eMarketer recently reported that many of the smallest businesses in the United
States don't believe that their customers can be marketed to on social
networking sites.
Yet research also shows that social sites are being
used to find local businesses, especially by younger customers.
So how
should a small business approach Twitter? These are my top tips:
Three Do's:
1. Do Use It For Research, Not Just Marketing
You're probably
already using Google News Alerts to keep up with the latest on your clients and
areas of expertise (if you're not, you should be!)
Twitter is great for
tapping into the chatter on these things too. Apps like Tweetdeck and Hootsuite
allow you to set up search columns which automatically display the most recent
tweets on any subject of your choice. See the latest buzz, and keep an eye on
the competition!
2. Do Time Your Tweets
92% of retweets occur within
the first hour. So the time at which your tweets go out is pretty
important.
Think about the "peak viewing time" of your target audience(s)
- are they business people or busy moms? Which time zones are they
in?
Use an application such as Hootsuite to send out your pre-written
tweets at optimal times. You can send out the same tweet more than once to hit
different markets, but don't continuously recycle the same message - you'll get
flagged for spam.
3. Do Track Your Results
Any tweet that you want to
bring traffic to your website, generate sales or leads, etc. must contain a
clickable link (too many folks forget to include this call to action and lose
out on opportunities).
It's really important to track what you're doing
to evaluate results - you want to know what types of tweets work for you, and
what times of day are best to send them.
So, you also want to keep an eye
on your Web traffic reports to evaluate your Twitter success. Do visitors from
Twitter mostly leave your site immediately, or do they produce the outcomes that
you want?
Since you're restricted to 140 characters, using a free URL
shortening service like Bit.ly is very helpful - and it also gives you automatic
click-through tracking for every link.
And Two Don'ts:
4. Don't
Be Seduced By Big Numbers
It's a wonderful ego boost to have hundreds or
thousands of followers. In fact, Peter Shankman recently referred to this as
"the new penis envy!"
But bear in mind that lots of people follow you
because they expect you to follow them back as the accepted convention. So they
don't necessarily care that much about what you write . . .
Notice who
does respond or retweet your postings and celebrate your loyal followers. Just
remember that quantity doesn't guarantee quality on Twitter.
5. Don't
Have Unrealistic Expectations
A recent survey found that over 70% of tweets
get no response at all, and an average of only 6% are retweeted.
Think
about it - how many people are you following? How many tweets do you actively
read every day, let alone click on any links, retweet or reply . . .
Of
course, it only takes one response that's exactly the right one to make a huge
impact on your business.
But don't expect every tweet that you send to
be life (or business) changing!
© 2010, Philippa Gamse. Reprint rights
granted so long as the article and byline are reprinted intact and all links
made live.