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If you’re on Twitter, you’ve probably browsed around the myriad of tools out there, from third-party developers and Twitter itself, that are meant to help you manage your profile. There’s apps and services for everything you can imagine – finding followers, auto-managing followers, creating backgrounds, promoting yourself, advertising, analytics, spam detectors, widgets…you get the picture.
For those who are new to Twitter, or the social web in general, it can be a little overwhelming. There’s lots of advice, services and proclaimed experts out there who make it even more overwhelming and confusing. Our intentions are to give you the straight talk: How can you, as a business person, use social websites like Twitter to promote your business goals?
One note before we dig in. Twitter is just one of an ever-growing number of online tools that you can use for business purposes. To really make social media work for you, you need to sprinkle your brand, your content, yourself and your company all around the web, on more than just a single website. Our intentions are to first highlight the ‘heavy-hitters’ and to get you started on platforms that you can’t afford to leave out of your arsenal of social media tools.
It’s also important to remember that Twitter is a tactic. It needs to be part of your larger communications and marketing strategy, not a replacement of it.
The Benefits of Becoming a Twitterfied Business
(Please excuse the not-so-clever Twitter reference. Just couldn’t resist!) Think about what you want to get out of Twitter. Despite Twitter’s proclaimed purpose of allowing “friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?” Twitter is really a place for exchanging value – you get something that you need and offer others something of value in exchange. It’s a place of shared community and common interest.
You may choose to use Twitter for personal reasons – like communicating with friends, or maybe following your favorite celebs – and this is great. But from a business perspective, Twitter can offer a lot, including:
- Competitive Analysis. What perceptions are out there about your competition? What’s being said about them? Are they even being talked about?
- Brand Positioning. Face it: Chances are people are talking about your company, whether you’re initiating the conversation or not. If they are, you need to know about it. You need to start listening and contributing to the conversation.
- Industry Trending. Twitter is a place where thought leaders gather. What better way to stay on top of your industry than to follow and join in their conversations.
- Networking. Connect with like-minded people you have never even met and probably never will. It's the perfect place for people who cringe at the word "network" to showcase what they have to offer.
- Lead Generation. Find people who are in need of and are actively seeking the products or services you offer.
- Relationship Building. Don’t just find your prospects, get to know them and allow them to get to know you. Build even stronger bonds with existing customers.
- Customer Feedback. Reach out to your customers, on a personal level, and find out what they’re thinking. Two-way communication is key.
These are just some of the uses of Twitter for business. Every day, companies are discovering new benefits and ways to advance their business goals - one 140-character-or-less message at at time. The only way for you to know, is to get involved. Think about what it is you want to achieve on Twitter. For those who have yet to hop on the Twitter train, our next post will walk you through the step-by-step process of signing up.