/26) – Buy One Lawn & Garden Item Under $30 & Get One 50% OFF! Find stores at http://www.myhelpfulace.com…

Encouragement & Offer – Note this exchange: MyHelpfulAce is obviously paying attention to their followers. They ask a question, get a response and offer encouragent as well as an offer.

@geekedout You bought worms… for composting, by any chance?

@geekedout Vermicomposting is great! Some of our stores do carry the red wigglers. You using ladybugs and praying mantis for pest control?

If you are considering using Twitter and other social media to promote your business, I would reccomend that you follow MyHelpfulAce and watch what they do. So far, they have done the best job I’ve seen for this type of enterprise.

In my case, I add my name, what I do and any additional contact information I’d like folks to use.  For instance:

Tim McNabb
Webmaster
TimMcnabb.com
twitter.com/McWebmaster 

I am still debating if I want to include my cell phone number.  I do include it on a work-related email account but this is used to communicate with a fairly limited group of people.  In any case, the signature block on your email is an opportunity to expand your footprint.

They conflated “title” with “headline” which was confusing to me, but later questions where “title” had to mean
“headline” allowed me to go back and make sure I picked the right answer.  They do allow you to flag questions for later review.  All in all, 50 bucks well spent.

He wisely had included his service in the name of the domain. Unfortunately, his domain registrar follows a common practice of using unhosted domains (domains that are not pointing to a website) to sport Google AdSense ads.

In my friend’s case, his business card is actually directing users to a web page where his competitor is being advertised.

You should register a domain as soon as possible. I once waited a single day before registering a domain, and it was gone. However, sometime before registering your domain and printing it on your business cards, flyers or Yellow Pages ads, make sure you at least get a one-page “business card” up onto a server.

If you are in the same situation, feel free to email me and I’ll work with you to get things set up.