Should you Tweet?

Twitter obviously isn't leaving the social media scene any time soon, so do you join or stay away? This answer isn't a simple yes or no. There are a number of factors to consider and, while some may seem more applicable to a specific company's scenario, it’s a good idea to weigh all the different reasons for using twitter. The following list will hopefully help with this decision and spark some creative juices.

Before we talk about the reasons, we need to clarify the purpose of Twitter. While it’s more than just a place for people to announce what they had for lunch or for you to find relevant news, it’s also not capable of being your company’s sole source of online presence. However, Twitter has become much more than just a news feed.  According to Twitter, their service is an information network made up of 140-character messages called Tweets.

How does this apply to business? 

1. Customers can be informed and alerted about new products, sales and promotions. This could be a simple announcement or it could be a headline with a link to a page on your website. At a conference, this is a quick and easy way to remind customers that you’re at the conference and where you’re located.

2. Establish the company as an industry leader. If a company has been in the industry for a couple of decades, then they probably have some wisdom to impart. Write about that experience, add it to the website, and then post it to Twitter. Just think about all the potential customers with Twitter’s wide reaching user base.

3. Send updates. How is this different from point number 1? Well, if you've been with us for awhile, then you know we like to encourage disaster preparedness. Because, tying into point number 2, we have some experience and have seen too many customers hurt by disasters. As part of a disaster recovery plan, why not use Twitter to update customers about what is happening and how the company is proceeding? Twitter could be used to assure customers that everything is ok and moving forward.

There are many other ways to use twitter that we simply don’t have space to outline here, but feel welcome to email me with questions and I would be glad to help. The thing to remember is that to be effective with Twitter doesn't require a large investment of time, but it needs to be done well. It would be better to not use this tool than to use it poorly and have that reflect upon your company's reputation. The next time you think of Twitter, try to think of how it could be used in creative ways to better your company. 

If you've already been using Twitter, I would love to hear how it’s worked for you and how it has been applied it to your specific scenario! Click here to let me know!