With more than 140,000,000 active users and 340,000,000 posts per day, Twitter is definitely a social network force to be reckoned with. Who would have thought that the now iconic blue bird will become a symbol of a revolution in online communication?
It should come as no surprise that businesses quickly recognized the role Twitter can play in promoting their brands in the cyberspace and social media companies scrambled to learn the intricacies and nuances of how to leverage on this social channel. Whether you are working with a social media marketing agency or you are doing your internet marketing on your own, there are basic guidelines in using Twitter for marketing.
Launch an Online Market Research
Traditional market research takes a long time to prepare and even a longer time to execute and get the results and data you need. With Twitter, you can expedite the process by posting a question for your followers and culling all the responses you get. The data you need comes in an almost instantaneous manner. If you can, it’s best if you can provide incentives to those who will respond to your questions.
Get Ideas for Content
Even the best social media agencies run out of ideas on what to post every now and then. Twitter is one of the richest sources of content ideas in the internet as people are very aggressive in sharing content in this channel. There’s a search functionality in this social networking site so you can look for topics that are related to your business and are highly talked about.
Build Business Contacts
Everyone is in Twitter – from famous celebrities to powerful CEOs. This is a great venue for businesses and social media companies to link with individuals with clout – real and perceived –over the industry they belong in.
A Great Start for Meaningful Relationships
What happens in Twitter should just not stay in Twitter. Look at it as a jump off point to develop a real relationship with these people and nurturing these relationships offline. For example, your social media marketing company can build online relationships with these influential online denizens. After which, if you have public relations department, you can invite them out to a casual lunch to cultivate the established ties and to bring it up to a deeper level and make the relationship work for your brand.
Make the World Know that You are in Twitter
You can consider this as the SEO when it comes to social media. Just like how your site needs traffic, your Twitter profile needs followers. Include your Twitter profile in all possible venues such as your website, your blog, your calling card and your electronic signature just to name a few. This is an easy way to generate organic followers in a viral way.
Care for What Your Followers are Tweeting
Don’t be a brand, be a person. This just means that when a social media marketing agency represents you in Twitter, you have to come off personable and warm. Re-tweet interesting posts from your followers so they know that you are listening to what they are saying.