Trump:
–noun
- Cards
- any playing card of a suit that for the time outranks the other suits, such a card being able to take any card of another suit.
- often, trumps. (used with a singular verb) the suit itself
- Informal. A fine person; brick.
–verb
-
to excel; surpass; outdo.
Hate him…or love him, Presidential hopeful Donald Trump knows a thing or two (or four billion) about promoting himself, his brand, his businesses and his ideals.
A fan was quoted calling him, “The Ernest Hemingway of a hundred and forty characters.”
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Inspirational to absurd sound bites aside, his level of real-time engagement with his Twitter followers has led to hours of #freeattention. (Not that DT needs to worry about free anything, really. #amirite?)
Trump’s Twitter game is…masterful. He uses the outlet in a way no presidential candidate ever has, relying on this knee-jerk social platform instead of more conventional methods of political communication.
Pro-Trump Twitter users bolt to action in a pattern that has been played out over and over. He makes an offensive remark,
and hundreds of thousands of strangers defend him, retweet his message and argue with his critics. All of this baleful ballyhoo ensures he remains the subject of constant conversation. Constant. Conversation.
Trump’s number of mentions and retweets dwarf those of his opponents. Twitter allows millions of Trump supporters to make his case for him. There is an ongoing Trump rally on Twitter at all hours…and for exactly $0.
Now let’s talk about you. What can you learn from this?
Know your audience. Why is your topic important to them? What do they expect to learn from your message? Do you communicate with them at a level they can easily understand, or are you sending an advanced message to a non-advanced consumer? Conversely, there is nothing more insulting than presenting basic info to a highly knowledgeable audience.
Whether you’re raising awareness about a special or new menu item, promoting a giveaway, or requesting the opinion of your audience, a clear, concise message is integral to success, and Twitter’s 140-character limit doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle room, so brevity is key.
Be proactive. Leveraging your Twitter presence is half the battle; the other half is frequency. Tweets are quick and to the point, and you should consistently engage your audience.
Another word that Trump wears proudly in his verbal tool belt is provocative. His Tweets are nothing but personal statements and rhetoric, but they work so well that actual content (like, you know…policy proposals) hardly matters.
How do you speak to your audience on Twitter? Social media in general is a conversation. You need to speak to your followers as individuals. Encourage response by being authentic. Your tone may be a much more powerful tool than you realize.
The bottom line is this. When taking the time to build your Twitter voice, know your audience, be authentic and give your fans what they want, frequently.
Now, go ahead and get out of here, “You’re fired!”
