So last time we looked at some stats and history of Facebook, and talked about why Facebook should be a part of your marketing plan. This time, let’s take a look at Twitter. On the surface, Twitter looks even simpler than Facebook, and most people can’t seem to grasp the importance of Twitter and how it’s gotten so big.
It seems like every time that I mention the word Twitter, someone brings up the argument of “I really don’t care if you’re going to the bathroom or if you’re eating dinner. You don’t need to post that on there.” Really? I thought I absolutely had to. Ok that’s a big lie. I would never post about going to the bathroom on Twitter. But really, if you’re complaining about these types of tweets, there are two things that are most likely happening. A) You’re following the wrong people, or B) You actually aren’t even on Twitter and are just re-hashing a complaint that you heard someone else make.
Now, let’s take a look at the real benefits of Twitter… for the people that don’t sit there and follow people that are talking about bathroom breaks.
If used correctly, Twitter can have a huge positive effect on your business. First, let’s take a look at the marketing side of why you should use Twitter. Then we’ll take a look at other uses of Twitter, such as reputation management and customer service.
Here is some really basic statistical information about Twitter:
- More than 27 million active users
- 45-54 year olds are the top demographic, 25-34 year olds come in second
- 54% of users are female
- 27% of Twitter users tweet daily, while 46% check updates
Yes, the amount of less than 1/10th of the amount of Facebook users, but let’s not compare the two. Twitter is its own animal in the Social Media world. Eventually, we’ll look into some tools that can help you tame this animal. If you’ve never used Twitter, here’s a video that they created, which will help get you started http://help.twitter.com/portal.
As far as the marketing side of Twitter, think of the numbers which we spoke about in the Facebook post. But now, think about it on a smaller, but more targeted scale. Instead of promoting your items to everyone and their mother, you can search out the people who have already been talking about you, and market directly to them. This in turn, allows them to spread the word to their friends about any great deals you may have, or just about how great your service is. In theory, we want to turn these people into “evangelists” of your products and services. Start a conversation with them on Twitter, and their friends will begin to take notice. It’s the same idea of posting events and specials on Facebook. Friends of your fans will see the things you post directly their friends. The idea of marketing on Twitter is simple, but in the future, we’ll get more in depth about it, such as using hashtags, and how to gain followers, and why you should follow other people.
For now, let’s also think of Twitter as a customer service tool as well. This is where Twitter’s search function comes into play, as well as your interaction with your followers. Consider using Twitter as a forum for your clients. What if, instead of calling you and leaving you a voicemail or taking up an inordinate amount of your time, people could go to your Twitter account, post a question, and you or someone at your company can respond when they have a few seconds? Think that would save you a bit of time?
What about being proactive, and searching out “non-followers” that are asking questions about your company, or asking for help about one of your products? How would you feel if you posted a question about your car, and the manufacturer suddenly responded to you offering their input? Would you start raving about how great their customer service is? Yeah, most people would.
Start thinking about using Twitter more as a marketing tool, rather than just a way to post messages that no one cares about. We’ll continue to discuss Twitter and how to use it for your business, but for now, let me know if you’ve ever tried using Twitter to better your brand, and if it has worked out for you. Happy Monday, and enjoy the rest of your week folks.
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