NakedPizza: a Twitter success story

I’m one of those communicators who’s at least somewhat of a Twitter skeptic, but it’s undeniable that a few companies are tweeting their way to profitability. One example: NakedPizza. On its way to reinventing pizza, the New Orleans-based business is also redefining the ways in which social media can lure customers. This post on the Social Media Optimization blog provides a great overview of NakedPizza’s twitterage, but here are a few highlights:

• NakedPizza understands that Twitter is best used for short-term, immediate-action promotions—like this recent tweet: “looks like rain. good night for piza. we deliver. any lrg specialty piza only $12.95" - menu

• But they know that promotions should represent only a fraction of tweets, so NakedPizza spends a lot of time tweeting in ways consistent with their mission of delivering great-tasting pizza that's actually good for you—for example, “>50% evry food $ is spent on food from restaurants, vending machines, movie theaters, and schools. oh my.”

• And occasionally they just thank their customers: “Shout out to Americorps big ass pizza order. Massive. Thx for helping in new Orleans.”

• How do they generate followers? By offering a combination of good information, Twitter-specific promos and lots of retweets, and by integrating Twitter into their larger marketing efforts, like this billboard above their store.

To learn more about how NakedPizza is using Twitter, follow them at Twitter.com/NAKEDpizza.

--Anthony J.