Twitter for business
Why use Twitter for business
Using Twitter as part of your social media marketing makes perfect sense considering the number of small business owners who are already gaining exposure and sales from being part of it. What many Twitter users find is that by using this social networking community, you get access to many key potential customers and contacts.
Apart from the obvious benefits associated with social media of building a following and becoming a recognised expert in your field, Twitter has a few more valuable reasons for using in your business marketing plan.
Develop Key Contacts
By following and interacting with other business contacts in your industry, you can build some key contacts that prove to be useful in the future when building your business. You can start to share each other’s content and may be able to collaborate on projects or refer work to each other. I met a contact through Twitter who has helped me answer client questions I was not able to and who I have then referred work to since. We have built an excellent collaborative working relationship together and would have never known about each other if it wasn’t for Twitter.
Trending Topics & Current Events
By watching Twitter you can keep up to date with what is trending in your industry and what is grabbing people’s attention and interest. Twitter is also great at letting you know what is happening with current events and breaking news. It was reported back in 2011 that Twitter users read about an earthquake in Washington D.C. thirty seconds before it actually hit them! Don’t underestimate the power of Twitter.
Thought Provoking
By listening in on other conversations, you may just open up your mind to other ideas that you would not have otherwise thought about. You may then be able to think creatively of ways to use this information in your own business, whether by marketing in a different way or creating a product or service that isn’t being fully provided yet. Or it may just provide food for thought for a new blog post to send your own circle to capture their attention and build your reputation as being an expert in your field.
Develop Your Own Following
It takes time and patience to develop your own following on Twitter but by posting interesting and informative content and participating in other conversations, you will start to build brand awareness of your business and what you do. Once people start to trust you and enjoy your Tweets you can get to a point where you will be able to promote to them directly. Post a link so they can subscribe your blog or give a special offer to your Twitter followers.
Increase Your Knowledge
By following industry leaders and reading their Tweets, you can increase your own knowledge and keep it up to date. From learning simple tips and shortcuts to more in depth awareness on a subject, you can then re-package this information and pass it on to your clients enhancing your reputation as an expert in your field. I regularly find out things I wasn’t fully aware of on Twitter which will then prompt me to go do some further research to find out more.
Keep an eye on the competition
By following your competitors, you can keep up to date with what they are doing. See what works well for them and gains them interest and interaction and then implement this into your own business marketing. Social media makes competitor analysis so much easier these days.
If you use Twitter for business correctly, it can prove invaluable for building key contacts, acting as a tool for developing your knowledge, keeping up to date with industry trends and developing future marketing strategies.
