Ah the Twitter Trending topics – the place for the latest and greatest on Twitter, right? That’s where the strong stand amongst the flood of tweets day after day. When big news breaks, like say Michael Jackson’s death, it is right up there on top of the Twitter trends.
Some companies have decided that getting their company name into the top 10 Twitter trending topics is a great way to boost exposure and get people talking about their company – and how right they are!
For example, the Web site publishing company Squarespace created a contest for Twitter users. All that was needed was to add #squarespace into your tweet, and you were automatically enrolled in to a drawing for one 3GS iPhone a day for 30 days.
As you can imagine, #squarespace quickly leapt into the number one slot for the trending topics on June 8, and it stayed there for….not very long.
I’m not on Twitter 24/7, but while I was watching, #squarespace moved around in the top 10 trending topics for several days, and subsequently hasn’t been seen in a couple of weeks.
The contest is still very much going on, and during the time it’s taken me to write this far, 170 new search results have appeared with the #squarespace tag.
But the tag is no longer on the list for the top 10 trending topics, and it’s probably for one of a couple reasons:
First, it could be that Twitter has simply out-grown promotions. Hah – anyone believe that for a minute?
But it could be that the Twitterati and more interested in hard news these days: MJ’s (death), #iranelection, Honduras, Billy Mays….
If that’s the case, then it’s a sign that Twitter is maturing, and perhaps users are embracing their role as an up-to-the-minute news source.
The other reason we could be seeing such short-lived staying power of Twitter trending topics is simply because users are fickle and our interest can only be held for so long.
It really goes hand in hand with Twitter emerging as a breaking news source. We like our news to be as fresh as possible, and as we saw with Michael Jackson’s death, it wasn’t CNN or the New York Times who broke the news. It was TMZ, and then picked up on quickly by Twitterers.
It’s great if Orbitz decides to do a Twitter giveaway, and they enjoyed a brief stint in the trending topics, but you won’t see them on top anymore.
Twitter is arguably the embodiment of the internet – fast moving and up to date, a collection of ideas and viewpoints, and it’s global. While the majority of users are currently American, that could change as more people adopt the micro blogging service.
But because Twitter is so quick, it presents a challenge to marketers who want to make a splash in the pool, and then stay in the water for as long as possible. It’s a crowded place, with many people and companies clamoring for attention, and even unique ideas like Squarespace’s quickly get overtaken.
What can we learn from this? Well in the SEO industry, we’re constantly adjusting to search engine changes, and working to adopt the latest practices and technologies.
Changing is becoming part of the daily plan of attack for marketers, at least at a micro-level. As online marketers and SEOs, we should embrace the rapidly changing culture of the internet.
By the way, there have now been almost 500 #squarespace mentions since I started writing. So even though it’s not a top 10 trending topic, that doesn’t mean the marketing push isn’t still a success.
By: Zack S.
P.S.
Twist is a great place to track and search trends in the Twitterverse.
