BloggernityTwitter for Business – How To Use It
By
How to use Twitter for business is a question I get all the time. A lot of business owners see social media as ”the ultimate time-suck” but feel there must be some way to use it or that they must use it to keep up and keep relevant.
My advice has always been to figure out what the best function is for each form of social media marketing. Then figure out if you can adapt it to some marketing fuction for your business. If you can’t find the relevancy and use of a social media website, “forget about it!”
Twitter, however, is a whole new ballgame. While you might think it’s a tiny and useless platform, it can be almost magical for staying front and center with either clients and customers or potential customers and clients.
Here are some potential uses:
Say your firm has a regularly changing product line, something like Woot. How do you keep in touch with all your potential customers? Have them subscribe to your Twitter account and shoot them a quick Tweet every time something new pops up on the site or in your store.
This would also be a great option for Consignment Stores. I know plenty of women (including my wife) who regularly make pilgrimages to consignment stores to see what’s new.
What if they were following the consignment store on Twitter and every time some new items hit the store, a Tweet went out to all the followers with a very short description or simply a list. or a link to a page on their website with pictures and descriptions? Gee, that might just create a run on the store…
Or how about a Service Station that tells all existing and new customers that from now on, anyone who follows them on Twitter will get notifications of “secret deals” on tire rotations, oil changes, brake jobs, radiator flushes, etc., that only their Twitter followers will find out about.
Any of these people who spend any time on the Internet will sign up. It’s easy, it’s fast, and they can get Tweets in their email. You can then use Twitter to announce a new tire line or new batteries or new services.
You can also use it to steer people to your blog with handy-dandy info on car care, warning signs to watch for like tire wear problems, important safety considerations, recall notices…you name it.
And, of course, this same idea can work for B2B businesses if you have any kind of recurring service arrangements or new offers, new products or services or special discounts for “followers” on Twitter.
Another thing to think about with social media is how to integrate it. The purpose of social media for any business, big or small, is not to think about each type of social media as a separate item. Rather, think of them as integrated channels working together to keep in front of and in communication with existing and potential cusomters and clients.
Just as you wouldn’t create a business card that has one look, a brochure that looks totally different from that, and then place ads with an entirely different appearance from either of them, you need to make your social media campaign act and appear like a seamless, integrated, coordinated part of your business.
Try to integrate them as much as possible. This is what I’m working on right now. I have articles on my website that feed to my blog. I have my latest blog posts listed on my newsletter as more articles when it goes out. And my blog posts will often have a link to a related article on my website.
At the bottom of each of my blog posts is a list of Related Posts to keep readers on my blog. (This is one of many amazing free WordPress plugins. LyricalBiz can help with setting up WordPress blogs with all the helpful WordPress plugins for search engine optimization.)
Look at the bottom of this post to see the Related Posts plugin in action.
One last thing I do to keep “spreading the gospel.” I have my blog posts automatically uploaded to both Twitter and my Facebook page. And I just found out about another free service that will upload my blog posts to other social media accounts.
Remeber, you want as much of this social media stuff automated as possible. Otherwise, social media really is “the ultimate time-suck.”
Originally posted 2009-05-26 11:34:40. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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8 Comments
August 23rd, 2009 at 5:26 am
[...] This post was Twitted by scottdennison [...]
August 23rd, 2009 at 7:05 pm
[...] This post was Twitted by Buildify [...]
August 23rd, 2009 at 8:44 pm
Thanks for Twitting my post guys!
I just thought of another use for Twitter. Building frenzy.
Let’s say fall is coming a new line of fashions is expected. A store could release clues as to the new fall line. And the only women who will get the neak peeks are Twitter followers.
“If you want a sneak peek at the toe style of our new shoe line, go here…”
“Collars are back with a vengeance, Ladies. Take a look at these collar peeks…”
And, of course, those links will get passed all over the Internet between friends. Oh what a terrible thing for the secret to leak like a sieve!
August 24th, 2009 at 9:51 pm
Bob – Your blog post includes some great examples of how to use Twitter for business in a way that doesn’t suck up all of one’s time, which can be a problem with social media networks like Twitter! You also make an excellent point that Twitter has to be integrated into the marketing mix to ensure message consistency and reinforce the brand. If key messages are not consistent throughout these various media channels, it can negatively impact the corporate brand.
August 24th, 2009 at 10:38 pm
Thanks for the comment Barbara! Consistency between the off-line marketing and online marketing seems to be the biggest problem I see for small to mid-size businesses trying to build a strong online presence.
January 28th, 2010 at 8:01 am
Small business
Small Business owners are largely forgotten. Thats why I only focus on them. I have experience several members of my family file bankruptcy due to small business failures. I also I suffered through 2 destroyed businesses due to failure however, in my failings I have learned some of the secrets to success. (Who can say they know it all?
What I like about small business owners is that they are not afraid to take huge risks and lay it all on the line. But, I agree they do need a lot of help with their marketing. I think having them go the social media and email route is not only the least expensive but its also the most effective. Thanks for the stats!………
http://www.onlineuniversalwork.com
May 25th, 2010 at 1:52 am
Social media marketing can be very effective if it is part of an integrated plan, as Bob points out. It also helps to have time-management discipline when using sites such as Twitter — or set a timer as some people I know do.
May 25th, 2010 at 8:31 am
That’s a great idea, Phyllis! I never thought of using a timer but I know so many people who struggle with spending too much time on social media sites that an timer by the desk or a digital timer on your computer desktop might be a great idea and introduce a little time discipline into the social media marketing matrix.