It’s no secret that Twitter is a popular social media resource for small businesses
Besides being cost effective, you have the potential to reach millions of people and connect with your target audience all over the world. While Twitter is a great fit for some businesses, it’s not necessarily a great fit for all. Let’s now discuss some of the pros and cons to determine whether or not it’s right for your business as well as some tips if you decide to use it.
Why It’s a Good Idea
One of the biggest benefits is simply the high volume of people who use Twitter every day. As of late 2012, Twitter is the second most used social media site with only Facebook having more users. It’s also seeing more and more growth all the time and is likely to have millions of more users in the future.
Twitter is also perfect for establishing credibility for you and your business. By tweeting and retweeting insightful information, you can solidify yourself as an expert in your industry. You can also build a community around your business and connect with your demographic on a personal level that many other marketing mediums are incapable of. As a result, this can accelerate business growth and potentially help you develop a base of long-term, loyal customers.
Besides this, Twitter is an ideal place to perform market research. Regardless of what industry you’re in, it’s likely that you can find information by doing a hashtag search. This allows you to determine what your demographic is talking about and should help you with your overall marketing strategy.
Why It’s a Bad Idea
One of the biggest drawbacks of Twitter is the limited space you have to promote your business. Since each tweet can only contain a maximum of 140 characters, it’s not always easy to get your message across. Tweets also require users to click on a link to see an image, article or other information which means that they can be overlooked in some cases.
Another issue is that you have to walk a fine line when it comes to promotional material and general content. Since many users find it annoying when businesses are overly salesy, you must use discretion and not overdo it. Otherwise, your marketing can suffer and it could potentially hurt the public perception of your business.
Along with this, it’s not always easy for small businesses to gain traction on Twitter. While this isn’t usually a problem for big brands, it usually takes time and patience to see results on Twitter. For this reason, it’s not always the best marketing option if you want fast results.
Tips for Twitter Success
If you do decide to integrate Twitter into your marketing campaign, doing the following should improve your chances of success. First, you should stick to a consistent tweeting schedule where you tweet a minimum of 3 to 4 times a week. You should also be sure to only post high quality content that your audience will find valuable. It’s also a good idea to include some information about you and your business so you will come across more personable.
If you decide to tweet for your business some things to avoid include solely tweeting promotional content because it seems spammy and can turn people off. You should also avoid going overboard and tweeting mundane information that no one cares about because it can hurt your following. Instead, you should try to be as interesting as possible.
[This guest post was contributed by CD Technical digital distribution experts]
Kris Olin, MSc (Econ.) * Editor in Chief at Social Media Revolver * Web Designer * SEO Specialist * Author of the Facebook Advertising Guide. Follow Kris on Twitter and LinkedIn. See his photos at Flickr.
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