Should My Business Be On Twitter?

Everyone has heard of Twitter at this point, but not everyone knows what it is. Many do not understand the purpose of Twitter or how it can be used to market for a business. Twitter is a form of social networking. Users are supposed to post about what they are thinking. It can be thought of like a text-based mini-blog, since a post, known as a Tweet, can not have more than 140 characters. A unique aspect to Twitter is that all posts are in real time.  Here are some ways your business can take advantage of Twitter:

• Twitter is an excellent way to target and inform certain groups of people. A particular gender, interest, region, or device can be zeroed in on. Just a keyword can be used to locate a potential audience. 
• Twitter is accessible twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. An opportunity can be seized at any moment by being relevant to what is going on now. 
• Twitter offers tools to help analyze who is being reached as well as sentiment towards your Tweets. New followers can be tracked and whether any of those followers have transitioned to clients or consumers.

From a business marketing standpoint, you can not loose by utilizing Twitter. It is a free service. Only text messaging cell phone rates may apply. With that said, some marketing strategies are better than others when using Twitter to help grow your business. For example:

• Do not spam. Do not simply blast the link to your website. You do not want to be written off as a spammer and forever ignored. You need to mix in some relevant value or entertainment.
• Do not “cold tweet”. Do not be a random tweeter without anything interesting or pertinent to say. This is another good way of getting labelled a spammer.

Let social media work for your company. Twitter is an forceful tool when applied properly to a business marketing strategy.