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November 09, 2010 at 07:00 PM
There is a very real possibility that you read the headline of this article and said, “What the heck is a ‘Twitter?’ ” – and that’s perfectly OK. Twitter is a social networking website that allows users to share real-time information and discover what’s happening now. Think of Twitter as a live newswire and information exchange. News is shared through a series of 140-character messages released to a news feed, and individuals can choose the people they want to see messages from by “following” them.
But Twitter isn’t just about news and information – you can also use the site to put your business message out into the world at no cost and with a minimal time commitment. Below are some common questions about using Twitter for small-business marketing – and their answers.
1. ‘Do you have an example of how I can use Twitter?’
I work for an independent insurance agency, and in an effort to grow my business, I enjoy learning more about small-business marketing. John Jantsch, author of the book “Duct Tape Marketing,” is a powerful resource for cutting-edge small-business marketing techniques; on Twitter, I can follow his feed and stay up-to-date on his latest ideas and blog posts directly from Twitter, instead of having to check his site each day. I get value out of Twitter because it saves me time, and Jantsch gets value out of Twitter because of increased traffic to his website. These people are either learning how to become customers or spreading his content to others who may become customers in the future.
2. ‘Why should I use Twitter to grow my business?’
That’s easy: In order to sell anything, you need to be where your customers are. I know that not everyone has given in to social media and the Internet, but millions of people have – and many of them are in your local market. You can either pretend as if that market segment doesn’t exist, or you can craft a social media marketing program of your own.
