Twitter Tips you can learn from Apolo Ohno and his Zero Regrets book launch

This week, I'm willing to bet that well over 200,000 people will purchase (or at the very least, plan to purchase) Zero Regrets: Be Greater than Yesterday, a memoir by Olympic champion Apolo Ohno.  Why?  Because Ohno has become an expert in social media marketing, particularly with Twitter, where he has roughly 204,500 followers and averages 150 new followers per day.

Ohno knows his audience.  He tweets from the heart, and gives them reasons to follow and stay motivated.  Here's how he does it.

Tip #1:  Make every post meaningful. You are what you publish.

Apolo Ohno launched his @ApoloOhno Twitter account during the summer before the 2010 Winter Olympic games with a strong first post:

July 19, 2009:

7 hours of training complete. 1 more training session to go. Champions are made when the curtain is down....I love it :-) Apolo Anton Ohno

While his Twitter account was young, this message was re-tweeted because it showed his personality and his passion.  It also energized followers to stay tuned well before the Olympics. Each post should offer value to the follower.

Tip #2:  Make it episodic, while sharing some news 

For someone with high visibility like Ohno, his audience is unique in that they're willing to read anything he posts.  Looking at the entire timeline, Ohno has tweeted everything including his gastronomic appetite, albeit a healthy one, Dancing with the Stars, interesting dreams, 8Zone, school visits for Century Council and his Maui vacation with his Alaska Airlines sponsor... This is interactive storytelling - many of which garnered tremendous media attention in their own right. Plus, it has a way of getting followers addicted.  In early Spring, 2010 Ohno started tweeting about his book, Zero Regrets.   In one of his early posts about his book, (if not his first) he tweets:

March 9, 2010

So pumped up for tomorrow and Thursday meetings about my new book! More to come---- Plus I'm in one of my fav cities in the world! NYC Apolo Anton Ohno

This tweet accomplished several things by giving his followers a tip on his next major move after the 2010 Winter Olympics.  "More to come" also gave them an action to stay tuned or keep following.  Finally,  he noted his love for New York City.  This got Big Apple followers excited about their city and roused followers from other parts of the nation to encourage him to come visit their city someday. (And, just maybe they were already thinking about the book signing opportunity in their town.)

Tip #3: Offer the invitation to interact and stay connected.

Ohno has been very good at interacting with his Twitter followers.  While he receives a large number of @mentions each day, he's proactive in checking them and re-tweeting whenever he feels moved to do so.   Here, he posts simultaneously to @8zone and @ApoloOhno via Facebook about his Twitter interview about his book, among other topics, with@WonderwallMSN.  If followers feel it's worth it, they'll tell their friends.

October 22, 2010:

Tune in to my live Twitterview with @WonderwallMSN in 15 mins - HERE ON TWITTER! #ZeroRegretsBook #DWTS                        #206FOODMAN#MR25/8 8 Zone

Generally, Twitter followers list their @mentions to thank them for their re-tweets.  Ohno spreads his appreciation and acknowledgment with whole-hearted thanks and blessings.  This shows personal engagement followers like to exchange.  This is very true for businesses, large and small.

June 28, 2010

180,000 followers. I'm truly blessed to have people in my life who are interested enough to hear about what's going on with me! Thank u!Apolo Anton Ohno

Tip #4: Consistent messaging strengthens the brand.

One thing is for sure. Ohno's followers know that once a day, he's going to tweet some inspiring, motivational message.  He stays true to his brand and persona.  Followers rely on receiving information that is useful to them and shares the love.  This tweet was re-tweeted 65 times.

August 26, 2010

Create your own path. No guarantee that you'll reach what u are striving 4 - but u must continue either way. #nolookingback#ZeroRegrets #FBless

Tip #5: Trend topics with the hashtag.

When starting a topic on Twitter, the hashtag is a must.  But, make sure the hashtag is small and simple.  Afterall, you need to leave room for retweets.  Ohno has consistently hashtagged his book with #ZeroRegretsBook.  This shows his conscious effort to get the name out and search-able within the Twitter community and beyond.

Tip #6:  Offer a greater experience with tweets that direct followers to photos, video and/or music.

While there have been some great images from the Olympic games, Ohno has added fun and quirky photos of himself, food, scenery, etc. to mix it up and keep followers engaged. Being part of the hugely successful Old Spice viral ad campaign allowed him to partake in making it even more successful, as he made mention, and offered links to the Old Spice YouTube channel.

Tip #7:  Think in 120-character tweets.

Micro-blog and leave 20 for re-tweets.  Ohno has done this successfully by asking simple questions to his followers about recommendations on where to eat in town, feedback on projects he's considering, etc..  He's also savvy about sending out short tweets that make an impact and inspsire followers to send his message along or reply.

Avid followers are familiar with his style:  spontaneous, meaningful, insightful, fun and packed with surprising tidbits about his personal interests like sports, cars, and food, for example.

October 6, 2010

Let's go tweeps! Countdown 2 the official release of "Zero Regrets" Soon! Oct. 26th! Stay motivated! I'm back @ it...with pure intensity. Apolo Anton Ohno

With Zero Regrets: Be Greater than Yesterday out this week, he's gracious in his tweets, trending the topic, and followers will know where to meet him for a book signing in their city.  Nicely done.

How a Magazine Writer Uses Social Media

As a freelance magazine writer, I've come to rely on obtaining information and even inspiration from the Web.  Having loads of great PR contacts and receiving their steady stream of press releases and emails is always appreciated.  But, I don't I rely on them entirely when sitting down to write the story.  I let my fingers do the research.

Like a spiders crawling websites, I, too, search and search and search for pertinent, relative and authentic information to help build the story.  I may go to Linkedin to find out more about a person's business expertise, to Twitter to gather daily thoughts and ramblings, to YouTube to catch someone in action, to Four Square to see where people are in the day, to Facebook, to keep in touch with businesses and people in general, and so on.  Then, of course there are blogs written about a certain topics, or published articles to compare the content, tone, or to discover new angles.

As a freelance writer, I also have to know who I am writing for by understanding the publication thoroughly and being aware of their readers' interests.  Through social media, I can easily keep up by following their tweets, visiting their online magazine (although content for print is usually distinctively different than online versions), and reading back issues of publications that I am interested in submitting queries to.

The information is all there.  Best of all, it's not a one-way street.  There's plenty of opportunity for interaction to take anything, from writing a story, to building relationships to the next level.