So my last post talked about how I managed to build some buzz with a glowing preview on MacStories. Remember, that all started with Twitter and that is just one of the many stories that are beginning to unfold. I’ll cover those as they are realized but for now, here are some other things I’m doing with Twitter:

• Finally created a Twitter account for Grades: @gradesapp. This is for people who are interested in Grades and not necessarily interested in all the stuff I post with my @jerols account. I will be sending all @gradesapp followers a DM at launch, so it functions like a mailing list too.
• Created a Twitter list of bloggers that have a history of covering iPhone apps. I check this list multiple times a day to see if there are opportunities for me to genuinely engage with these folks (without spamming them).
• Created a Twitter list of Apple employees. The people who vote on what goes on “staff picks” and other featured sections in the app store are *gasp* real people. If you can get them excited about your app, chances are buzz will build inside Apple and your app may just get the vote. Don’t spam them—I haven’t mentioned Grades to any of them. Its all about genuine interactions. Eventually they’ll figure out that I’m working on a cool app called Grades. Another way to target Apple employees is by running targeted ads on Facebook.
• Right now I have been using my primary Twitter account to follow the people I want to engage with (not the @gradesapp account). I think the spam light goes off for influential people when they see something-app is following them. The people you care about will only follow you back if your tweets genuinely interest them, and updates on a single iPhone app usually won’t cut it. Get into their mind and look at your profile. What are your latest tweets about? Who are you talking to? If they see you engaging with somebody they respect, they are more likely to follow. Don’t get overly introspective but it helps to think consider these things a little bit when you’re about to engage someone on Twitter.

And this is just the beginning. Today I had lunch with the CLT Blog guys—The Carolina social media kings—and realized I am just beginning to touch the potential of social media. More on that later.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 11th, 2010 at 10:38 pm and is filed under iPhone App Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.