I don’t think I’ve posted the interview that I did with George Hopkin back in April as part of his ‘Media People on Twitter’ series, but as he’s kindly agreed to share the whole series, I thought I’d start with myself!
‘More Twitter hints, tips, etc. from power Twitterers from the world of UK media. This time it’s Dan Thornton, Community Marketing Manager at Bauer Media (Heat, Empire and many others). (NB: I’ve since left, and joined Absolute Radio as Digital Marketing Manager)
* What did you think about the concept when you first heard about Twitter?
The idea made sense for quick communications with friends, but like the founders, I couldn’t imagine how it would grow in terms of size – and especially the ways to use it. The uses of hashtags are staggering in terms of potential.
* Do you recall your first tweet?
Thankfully no. Probably ‘Hello’ or something similar.
* How did you use Twitter to begin with?
Like most people, I signed up, posted a couple of messages, and then ignored it for a bit because I didn’t see the value.
That changed with my first @ messages, and suddenly I became addicted to being able to communicate so easily with so many people
* How has your use of Twitter changed?
It hasn’t really. It probably should, as I’ve gone from a small group of friends to having over 2,000 following and followers. But I find it hard to only talk about marketing or the internet. And at least this way, people won’t be surprised or disappointed in the long term when I talk about motorcycles or Xbox instead!
* What do you want from Twitter?
From a personal point of view I just want to be able to interact with more great people, and be able to build better relationships with them.
From a business/tech point of view, I’d like to see more disclosure from businesses of their direct results to be able to build up a bigger body of proven evidence, and I hope the use of Twitter will speed up the changes needed in almost every business strategy to become more relevant and useful to consumers.
And a way to delete multiple DMs at once!
* Have you attended a tweetup?
Yep. Some small gatherings, and the Twinterval organised by the founders of Twestival – really annoys me I’ve missed both Twestivals so far due to work/family commitments.
* Have you evangelised Twitter? If so, any success?
I’ve promoted it to friends and colleagues, and seen a reasonable number join – although the mainstream media coverage has done more if I’m honest!
I’ve also introduced several titles to using it, and the early indications are that it’s becoming a valuable communication tool for marketing, PR, customer service and engagement.
Oh, and I do run a blog dedicated to microblogging (Including Tumblr, Seesmic etc alongside Twitter) at http://www.140char.com.
* Do you have any self-imposed policies regarding your use of Twitter?
Not really – just apply a bit of common sense before I mention anything regarding work or personal items about my family. I’m pretty open about myself, but I have to respect my employers, colleagues and family.
* How do you see your use of Twitter developing this year?
I think the only change for my personal account is that I’m following less people – I’m reaching the limit of how many people I could hope to have meaningful interactions with.
For business use, I can’t really say until the Twitter monetisation plans are in place, but I’d expect it to be a core part of almost every digital marketing plan.
Daniel blogs at http://www.thewayoftheweb.net and http://www.140char.com. And you can follow him on Twitter here.
Interview originally posted at georgehopkin.com.
