Twitter is an application that allows you to talk to the world in 140 character sound bytes. Twitter is generally prominent in the media because of the way that celebrities use it. The so called 'inane' conversations that take place on Twitter are also highlighted. However, Twitter has some great uses for those in business.

 

I have used Twitter to build my brand and reputation. Every day I publish a Twitter top tip. In 140 characters, this reminds people of best practice in using technology. For example, my top tip might be "In Word, triple click a paragraph to select it". I have had feedback from people who have found my top tips to be useful. I have never met some of these people. My Twitter name is ConciseTraining. Over time, these top tips have established ConciseTraining as knowledgeable in IT. People are more likely to ask my advice or recommend me as a Training Provider.

 

Twitter also allows me to have conversations with people to get to know them better. Generally, we do business with people that we know, like and trust. Twitter is a way of getting to know people who you wouldn't otherwise meet. Over time, you form an opinion of the people on Twitter and you can decide whether they are people who you want to do business with. The inane conversations like "what type of biscuit you prefer" may seem a waste of time, but work towards building the relationship. An owner of a local restaurant had generated £1,000s of business by tweeting about his farm and restaurant and developing relationships with people who have then eaten at, and recommended his restaurant.

 

Some people are using Twitter to provide a level of customer service. I have heard people who have tweeted about problems with BT broadband have had a response from the second level of customer service. Dell is another company quick to respond to customer issues. Using Twitter, a customer can then be turned from being disgruntled and complaining, to being happy that their compliant is being dealt with, in a matter of minutes.

 

I have seen companies use Twitter to drive traffic to their website through the use of offers. There is a chocolate company who tweets about draws for free chocolate for anybody who registers on their website. Website traffic has increased significantly since these tweets started. Lush, the company who provides handmade soaps, use Twitter very successfully. Recently anybody who retweeted a particular tweet within a space of time was put into a draw for Lush products. This gained them followers who will now actively follow Lush in case other offers are created. This promotes their brand and will ultimately create more business.

 

Twitter allows you to get your name and thoughts in front of leaders in your business who you wouldn't otherwise be able to meet. This could leave to visability and ultimately more business.

 

1 - Decide how you are going to use it and follow it through as a long term strategy. Using Twitter for 2 months is unlikely to generate much business.

 

2 - Create a profile on Twitter with bio and pictures. People like to know who they are talking to.

 

3 - Communicate and share with other people on Twitter.

 

4 - Tweet 4-5 times a day but mix business with personal tweets. Allow people to get to know you.

 

5 - Use the applications that are available to make your use more efficient (tweetdeck, futuretweets, socialoomph, tweepsearch and others).

 

6 - Remember what you say can be seen by the world - don't tell the world you are going on holiday!

 

Article kindly provided by Mary Thomas of Concise Training. For more information on Twitter and training in how to make the best use of it please contact Mary at  mary@concisetraining.net or on 01865 522658.