Twitter: Good or Bad for Business
Posted by Liz Gallagher on Fri, Jul 17, 2009 @ 08:26 AM
Surveys on using Twitter for business always seem to have very mixed results - ranging from business owners who swear by it, to those who think it has some potential, to those who think it's a complete waste of time.
I myself can understand all of those points of view. When I first heard of Twitter, I too thought it would serve no purpose in the business world. After going to several meetings where social media was the main topic, I decided to give Twitter a chance (although I still wasn't convinced of its value.)
The more I learn about inbound marketing and building relationships through social media, I have come around to see more and more value to using Twitter for business. Twitter is not only a great way to share your expertise and to establish yourself as a thought leader in your field, but you can also learn so much from your fellow Twitter users. It's like having a whole research team at your fingertips and I have learned so much from the tweets of other users who have linked me to blogs and articles that I probably would've never found on my own.
The key to using Twitter effectively is to follow the right people and to join in on the right conversations. You don't want to follow someone who tweets about what they ate for breakfast or what they are watching on TV. Likewise, people won't want to follow you if you are not sharing valuable information. You can also follow your competition on Twitter to see what they are up to. [But remember that they are probably following you too, so don't tweet what you don't want your competition to know about!]
Valuable information doesn't mean you have to give away your trade secrets, but you could share an interesting blog article (written by you or someone else.) Or you could share a link to a video that you find interesting or an upcoming webinar.
You can also use Twitter to find out what people are saying about your company - including your customers. Addressing complaints or issues is a great way to improve customer satisfaction. Let your customers know that you are listening to them.
After all, listening and relationship building is what social media is all about.
What are your thoughts on the use of Twitter for Business? Add a comment below!