Twitter and Small Business
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- Category: Blog
- Created on Monday, 22 August 2011 14:13
- Written by Melanie Lalloo
- Hits: 5553
As a small business owner who has recently ‘tuned’ into the whole Social Networking phenomenon I am still not entirely sure how best to use this tool for my business.
I am confident in our company, products and services and for this reason don’t want jump on the ‘band wagon’ purely because it seems like the popular thing to do. I want to understand and commit with confidence as we also develop our Social Network Reputation.
What this has made me realize was that I needed to understand ‘the why’? Why execute a Social Network plan on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn?
While pondering over this question in my mind I believe that the best way I can learn ‘the why’ is simply by participating.
As I sit here at my desk I have decided that I am going to become more involved in one of the mediums that we as a company have setup to become more electronically connected – Twitter.
Since I have absolutely no idea at this initial point ‘How to update or add a tweet, follow someone or be followed’ I turned to my research guide Google. The question that I typed in the search bar was simple – How do I use Twitter effectively for my business? Press enter and my screen is flooded with a little over 100000 possible answers. Everything from books to video’s to the ever so popular 101 ways to ….
I have learned that this mainstream medium has led to a growth rate of over 10 million regular tweeters worldwide. Talk about word of mouth. Twitter allows you to ‘tweet’ from your computer, phone, or other mobile device. Posts must be short – no more than 140 characters long. ‘The advice offered by most super bloggers encourages tweeters to be reciprocal when tweeting, counseling that any form of Social Networking works best when a notion of give-and-take is felt. It’s not only about you, your company, products and services. Simply put if you want word about you to spread on Twitter, you need to make your tweets count.
In addition, you want to identify your audience’s interests as well as their needs and ‘hurts’. You will also want to have a clear idea of what your audience has to gain from being a part of your network as well as interacting with it.
Making sure the people you follow also follow back is another vital task. Send useful topical information on current events; mix up the conversation a bit. Keep in mind Twitter is designed to be a social networking site and is not strictly a promotional tool. Sending out just a few too many tweets promoting your business will soon result in a sharp reduction in your number of followers.
Strive to develop the ability to build good relations – this is a basic principle for life. Remember listen and learn from the feedback you receive. Use your words wisely and try to make unique and interesting posts.
Successes on Twitter are only guaranteed if you are prepared to put in the effort and come to know how to use the site the smart way.
