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Is Twitter Right For My Business?


The short answer is probably not as much as you would think.

The dust has settled on the oh-so 2009 buzz surrounding the micro blogging site, and it's about now that mainstream business decide they don't have a twitter but they really really need one.

Small Business owners around Scotland, the UK and I guess the rest of the English speaking world are talking like some pony-tailed, smooth marketing agency types using phrases like consumer engagement & seamless brand profile. For the record I do not have a pony tail, and I have never been a smooth talker.

The truth is, a Twitter account is viewed nowadays is like a website was viewed in 1999. If you have one, you write alot of stuff about yourself and everyone around the world will want to read it. Not only that, but they will find it so cool that it will mean sales and you will be able to relocate to Monaco to get a tan and count your internet money.

IF YOU BUILD IT THEY WILL COME


Just as (relatively) early website adopters found out, not everyone wants to know about your stuff. Knowing the technical specifications of your entire product line isn't necessarily engaging to everybody.

 

 

IF YOU BUILD IT THEY WILL COME


Just as (relatively) early website adopters found out, not everyone wants to know about your stuff. Knowing the technical specifications of your entire product line isn't necessarily engaging to everybody.

Like a website, it's worth getting a Twitter account name that reflects your business. This is more to guard against cyber squatters or competitors than to actually use it.

As I remarked in the first paragraph, it is a micro blogging site. If you've set up a blog and update it regularly, then Twitter might not be a bad idea. People do expect more regular updates though, so the once-every-six-weeks thing won't work (that pinging sound is me throwing stones in my glass house).

Another issue is the quality of your tweets going down as the quantity goes up.

"Damn coffee machine" or "Can't find my car charger" fill up subscribers Twitter pages/feeds, which will soon build the numbers of folks 'unfollowing' you.

Conversely, your most avid followers will probably be your competitors, so saying something like "Just sent a proposal to GCC for 200 widgets" can be detrimental.

One definitive rule of social media for companies, is that it cannot appear to be used only as a tool for self-promotion. Generation X, Y and Z are extremely wary of advertising and can will sniff you out miles away.

So what tweets do people follow?

  1. Celebrities - Everyone wants to know if Ashton Kutcher uses 3-ply

  2. Established Companies That Give Stuff Away - Pizza chains are usually good for this

  3. News - Embedded first-person news from places like Burma or China


If you don't come under one of these headings, keep it concise and be different. Build your list of followers organically and don't try to sell to them.

 

As they said in 1999; Keep it real....
 

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