An increasingly popular aspect of Twitter is the velvet rope-less access it provides to celebrities: A- and D-listers alike. With an “@” symbol and verified (this is important!) account name, anyone with a keyboard can tweet to their favorite actor, artist or athlete.
For the star-struck, a tweet back is like a digital autograph, the next best thing to rubbing elbows in person. (Hello, bragging rights!) For retail marketing, it’s a terrific tactic to gain the attention of millions of followers.
But with stars’ @mention feeds flying faster than a G4, it takes a little bit of social media savvy to get noticed by the twitterati. Here are a few tips and tricks to get you started:
Go behind the scenes
Through Media Logic’s work with national entertainment retailer FYE and their contacts, @fyeguy has secured RTs, S/Os and responses from a variety of heavy hitters—including Nicki Minaj, Lupe Fiasco, Cody Simpson and MC Magic—by going straight to the artists’ “people” (publicists and managers). If they know you’ll be tweeting about their brand, they’ll often try to return the favor.
Time it right
Contacts not an option? Try it the organic way. Here, it’s all about timing. On my personal account, I once noticed Bethenny Frankel of Bravo TV fame had just tweeted. I sent her a question and within seconds got an answer (and a lot of, “Hey, look at you!” tweets from envious pals). The next day, Giada de Laurentiis shared her go-to healthy snack with me—again, because I asked at the right time. If you see that a certain star hasn’t tweeted in days, your chances of hearing back are slim.
Be creative
What you say is just as important as when you say it. Pose a thoughtful question or funny comment to make your tweet stand out. A friend of mine tweeted out a little rhyme to get Modern Family’s Eric Stonestreet to wish her a Happy Birthday. Did it work? Yes!
Tweet about them
If you manage a brand’s account, always include official account names when talking about a relevant product. (For FYE, if we’re tweeting about Jennifer Lopez’s new album, using @JLo is a must—just in case she wants to RT). Think about it: if someone tweeted about you, wouldn’t you pause to read it? And for those celebs who have ghostwriters, it’s the same deal.
Pay up
Got money to spend? Ad.ly works as a liaison between brands and big-time tweeters (Kim Kardashian, 50cent, Charlie Sheen and Mariah Carey, to name a few). But with their follower bases—Kim’s pulling in over 7 million—it comes at a steep price. Think upwards of $20,000 per tweet. (You can watch Kim talk about getting paid to tweet.) However you reach Hollywood, it’s undoubtedly a promising experience—and Ad.ly provides metrics to back it up.
So, who have you tweeted with?