Twitter is one of the most used websites in the world, with almost 200 million worldwide users, yet recent figures according to Twitter (September 2010) say that 41% of all account holders have not Tweeted since they created the account and 80% of account holders have tweeted less than 10 times! It seems that despite the massive following, the vast majority of people are still asking “How do I use Twitter?ā€¯
While I’m no expert on Twitter, once you find your way around the jargon and abbreviations it is actually one of the simplest of the Social Media platforms to get to grips with and possibly one of the best to use for your business.
Twitter’s tagline says “What are you doing?”the idea being that people respond in 140 characters or less. In reality, the “Twittersphere”has become far more creative than this with people using Twitter as a networking tool, a way to chat to friends, or find answers to just about anything. In the business world, perhaps two of the most important questions we should be asking are “How do I use Twitter to provide value to my customers?”and “How do I use Twitter to promote my business?ā€¯
One of the great reasons that Twitter is good for business is that it is a great tool for humanising people. Seeing Tweets from someone every day builds familiarity and bonds the Follower to the Followed. The more Followers you have, the more people there are out there reading your updates.
How do I use Twitter to provide value to my customers?
- Don’t “Spam Followā€¯
It’s becoming quite common for some people to try and build up their Followers by randomly following as many people as possible. While this may grow your Followers, you ideally want to make sure that the people who do follow you are following you because they are interested in your updates. Take time when choosing who you follow. Look for people in similar industries to you, or who may follow other people in common with you.
- Post interesting & relevant Tweets
Get to know key players in your field and the updates they send, and learn how those people are attracting so many followers. The chances are that their Tweets are adding value to their readers, whether it’s interesting links, funny stories or lots of interaction with the Followers.
- Start a Conversation!
Twitter is all about conversation and the more you get involved with it, you’ll find that more of your updates are retweeted by others, and more people will automatically start to follow you because they’ll be interested in finding out what you have to say.
How do I use Twitter to promote my business?
- Make it Personal
Twitter can allow you to create a “Personal”face for your business. It’s great for getting instant Feedback as you can search on people’s opinions in real time, so if somebody is pleased, or angry, or just mentioning you in an update you can respond straight away. Because it is a public timeline, the comments that you’ll find on Twitter may be very different to those that you’d get from a questionnaire or from a contact form on you company website.
- Send out regular updates and offers!
Twitter is also fantastic for getting new information out to your followers. You might have thousands of email addresses and a great CRM system, but there will be plenty of people who don’t check their inbox, or who unsubscribe. Twitter updates are out in the Public domain, so anyone who Follows you will get those updates and more importantly, anyone who comes to your page out of curiosity will have instant access to everything you’ve ever Tweeted.
- Find an App to suit your needs
There are hundreds, if not thousands of tools available to help you make the most out of Twitter. These applications change all the time as people are always coming up with new ideas on how else Twitter can be used. Many of these are designed to make it easier for you to add updates, verify Followers and check updates that have been sent directly to you. When you know how you want to use Twitter, you’ll find there’s probably already a tool out there that will do just what you need it to make your day that bit easier.
So instead of asking, “How do I use Twitter?”I’d say just get involved! It takes less than a minute to set up a new account, and in no time at all you could find yourself with a powerful list of new Followers all waiting to read your next Tweet.
Follow me on Twitter, send me a Tweet or Tweet this post to your freinds by clicking on the twitter icon and look out for my Tweet back!
About
James Debono is a small business owner and Internet entrepreneur. James dedicates his time to helping other small business owners leverage the power of the Internet to drive business growth and positive change. Click here Join James Debono on Google+
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