Tweeting has taken the world by storm. Now is the time for small businesses to engage in this Social media to reach brand new customers.
Have We Got A Real Tweet For You
In 2006 three young American dudes had a “daylong brainstorming session” and came up with the idea for Twitter. The reason they called it Twitter was because it means “a short burst of inconsequential information” and “chirps from birds”. Six years on and Twitter is booming. 140 million of us send approximately 340 million tweets per day. Not all tweets are inconsequential.
It’s true that you can watch and participate in conversations of with rock stars, sports stars and film stars. However, Twitter is not just a place for celebrities to air details of their exciting lives or talking about what you had for breakfast. It has become an indispensable communications tool for businesses, non-profit organisations, celebrities and people all around the globe.
Twitter is having a real impact on how we receive information both on the news and in the media. It has become a key communications channel during major political events and natural disasters. And businesses now rely on it for marketing, PR and customer service. The fact is if you don’t Tweet then you are missing out on one of the fastest growing social network platforms for your business.
What is Twitter?
Twitter is a messaging service that allows you to send and receive messages no longer than 140 characters, or about the size of a news headline. That means that they are really easy to write and read. Messages on Twitter are public, and you don’t have to give people permission to see what you have written making it easy to meet new people on Twitter.
Here are 7 reasons why your business should use Twitter:
It’s Easy To Locate and Engage With Customers
Twitter is based on a system of give and take. You post a tweet and your followers respond. It’s simple, direct, and enables you to build a relationship with your current or future clients. With a 140-character limit per tweet, Twitter is not a substantial time investment.
People on Twitter expect your business to engage with them.
No matter what your sector, the chances are, people are already tweeting about your products, your brand, your company or at the very least, your industry.
It Helps Build Your Brand:
What you Tweet is a piece of your brand just like your logo or a jingle in a commercial. Your tweets help to define you and your business. For example, is your business family-oriented? Does popular music have an impact on your products? Every post you make will have an impact on your brand, so post wisely.
You Can Offer an Irresistible Deal:
Everybody loves getting a great deal. When one pops up on their Twitter feed, it can build excitement and generate buzz.
It works like this: One follower re-tweets your message to his followers. They then re-tweet on to another and they re-tweet to another…
Here are some other tactics that companies use:
Promotions: Offer Twitter-specific discount codes. Most companies report that lower priced items are much more likely to get uptake but do some testing and see what works for you.
Contests: People on Twitter LOVE a contest. A fun, creative game with good rewards can generate a great buzz. If you do run a contest, be sure to describe it on your website and include legal details and small print to cover you and keep it legal.
Contests and genuinely good deals DO get re-tweeted, so they are a great way of drawing not just business, but brand new followers too.
Another good tip is this: If you do offer a deal, post it a number of times. That way, you guarantee the maximum number of people see it and it won’t just slip under the radar of a lot of people
It’s Great For Networking:
It is well known that people have landed new jobs and contracts with contacts who they met through Twitter. As a small business owner, Twitter can help you manage your contacts to uncover new opportunities for growth.
You Can Engage With Journalists and PR People:
Twitter is home to thousands of journalists, media workers and PR people. If you look at practically every major online news site you will come across at least one story taken from Twitter.
Media people trawl through Twitter, trying to find newsworthy posts and trends. So if you are looking for a little exposure for your business, Twitter can be a great place to connect with these people.
Here is how you can do it:
Post great messages: If your Twitter account is a resource in your sector, journalists will be more willing to trust you. They might even find you through retweets and comments that other people make if your posts are good enough.
Follow the media people who cover your sector: Quite often they will tweet when they are looking for sources. You can build a better relationship with them by following them.
Keep in mind though, that they have a lot of people trying to do the same thing so they will be wary and will be able to tell if you are just trying to use them for self interest.
Follow ‘Help A Reporter Out’ (@helpareporter): Yes, that account really exists. The owner of the account regularly posts inquiries from reporters looking for legitimate sources.
You Can Solve Customer Service Issues:
Every business, no matter how big or popular they are has some customer service issues. It is impossible to please all of the people all of the time. A customer with a negative experience may head to Twitter to release their furyand tell the world.
Savvy companies have figured out that they need to find ways to control the message and do some damage limitation. Having an active Twitter account means you can handle these potential issues directly, before they spiral out of control. The cool thing about Twitter is that you can reply in public, showing everybody that you are a responsive, caring company. A potentially negative situation can then be turned on its head, and made into a positive experience.
Twitter is a great way for tackling situations like this. It’s likely, when issues arise, a number of people have the same issue, so answering publicly can help a lot of people all at once saving you lots of time and aggravation.
You Can Tell People Your Latest News:
Twitter is a fantastic way to push out the latest news about your company. For example, if you’re preparing to open a new location or unveil a new product, a series of strategic tweets is a cost-effective way to provide that information.
A word of warning though: Don’t make all of your posts just about your company. If you are a brand that a lot of people already love and are fans of, like Apple for example then you can probably get away with posting mostly about your company. But if you are just a small company and not well known, it is best not just post about your own company all of the time.
Taking this approach will help build your credibility with existing and potential customers.
You Can Provide Product Information:
If you are just about to launch a brand new product or service Twitter is a great tool for getting the word out to the masses. A good tweet can build up a buzz and get lots of interest as people start up conversations. At the same time, you can be informative and establish trust with your followers so that they will be eager to buy your product or use your services.
Think about Twitter as a way to exchange mutually interesting information. And there are a lot of people out there to exchange it with!
THE FAMOUS 5
They are the most popular and followed Tweeters in the world . . . but there’s no need to follow the herd!
1. JUSTIN BIEBER 33,762,968 Followers
2. LADY GAGA 33,641,920 Followers
3. KATY PERRY 31,791,765 Followers
4. RIHANNA 28,086,854 Followers
5. BRITNEY SPEARS 23,557,686 Followers
How We Can Help
Having worked with many local businesses we are in an excellent position to be able to help you promote your company online especially if your website is not performing as well as you had hoped.
We know how daunting and time consuming online marketing can be for many businesses. Most business owners we speak to just want to be able to get on with doing what they do best and running their business and leave their online marketing with a company that they can trust.
We are a local online marketing company. We are incredibly friendly and have a wealth of experience in online marketing. We have a number of services and packages that will suit your business perfectly and give you a strong online presence which will attract thousands of extra visitors and customers to your website.
If you don’t have the time or confidence to get started online then please give us a call or email us. You will be so glad that you did.