Retweets and the modern day autograph book
Watching Ricky Gervais’ new comedy pilot Derek started me thinking about my schoolboy days of autograph hunting and how today the celebrity retweet has fast become the modern day version of this, but also how in a weird and wonderful way this could benefit your business.
I remember fondly my days as a sports mad youngster who would pester my dad to get to Old Trafford, Edgbaston, Villa Park and many other top flight venues so early that the programme sellers and stewards were still tucked up in bed!
The reason was simple; to catch a face-to-face glimpse of my heroes, be it Bryan Robson, Ian Botham, Mark Hughes or Graham Gooch, and in an Oliver Twist tone ask, ”Please sir, can I have your autograph?”
Nine times out of ten my very own superheroes would say yes, my day would now be complete and they would rapidly become twice the player they were before. It would also be my chance to take the limelight at school with my prized possession – autograph book – firmly in my grip without a mention to my little new found buddies of the table-topping football match or the Ashes test I had been present at only days before.
But then there was always the other one out of ten – in my memory Colin Gibson and David Gower – who would shun the clammering crowd of 10-year-old boys and head straight for the players entrance without a care in the world. For you they would never be the same again and even a splendid hundred or a breath-taking hat-trick would not suffice, and instead of cheering their success you were now keen to gloat about their failures all because they would not sign your precious autograph book.
25 years later and the autograph hunters are still around, only now it is not a scribble in a book they’re chasing but the glorious and momentous retweet from one of the numerous celebrities on Twitter.
The retweet has fast become the prized autograph of the grown-up, and while it may seem a bit geeky to focus so much attention on just one of Twitter’s features, in reality it’s not just a chance to boast to your mates in the pub.
This may seem like a bit of fun chasing that retweet from Twitter celebrities such as Rio Ferdinand, Lord Sugar or Tom Cruise, but in reality this harmless hobby could have a positive impact in your business life too.
The more your message is retweeted, the more users will notice you. And the more followers you gain, the more traffic you can convert to your website!
Furthermore, learning the crucial rules to go viral on Twitter can help shed light on other ways to make your content more viral and learning to craft better tweets can have a great impact on your bottom line.
Remembering key Twitter points such as avoiding self–reference, be entertaining, understand what the most retweetable words are and when the best time is to tweet is all key in making those precious 140 characters count when you are setting your heart on a retweet.
So, don’t take the art of tweeting for granted as it could just lead to the big deal or contact you have been chasing for days, weeks or years, just like I’m still chasing David bloody Gower’s signature. And, by the way, I had the pleasure of meeting Colin Gibson only a couple of weeks ago and what a thoroughly decent chap he is!