Social Media for Lead Generation
Protected tweets might seem staid, but they stand initially stark against the synergistic noise that has proven to be both instrumental and insightful as a free, 24/7/365 public tool. Marketers who withhold the right to open one-to-one Twitter communication can take advantage of a gated approach to B2B engagement. However, brands who choose this path can't foster a follow-and-forget relationship.
Yet, my experience tells me that many B2B industries underestimate the power of Twitter as a tool for lead generation using a targeted content marketing approach. By making the brand search engine accessible, its possible to invoke social media interaction as a result of simple site traffic. If the content isn't instantly available and then consistently available, it can become easier for the marketer to engage in one-to-one communication. However, the entire experience then becomes less meaningful for the Twitter user, the potential customer, if tweets can't be retweeted because they're protected.
[I don't know if any one brand is powerful enough to stimulate the visitor to create an account solely for the purpose of interacting with the brand. It can be argued that B2C communication requires more advanced listening and response functions than B2B, because of the unwillingness or inability of consumers to participate in paid media proactively.]
Assumptions: that's what makes social media dangerous. If a marketer assumes that the participants in his industry aren't using social media, then he's operating with a significantly shallow worldview. Cautious experimentation is key when merging with the raging stream. What I think curious B2B marketers interested in leveraging Twitter for lead generation via protected tweets are missing is content, especially because the only network path that can be utilized is one-to-one.
Once a Twitter user "takes the plunge" and Requests to Follow the brand's protected Twitter account, that brand is relegated again to the constant chatter. Does the user remember, after several months of once weekly Tweets, that they had to specially request to follow that brand? What if the content provided is irrelevant or overly promotional, not to mention that it can't be retweeted! There are hundreds of strategic implication questions that need to be answered regarding the decision to protect Tweets, if the brand is indeed claimant to be operating in a world of integrated marketing communications. My conclusion: marketers viewing Twitter in a control-driven vacuum can lead to misfired messaging that serves as a distraction to, rather than a source of, non-interruption marketing as intended by a protected Twitter account.
