When you’re tweeting for a client, sometimes the way you tweet is just as important as what you’re tweeting. Recently I was asked to craft a set of tweets for one of our clients – a colleague was running into a mental wall: the tweets needed to be fun and hip, a little irreverent but also savvy. But the subject matter was technical in nature—nothing that screamed “we’re having a ball over here!” As I read up on the subject, I could tell why my colleague was struggling: how to make something that is complex, functional—and let’s admit it, dry—sound exciting? In only 140 characters?
I worked on the tweets when I’d usually be working on creative writing projects—a Saturday afternoon after consuming several cups of coffee and reading a few chapters of a novel about poets wandering around Mexico. It put me in the right mood.
But today I stumbled upon a great resource for inspiration for those creative tweets, maybe even better than the rambling prose of Roberto Bolano. TIME’s 140 Best Twitter Feeds. Maybe this is a no-brainer I should have thought of long ago—but PR professionals can learn how to tap into new twitter “voices” by reading tweets by the best, funniest and smartest people around. After poking around TIME’s list, I signed up for some of my favorites. Here’s a short selection of the crème de la crème:
Margaret Atwood
But tho' will not sing Oklahoma song at USAO, will show hardly-ever-seen slide of self & Queen, in which we look eerily alike...
It’s just fun to be connected to Margaret Atwood in some little way without, you know, actually stalking her.
Kanye West
I just zoned on how ill it is to really fall in love... Pimpin' is whatev ... Love is that sh*t!
Can’t wait for that future client whose brand voice includes keywords like pimpin’ and bling.
Thanks @charliesheen for the compliment. To clarify, I'm 7'1", a super genius, and those aren't freckles -- it's male menopausal acne.
By far, best twitter feed I’ve ever read.
Charlie Sheen (Conan’s not the only fan of ‘the Warlock’)
hyaena gallery tonight. Olive Ave. Burbank. epic & most insane tribute to the Warlock. Video commentary by me in bigness form. C
Okay, Charlie’s not on the TIME’s list (they know when to back away slowly) but I think every PR person should be following Chuck—it’s such an amazing train wreck, how could you miss it? Number one lesson: Unless you’re harvesting peyote in South Texas, you don’t get to refer to yourself as “the warlock.”
So don’t take your cues from Charlie Sheen, but do start following people who inspire you in your everyday life—chances are, if they wow you on the page/in a rap song/on TV, they’re going to be writing the tweets worth reading.
