Our Story

You can thank the recession for the creation of TweetPackage. In April, I became a jobseeker, my contract at Microsoft was ending and I was looking for a job. As part of my efforts, I started a blog, and began doing some surveys and research in order to have something in my field (UX, UI, social media) to blog about.

I love Twitter, and I was really concerned when the report came out in April about its low retention rate. Looking for possible reasons for that low retention rate, in June of ’09, I did a usability study of first-time Twitter users. You can see the study results, here The main takeaways were:

  • Users didn’t understand the Twitter model or how to use the interface
  • Users didn’t see how Twitter could be of value to them

The night I ran the test, I conceived TweetPackage as a solution. I realized that new users needed to see immediate benefits to using Twitter. They needed to see relevant tweets, about a topic they cared about, right away. Ideally, they would also see and use searches, since that’s a key way to get value out of Twitter.

Also, they needed some help getting started. Preferably, they could get some instructions specifically about how to use Twitter to accomplish their goals, as well as a good introduction to using Twitter. (Since I have a technical writing background, I was certainly ideal to put together a Getting Started page.)

While Tweet Packages evolved and change over the next few months, the basic elements remain as I envisioned them:

  • Packages based on topics or goals, such as a Job Seeker package, social media follows, football team packages, etc.
  • Each package shows who you can follow, and most provide searches for the topic
  • They provide a simple way to join Twitter or log in (using OAuth)
  • A pop-up window appears when the application finishes, with a link to our Getting Started, a link to Twinbox for the e-mail crowd, and custom instructions that the package creator provides to help those particular people use Twitter most effectively

The Business Side of Tweet Packages

I always get excited about creating new tools, websites, and applications. And having a husband who is a self-employed and EXCELLENT developer isn’t always a good thing. Because I have a tendency to ask him to implement my wonderful ideas.

But…we are two working parents of four children (I finally found a contract job after four months of looking—hurray!). My husband is pretty busy making a living for us doing custom websites and Authorize.net integration. We have children to spend time with, a house to take care of, and we attempt to find a little time for ourselves and each other in between all of that. So, we can’t build cool tools just for the fun of it, no matter how much we’d like to.

We did need to have a hope that we could make a little money with Tweet Packages. So, we serve ads in the packages—tastefully, I hope. And, we have ideas for additional functionality that we might eventually charge for.

What about the "Marketing with Tweet Packages" Thing?

If you look at our pages, you’ll see a whole set on marketing with Tweet Packages. Some might find the idea distasteful, and I understand that. Let me give you the reasons why I’m pushing that.

  • First, I can’t create all the packages myself. I don’t have all day to spend researching and creating cool packages. So, to get any volume and variety, I have to have other people—bloggers, business people, social media marketing people, etc.—create them. Plus, I can’t think of all the possible packages that would be of interest. The best approach is to get others to create them.
  • Second, people are using Twitter for marketing and will continue to do so. I personally think it’s a good thing that business is so engaged with Twitter, because I don’t think Twitter will survive, or at least not thrive, without business using it significantly. Even Twitter seems to think businesses are integral, judging by their actions.
  • Third, I think businesses are a great way to get new Twitter users. And I love Twitter and want to see its user-base grow. Businesses have an incentive to get people to follow them on Twitter, including new Twitter users. So, they can play a significant role in helping Twitter to expand its user-base—which is key to its survival.

That said, I think that there are a lot of wrong approaches to using Twitter for business. I believe that a) you should acquire followers who are your target customers—not just a pile of random followers, b) you should provide value for those followers in your tweets, and c) as much as possible and reasonable, you should build relationships with those followers.

Marketing with Tweet Packages fits into my value-based business philosophy. Create packages of interest and value to your target customers and use those as a way to get your customers to follow you. The idea is to give your customers a Twitter solution to their problem or need. Of course, businesses need some incentive to create Tweet Packages. The incentive I provide is that anyone who uses your package automatically follows you on Twitter.

What do you think?

That’s the logic. But I’d love to know what you think. As soon as we get a chance, we’ll throw up a comment form here. In the meantime, I’d love to hear your thoughts via email to support@twitterpackage.com or by tweeting me, @neicolec.