Twitter plays to its strengths with #WeTweet! Why now?

Twitter jumps on the consumer marketing bandwagon with #WeTweet, leveraging on its power to propel conversations. The Twitter We Tweet Campaign comes at a time when the media giant has enough favourable hashtags to serve as a bouquet.

With #NoShowerDay, they capture the imagination of the youth, nudging them to join the platform. #KeralaFloods, #ChennaiFloods and #Breathe are zones with which they get to put forth the platform as one where public conversations of importance can be shaped, irrespective of how much media coverage they get. #MeTooIndia is, of course, the cherry on top. Experts dissect the timing of Twitter We Tweet Campaign in the Indian market.

According to the brand, #WeTweet is an acknowledgement of the collective power of its users to create conversations and spark movements. They are speaking directly to young Indians, stating that the brand believes in the transformative power of the youth.

"With a light-hearted approach of a no shower day, #WeTweet shows the impact and widespread effect a tweet can have — from digital to TV to even offline sales, says Natasha Bharvani, Client Solutions Director, VMLY&R, explaining the gist of the campaign.

Gifts of #WeTweet

Twitter being a platform where most communication is public by default, people feel they have a voice. However, sensibilities often clash with one of the worst-case scenarios being an onslaught of hate speech. Brands and individuals have been on the receiving end of such hate, alike.

For a media giant that seems to have a sizeable chunk of trolls as users, can an attack on them in a consumer-directed campaign be a lucrative call? With #WeTweet, Twitter is harnessing its goodness and creating brand awareness, avoiding the tricky terrain of dealing with profitable hate.

Question is: Why now?

"Strategically, it was very important that Twitter consolidated a position for itself at the earliest as marketers and brands are moving their focus to more engaging platforms and using Twitter primarily as a CRM extension," says Amyn Ghadiali, Director - Strategy, Gozoop.

He adds that the timing is apt because, with new social networking sites emerging and a boom in digital penetration, more people are joining the bandwagon. If in such a scenario, there is ambiguity in how to best use the platform, the chances of it becoming redundant are quite high, he says.

Brand value and recall

Chandni Shah, COO, Kinnect feels that Twitter is known to be a brand that always takes a stance on issues, and is often the starting point for many of those 'social' movements. "Why not take it a step further, and actually promote Twitter as 'ground zero' for movements that matter?" she says.

#WeTweet will help create positive sentiment for the brand and make it the pioneer os using social media for good. "At a time when hundreds of social media platforms are competing for a young consumer's attention, this will create brand recall like nothing else," explains Shah.

Also Read:The Curious Case of Missing Brand Connect…

Perfect opportunity

Hashtags and trends are clearly common around important events like the elections and clearly play a role in generating groundswell conversation and even impact in some cases (topics), feels Sanjay Mehta, Joint CEO - Mirium India. "The brand wants to emphasise this role that it plays, and remind the people about the potential of the platform," he says.

For Twitter, besides the revenue opportunity in running paid trends, there is also the recognition of a grand role that it plays in some significant points in history. "A campaign of this type reminds people of the same and further establishes the relevance of the platform," explains Mehta.

Campaign quickies: Verdict

The communication is reassuring consumers that Twitter is the go-to place for anyone with a voice, looking to be heard. Quite true to its core offering as TV, news, real-time events have all referred to Twitter while decoding consumer sentiment. For brands, it is important that the CRM is taken seriously as something unattended can lead to a nationwide debate.

— Amyn Ghadiali, Director - Strategy, Gozoop

#WeTweet comes at a time where people are doubting the credibility of social media as a whole, with an increase in paid advertising, including influencer marketing for topics/products and services. Through this campaign, Twitter would be able to establish it's credibility as a platform for being the voice of the people.."

— Natasha Bharvani, Client Solutions Director, VMLY&R