Successful Twitter Use

Twitter offers the potential to improve sales, raise brand awareness and encourage customer loyalty.  If you truly listen to tweets offered by your customers and employees, it can also be an invaluable source of market research and inspiration

Twitter is a micro-blogging site that allows you to post short messages with a maximum of 140 characters.  Tweets are really a lot like text messages, however, they are directed to a wider online audience.  The key aspect of twitter is that users can ‘follow’ your tweet and receive regular updates.  If you can build a following you can really make some marketing strides.

Large and small companies alike can use Twitter as a powerful social networking tool to keep highly competitive.  Twitter is an online virtual culture, and like every culture, you have to adopt the dominant values and beliefs in order to fit in and succeed.

BE A GOOD LISTENER

You must respond to your user because communication requires give and take.  Posting your product on twitter and leaving it at that will not work.  You should supply regular and responsive tweets that show that you are listening to your customers.

BE CONSISTENT

Use the same approach as you use for your advertising and business communications but adapt it so that it suits the twitter environment.  If someone in your business is tweeting, allow that employee to express personal interests and experiences so that they become real to fellow tweeters.

BUILD CUSTOMER LOYALTY

By remaining responsive and listening to your customers, you can use twitter to build customer loyalty.  Offer rewards and incentives through twitter so that customers return and stay interested in your site.

A HOLISTIC APPROACH

Twitter should be just one part of your entire digital campaign.  You really need a complete social networking strategy and you should ensure that you have a consistent and carefully planned pathway and clearly defined goals.

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

By following the tweets of employees from specific companies that you are targeting, you can form a connection and hopefully meet in real life.  Connections made online can be just as successful as connections made in real world environments like parties and bars.

BE INTERESTING

Spare everyone from another boring product pitch.  Think of an interesting and creative angle to capture the interest of your following and build from there.  If you are feeling uninspired, hire a freelance writer or advertiser to think of a series of catchy tweets.