6 creative ways to use Twitter

Establishing a presence on Twitter is easy. Even getting loads of followers isn’t that hard (if you aren’t picky). But using it in a way that’s worth both your and other people’s time and effort, that’s another story.

When we start putting together a social media strategy for a client, we try to find an innovative use for Twitter that goes beyond the “we need a Twitter account!” impulse. Which can be tough. But a great way to find inspiration is looking at brilliant campaigns that have come before and boiling them down to the idea behind them. 

Since it helps us, we figure it’ll help you, too. We’ve put together a list of 6 Twitter campaigns that went way beyond the expected, and highlighted the strategies they used to engage people. Check them out and see if any new ideas begin brewing.  

Reactionary auto-tweets
You probably know that you can set up auto tweets, but it doesn’t have to be restricted to a timer. Botanicalls has put together a DIY kit that monitors your house plants and auto tweets when a plant is thirsty. It’s basic technology plus outside the box thinking. Could your target use a clever auto reminder?  

 Feed me, Seymore!

Solve universal problems
To get masses of people involved in your Twitter campaign, try creating a practical solution to a problem everyone can relate to. Some enterprising university students did so when they started an account for their local laundry room, sending out updates when machines are available. Traffic updates via Twitter are also popular, helping commuters through their daily routine. Much like an inventor, start with a practical need, and then find a way to solve it.

Mass interaction at events
Twitter can add a whole new dimension to events and conferences by letting the crowd contribute to the public conversation. Comedian Eddie Izzard is using Twitter to warm up his crowds, displaying tweets mentioning his account on huge screens, thus letting anyone in the crowd with a smartphone post a message for all the people at the arena to see. If you’re hosting a performance or event, consider letting people get more involved through Twitter.

The face of social media genius

Find a novel way to filter the Twitterverse
Twitter’s ocean of information can be sliced and diced in an endless amount of ways, which allows for some creative chopping. Curse Bird is a guilty pleasure of mine. It tracks the naughty language used in Tweets around the world, highlighting a dark corner of an otherwise surprisingly polite sea of messages. This can be applied in many ways – simply find a new, insightful way to filter tweets.

Turn Twitter into visual art
Since a flow of words doesn’t have a visual impact, take them and create one. The museum of modern tweets takes inspirational message sent via Twitter and creates art out of them. Another project called Don’t Tell Ashton created a huge collage of Twitter users, getting thousands involved. See if you can’t find a pool of information on Twitter relevant to what you do, and find a way to make it a visual experience.   

Let your followers be the star
Staring You media is almost always a big hit, whether it be elfing yourself or starring in a movie. You can also make your fans the star with Twitter, like a Japanese group did with Twitter Parade. You simply put in your Twitter name and watch yourself lead a procession of your followers. More than 3 million people have done so already, which is amazing considering how high a percentage of Twitter users that is. If you can find a way to let people become the center of attention, they’ll come check it out.

Could it have come from anywhere but Japan?

Let us know if you have any bright ideas of your own, or want to share other inspiring campaigns.

Jason Ross is a copywriter for The Duffy Agency. He loves working on both traditional and social media projects and speculating on the future of the ad industry.