4 Things I Learned by Giving a Way an iPad on Twitter
For the last four years, my focus has been on building two brands from scratch: Cali Lewis and GeekBrief.TV. GeekBrief.TV has been a top technology podcast for four years running. Cali Lewis has 67,000+ followers on Twitter, and the most exciting thing for me is that the brands we built from scratch (and eating ramen noodles) have influence in the consumer electronics industry. That’s neat!
We recognized some really good strategies that can be replicated, and I’m now applying what we learned from building Cali’s brand to my personal brand. One of the things we did to grow her followers was to give things away. We didn’t do it often, but it was effective when we did. Scott Bourne is the king of using give-aways to grow his influence on Twitter, and I recommend studying what he does if it’s something you want to try.
Some people are only on Twitter to enter contests
This may not be shocking to anyone but me, but I was shocked to learn some people are only on Twitter to enter contests. They follow people to enter and Re-Tweet entries over and over again. I had an interaction with one woman who was working to make it as an assistant director in Hollywood. I asked her why she 
isn’t using Twitter to develop a personal brand. Her answer was she hadn’t thought to use Twitter like that. If she tweeted about her life as a struggling assistant director, it very well could be fascinating and who knows what that could lead to? I’m sure something more valuable than a chance iPad.
People are on Twitter for whatever reason it makes sense to them. Some of us are there for friends. Some of us are there for news and information. Some of us are there to market, and I guess some of us are there to win things. Almost once a day, someone told me they followed me for a chance to win the iPad, but they were glad they did because they got value from the information I share on Twitter. I learned that just because a person only tweets to enter a contest, it doesn’t mean they aren’t paying attention to who they’re following. It isn’t a two-way conversation for most of them, but ultimately if they weren’t interested in what I tweeted, they unfollowed when the contest ended.
A few people get mad if they don’t win
Every time we’ve given something away through Twitter or GeekBrief.TV, a few people have gotten upset with us after not winning. It isn’t something I really understand, but it’s good to prepare yourself for it so you’re not caught off guard. I try to respond sympathetically. My wish for every person who likes me or hates me is that they should have an iPad, so I’m disappointed for the people who didn’t win. The old commercial was about buying the world a Coke and everyone living in harmony. That sums up how I feel about iPads.
twitRand is limited by the Twitter API
twitRand is the best way I’ve found to pick a random follower, but the Twitter API has limitations that keep twitRand from being a perfect solution. From what I understand the best solution would involve sucking all the tweeted entries into a database and selecting from that. I had a conversation with someone after the contest ended and he might build something that does just that. I would pay a fee to a company that handles entries and insures the process is as fair as technically possible. I learned about tweetaways.com after the fact and that might have been the best solution, but at the time I announce the give away, twitRand was all I found.
Re-tweets work, but are they worth it?
Since I made the mistake of not developing my personal brand at the same time I worked on the Cali brand, I’ve had to correct that quickly. I’m still working on it and have a long way to go!
I don’t like the idea of contributing to noise on Twitter so I had to compromise THAT value in order to kickstart my personal branding campaign. Having people retweet my brand helped me increase my Twitter stats, but I’m sure it annoyed people too. One guy was so annoyed he created a parody twitter account and followed people who were following me. Some thought it was me. Ultimately, he made it clear he isn’t me and was just having fun at my expense and I can definitely live with that.
The biggest problem with the re-tweets is that I fear they’ll never end even though @TheNobber already one the iPad. Lots of people re-tweeted the links without ever going to Neal.TV to learn the details about the contest. All-in-all there were just over 6,000 tweets referencing Neal.TV during the time of the contest. Only a small number of people continue to tweet the link, but it could conceivable continue for a long, long time. Maybe I’ll start DMing them one at a time to let them know.
Overall, I’m happy with the results. There are things I would do different next time, but I can’t say the negatives outweigh the positives. After the contest ended, I lost about 150 followers and now the number is slowly growing again. The contest increased my numbers by almost 4000. Numbers in social media, when you’re doing it right, are about influence and credibility. My hope is that I either add value to people’s lives when I tweet, or that I make people smile by linking to something funny. My previous mission was to do whatever it took to help Cali succeed. I hope my new mission can be to help lots of other people succeed in using Web video to enhance their brands, and maybe I can continue to win along the way too.
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I admit, I found you bc of the iPad contest and yes, I enter a ton of contests on twitter (that fact is recent bc I am now unemployed). However, about 90% of the people I follow on twitter bc of the contests, I actually read their facebook page and tweets and begin interacting with them to learn more about their product or the person themselves. I like looking at your feed, personal facebook page (thanks for letting me in) and videos. It is very interesting. I think the goal of many twitter contests is to find people like me, who might initially follow for one reason (the contest) but stay bc of the product or the person and then tell others about it. If I like something, I DO tell others. I also RT tweets after contests are over and continue to interact after contests bc I want to. Not everyone is like me though.
Neal – I’ve messed around with Twitter quit a bit, but have yet to find any real value in tweeting things outside of the use you’ve mentioned above. All of my blogs tweet when I post something, but that’s all I use it for right now.
I should develop a VWitter service… twitter, only you tweet videos.
I could code that in a week or two.
So this means I did not win the iPad…
may the one who did enjoy it !!! (I don’t have the money to buy one)
I am following Neal not only for the contest of course but also for his tweets which are sometimes very interesting.
Mike, wouldn’t that be twitvid, which does exist ?
Neal, I think I started following you because of the credits on geekbrief, keep up the good work.
@Mike, someone has already done that. It’s called 12seconds.tv.
@Neal, I’ve wondered about the best value a giveaway should be. I could giveaway a free year’s domain registration, but is that enticing enough? Maybe I could give away a $10 iTunes Store gift certificate, which seems to have more perceived value, even though it’s worth the same as a year of domain registration.
Some things to think about, I guess.
Regarding the idea of sucking Tweets into a database. Since you are using WordPress, try using the Twitter Tools plugin by Alex King. If you configure it correctly, it will maintain a rolling archive of your Tweets in a custom table in the WordPress database — then from there, you can do whatever you need with them. I use it just as a way to easily archive my Tweets.
@Spamboy’s comment gave me an idea. You could also grab the RSS feed from a Twitter.com search and feed it into a Google Docs spreadsheet.
I went to the website when I retweeted the link, however at the time there was nothing there, that might have been a problem with people not visiting much.
I started following you because Cali had tweeted your contest. I did the RT thing and have been following you ever since. I am a huge tech geek and love following both you and Cali. By the way, your show is great. I watch each and every one. I have to say I enjoy your personal tweets as much as your tech tweets. It is nice to meet someone out there in the geek world who is not afraid to tweet about their Christian life. Thank you for that.
I started following for the contest. Yep, I a twitter sweeper but I chat a lot as well. Hubs however is a die hard geekbrief fan. He’s a techy and he and our boy (4) watch the podcast. Cali Lewis (Calienenez) was one of the boys first words a couple of years back.
When I do catch a moment of the show, I have no idea what Cali is talking about but really envy her knowledge and love her persona.
I totally agree that some people get very upset when they don’t win. I don’t get it. Also, I totally pay attention to who I follow and who follows me. This lead me here today cause a Neal Campbell knock off started following me to “tweet about hmmmm
Anyhow thanks a lot for the contest because of it I am following you and will continue it would be sacrilege to not. Who knows maybe I’ll be able to share some techy info. with hubs. before he does with me. Ohlala.
Thanks fans of the brand
Paula
BTW I did win an iPad from a twitter contest
Daddy’s Day gift to hubs from the kiddos. Woot. Contest are a fab way to increase following!
i started following you from seeing the contest on geekbrief. and i retweated. i am not very good at the tweet stuff. i have tried to do a direct tweet to people or answer questions but i am not sure if they ever got through. i dont personly tweet stuff couse i dont do much to tweet about. and i still follow you even though i didnt know if the contest was over yet. i sort of forgot about the contest and was just reading what you tweeted.
Neal,
Great post on Twitter lessons learned. Thanks for sharing.
I’ve often sat back and admired you from the pespective that you were so willing to give of yourself and build Cali’s personal brand at the expense of your own. You’ve played as big a part in GB as she has. Now, with the unfortunate circumstances of your relationship, you find yourself playing catchup.
Hang in there and good luck. You’re a smart guy – I don’t see eye to eye with you on your political views, but I respect your perserverance and your marketing abilities.
-Scott