Making Twitter Work For You
Social media is the newest tool in your marketing arsenal – but do you know how to maximize your time and gain the most benefit from participating?
About 90% of online users (about 19 million Canadians) across the demographic spectrum engage with social networking sites on a monthly basis. Twitter, for example, is the fastest growing of the social media applications, and is gaining ground among business and professional individual users. No other marketing tool offers the combination of cost-effective implementation, highly track-able results and direct customer access.
Twitter is an offshoot of the popular ‘blog’ format – messages are posted by users that can be accessed, forwarded and commented upon by other users. Approximately 12 million users (up from 6 million in 2008) have latched on to the biggest web fad of the year, with 45-54 year olds as the fastest growing user group.
How can Twitter help your business? The ever-expanding reach of your messages, and consequently your brand, is impossible to ignore. To be successful with Twitter, your goal is to build a list of followers, those that receive your ‘Tweets’ directly in real time, and gain access to a second tier audience (those with a connection to your followers), and third tier, and so on.
How can you be sure that Twitter will help you reap tangible rewards for your business?
Content is King
Don’t be mistaken – Twitter is not an advertising medium and should not be treated as a repository for sales messages or product/service pitches. The best way to attract attention is to provide interesting, value-added information that is useful to readers. Investigate relevant articles, topics and issues and provide commentary, or offer tips and advice to showcase your company’s expertise.
Research Made Simple
Twitter’s functionality supports two way communication, and offers businesses the opportunity to mine for valuable market research. Use Twitter effectively by monitoring the postings of competitors, relevant industry contacts, and past customers for information that can aid in the development of products and services, and business strategies.
Search Engine Rankings
Incorporating key words into Twitter postings and ensuring that all posts connect to your business goals, services and industry, will help your business climb the rankings in search results for Google. This helps prospective customers find you, and heightens your profile.
Directing Traffic
Have you always wondered how to increase traffic to your website? Twitter is an effective means for directing interested users to a corporate website for additional information or resources. Have you added a new product profile, interactive tool, research results or in-depth report to your website? Invite your Twitter followers to visit by including the web address in your next Tweet.
Social media marketing opens up new possibilities for businesses to connect with customers – but each option requires a plan. Before setting up a social media presence, investigate the options, review best practices and choose the most appropriate, and sustainable, option for your business.
Contact 5th business to learn more about social media marketing strategies and the opportunities for your business to get online attention!
