TWITTER FOR BUSINESS: BEYOND SOCIAL NETWORKING?
Let’s face it… if you are an avid twitterer, you know
that its use stretches beyond mere social interaction. With its major potential
for innovative communication, Twitter could be used to interact with business
worldwide. Plus, it is very easy to get started, reports Fellows and Associates’
independent correspondent Rochelle Sampy.
With the rapid expansion of technology and the growth of
the internet, businesses are finding they need to move past traditional forms
of communication in order to create their unique organisational brand in the
international business world. Whether it is for customer service, recruitment,
competitions or free giveaways, companies can use this constant stream of
communication to continuously grow their business and keep in close contact
with their customers. Twitter can help a business increase their web traffic
and customer base, and connect with respected industry experts that would have
previously been out of reach.
Jonathan Schwartz, Chief Executive of Sun Microsystems
(JAVA) believes that Twitter allows thousands of his employees and developers
to connect with customers, 24 hours a day. Duct Tape Marketing founder John
Jantsch praises the informational
benefits of Twitter as he is able to get useful answers and valuable insights
to expand his business, when he asks the right questions. David Meerman Scott,
bestselling author, mentions that Twitter enabled him to book a major interview
with a big newspaper, which increased his visibility as an author.
There is no standard recipe for success, but here are a
few general points to get your company account started and help you grow your
business on Twitter:
1) When
you are a new business tweeter, the first step is to use the Twitter search. Do
view the popularity of your business name as well as other competitive
businesses that might populate your space. Tweet only what is relevant to your
business needs but demonstrate your interpersonal skills. When trying to
interact with potential followers, talk to them about their interests and share
or retweet interesting facts about their space. Although this is your business
space, tweeters must also learn to converse on topics of non – business so that
other users will see you as a human being with personal interests and unique
knowledge.
2) Ask
questions. Twitter can be an unlimited source of thought provoking answers that
can create new ideas and techniques to ensure expansion of your business. Think
carefully about the question you need to ask. Follow interesting people, even
if they might not have an obvious direct impact on your business. Sometimes,
the brightest ideas emerge from the unlikeliest of places and a lot of your
questions will be formed around what people are talking about. Know your limit
on promoting your own business features and remember to leave helpful comments
on any of your followers’ pages when appropriate.
3) Learn
about the Twitter tools, and use them. Some can be mastered over time, but here
a few that could be used from the start. SocialOomph, formerly known as
TweetLater, allows you to schedule when you want tweets to appear on your page.
So you can plan any relevant tweets in advance, for example at the start of the
week, and then you can check the popularity of the tweet for the rest of the
seven days. Sign up for email digests of keyword activity in the Tweetosphere,
which allows you to keep track of current topics and trends. TwitterFox lets
users of Firefox view tweets in their web browser, whilst Twitter for Facebook
transfers your Twitter updates to your Facebook profile page. Lastly, don’t
forget to start using bit.ly, the free URL shortener (other paid services include
BudURL), to make your tweets more concise and if you possess many social media
accounts, take a look at ping.fm, which authorises you to post updates on all
these sites in just one step.
4) Formulate
a Twitter strategy or a regular plan of action. It is important that your
followers and other businesses are provided with a constant flow of information
that in turn will help grow your business. Decide on the contents of your
Twitter plan. It could be specialised
information and resources in the form of articles, podcasts or features,
tailored for your interactive customers. Create categories/ lists of the topics
you would like to talk about, usually three months in advance. Perhaps you
could use your space to run surveys and ask questions, whilst remembering to
schedule some time to track current topics and trends. Who is going to be in
charge of this account? If in a company, it could be useful to have a number of
individuals with specialist knowledge updating the space regularly, so as to
vary the content and style. It is also said that in order to engage your
followers on a more personal level, you should give 20% of your tweets a
personal touch (although not many people will care what you had for breakfast,
so use your common sense!). And remember to always respond to your mentions and
retweets.
This article reflects the author’s opinions only. You can contact our news team via email at [email protected]