As
the number of businesses jumping on the Twitter bandwagon grows, it's
worth considering whether Twitter could benefit your business.
Still not sure what Twitter's about? Here’s a rundown on Twitter plus a
quick look at features that may suit your company – and best of all
most of these features are free!
So
what’s all the fuss about Twitter? For the uninitiated, it's probably
easiest to think of Twitter as a public chat forum fueled by short
SMS-style messages. People can 'follow' you by subscribing to your
Twitter profile, then each time they log onto Twitter they can see your
updates in a 'timeline feed' alongside news from other profiles they've
subscribed to. Apart from the obvious brand building benefits of having
people subscribed to your news, Twitter also opens out a myriad of
business-building opportunities for free. However, like any form of
social media, adding content and building up followers on Twitter can be
time consuming, yet given that Twitter limits each 'tweet' to 140
characters ( around the same as an SMS) it's a lot more fast paced and
casual than writing for blogs or newsletter articles, and can be done on
the run via mobile. In fact,
37 percent of Twitter's active users access the site on their phones,
making it a mobile marketer's dream. Still not sure if Twitter's for
you?
Ask yourself these questions:
Want
to expand the readership of your newsletters, blogs or Facebook
fanpage? As you can add 'links' to each Twitter post, Twitter can
provide another steady source of traffic to your online profiles like
your website or blog.
Need
to keep your website updated? There are a number of applications and
widgets that allow you to integrate your Twitter feed into your website
or blog, helping to keep it updated with fresh new content. Ask Graphics Online if you'd like to add your Twitter profile to your site.
Want to rank higher on sites like Google for industry terms?
Because content on Twitter is considered fresh and relevant, it turns
up relatively high on search results. In fact 75 percent of Twitter's
traffic comes from outside Twitter.com, meaning that creating a profile
for 'Gold Coast Poodle Grooming' on Twitter could expose your brand far
beyond any followers you amass on Twitter.
Want
to announce specials, deals or sales to potential customers? Twitter's
perfect for this - you can even add your photos, flyers and coupons to
you tweets via free services like Twitpic.com
Need an easy way to post live updates from events or conferences? Again, Twitter's great for this. Just download the Twitter ap to your phone and you're a mobile media unit.
Want to monitor what others are saying about your brand or your competitors?
Even if you're a small brand, you'd be amazed what people talk about on
Twitter. You can set up alerts for your brand name or search for
competitor news in real time.
Want to establish new contacts and network with industry leaders?
It's amazing how easy it is to connect with people on Twitter. Follow
your favourite thought leaders, celebrities and brands and you'd be
surprised how many follow you back. It's also a great tool to expand
your local connections and 'meet' like-minded businesses.