"Today I interviewed a squirrel in my backyard and then threw to commercial. Somebody help me."
 
So wrote Conan O'Brien, in his first ever Tweet a few weeks ago. His first foray into Twitter was an instant trending topic and garnered 15,000 followers in the first half hour. He continued with a blistering pace of one Tweet per day over the next couple of weeks, until March 5 when this appeared:
 
"I've decided to follow someone at random. She likes peanut butter and gummy dinosaurs. Sarah Killen, your life is about to change."
 
A smart stunt that showcased Conan's quirky humor, utilized the medium perfectly and gave O'Brien trending topic status yet again. Then, the next week, he used Twitter to announce a comedy tour:
 
"Hey Internet: I'm headed to your town on a half-a$$ed comedy & music tour. Go to http://TeamCoco.com for tix. I repeat: It's half-a$$ed."
 
The tour sold out instantly and a new Twitter star was born. As of today, Coco's got over 670,000 followers (Leno, by the way, has only 37,000).
 
It's really not surprising that Conan O'Brien would be a natural on Twitter. His fame and quick wit has brought him a level of social media success that is both interesting to follow and analyze, especially given the short span of time in which he has been active along these channels.

Some cool things Conan did while Tweeting:

1. He kept them wanting more. That first Tweet gave Coco instant trending topic status. Keeping the Tweets to a minimum built buzz and expectation. Which meant his every Tweet had trending topic status for that first week.
2. He rewarded his followers. By announcing his tour on Twitter, he let his followers feel like they were in the know.
3. He used the right "voice." Unlike Leno's Twitter feed, O'Brien's at least appears to be written by him. Which makes it feel so much more personal and interesting to follow.
   

While Conan proved his social media prowess during his first month of Tweeting, these are by no means a list of "rules" for Twitter. It's easy to look for what's worked in the past or how other brands have done it when formulating a Twitter strategy. But what's right for one brand isn't necessarily right for another. O'Brien's Tweeting worked because he obviously has a firm understanding of both his brand and the medium. His success should remind us that each brand should be sure they have the same understanding before venturing out into any medium, especially Twitter where backlash can be swift and difficult to undo.



Image Credit: Justin Stephens on http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20172074,00.html