The Benefits of Twitter

Twitter is one of the most active social media networks with over 500 million registered users and 200 million of them being active. Twitter is a great place to have short, to-the-point conversations with people and to also get great information.

Many business owners are honestly scared of Twitter (or as they say down here in the South, “that Tweeter thing”) because they simply do not understand how it works. Rarely does a week go by without 2 or 3 people asking me what it’s for and why they should use it.

Twitter can really benefit a business – and really, it doesn’t matter what type of business you are in.

Let me share with you some benefits for you to consider if you are on the fence about using the platform….

1. You only have 140 characters to type your message. If you have something important to say, then you better be brief.  As I always say, you have to be short, sweet and to the point! This prevents you from explaining too much that the other person feels lost.
2. On Twitter there is a vast amount of industry-related information. With hashtags and Twitter search, you can find news and information on any industry. I personally love all the quick tips that I can find on Twitter.
3. You can really listen to your followers. You can search keywords that relate to your business or even search your business and read what people are saying. Many companies’ customer service departments have really taken to Twitter because they can see what people are having trouble with and seeing in general, what people think of them.
4. It’s a great distribution tool for your blog posts if you blog. Blogging is a great way to distinguish yourself from your competitors. If you do blog, you can send your posts out as tweets.  WordPress has a great plug-in called Tweet Old Post and it will tweet out your old past blog posts to keep the traffic coming to your website.Twitter is the #1 referrer of traffic to my blog.
5. On Twitter you can bring your customer service to life. Let customers/clients know that they can tweet you if they have a question or problem.  Sprout Social is one company that does an amazing job at this. If you tweet them a question or problem, they always respond within 5-10 minutes.There are numerous stories of business’ customer service reps answering – or not answering – feedback via Twitter. This is a GREAT way to really help build your community too.
6. For an instant return, you can run specials or deals. One example – say you own a clothing boutique or restaurant.  You tweet out to your community to come in now, or during a specific time frame for a discount or free appetizer.  Only your Twitter community will see this and they will love you for it!
7. One of the biggest benefits is that you get your brand/business in front of the ones who are most likely to talk about how great your business is.  Social media is simply word of mouth advertising.  Do something great and watch your community grow!

If you are already on, what other benefits do you see from Twitter?

While we are talking Twitter, let’s follow each other!  You can find me at @memktgservices.  Share with me your Twitter handle in the comments so I can follow you too.