Is Twitter worthwhile for Business?

Everywhere I turn these days, there are debates as to the validity of Twitter as a business marketing tool. These debates sit alongside critiques of Facebook and LinkedIn as effective networking environments in which to conduct commerce.

So, the question remains: can Twitter help your business?

Firstly, I would advise any company against believing that joining Twitter and posting a few Tweets to gain a couple of followers will make the difference between the success and failure of your business. It won't. For those of you who do not yet know what Twitter is, let's turn to Wikipedia:

"Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read messages known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the author's profile page and delivered to the author's subscribers who are known as followers."

So, how can 140 characters of text help a business?

1. You can easily drive people to your website or a page of your website. Driving people to your website and changing website content will, in turn, help improve your general search engine ranking. Adding fresh content, making the site content relevant and interesting to your prospective customers will help increase your overall internet presence;

2. You can air your views on subjects that are relevant to your business, and, more importantly, relevant to potential customers. Regular "expert" Tweets can establish you as an authority on a subject and garner an increase in the number of followers you attract;

3. There is an argument that "Followers" of your Tweets are very unlikely to become customers of yours overnight, if at all. That is not the point, and if you think Twitter will bring these types of results, then don't bother with it. We all know that there is no magic wand in the world of marketing. But the more followers you have, the greater the audience you have to address;

4. Twitter allows you to engage with other users. "Engagement" is one of the buzz words in marketing at the moment. Being limited to 140 characters is also a great lesson in the practice of being concise. Learn to get across a marketing message in a short, punchy and interesting way that will attract people to notice you, and leave them wanting to know more...;

5. From a business perspective, Twitter makes you think about the other forms of on-line and Social marketing available, and how you can use them to your advantage, bearing in mind that many of these forms of marketing are absolutely FREE.

For instance, use Tweets to point users to a blog you have written, and in which you can expound on the subject you introduced on Twitter. Blogs are widely accepted as being an invaluable part of any on-line marketing strategy, with cross-references to relevant content on your website, for example.

Links to your Twitter page can be inserted in Blogs, your website, articles and other Social Media sites, creating a tight network of information that you are creating. Having views on subjects relevant to your business demonstrates that you can be taken seriously, and will enhance the overall image of your business.

If you write articles or produce documents on products and services you provide, Tweet about them and link through to them. Get people reading about what you do.

I am not going to use examples of the successes or otherwise of large corporations; I am addressing this at the small and medium sized business looking to find their way into the rapidly growing world of Social Networking.

From personal experience, I don't expect to generate a massive influx of income-generating leads simply by tweeting a couple of times a day (although that would be nice!).

I tweet to drive people to my website. I use URL shortening tools, and can see the instant results as click-throughs are logged in real-time; a lot like Google Adwords but without the cost!

I tweet to point people to articles that I have written on subjects relevant to my business, and that I think might be of interest to prospective customers.

I tweet to offer affiliate deals, or highlight other articles that have been written by other people.

I read other tweets posted by experts and learn a great deal from their articles about emerging trends in marketing and consumer behaviour, and on a day to day basis.

I receive tweets from a wide variety of publication on specific topics that are of particular interest to me, cutting to the chase and saving valuable time.

My advice? Use Twitter and see for yourself. It is a great arena in which to experiment with marketing messages; see what attracts attention. Be patient; don't expect to make £millions, but start to use it as a part of your internet marketing strategy, and employ it with other complementary methods. If the only thing you achieve is increased organic search engine placement for your website, then that can't be a bad result.

It has worked for me, and can certainly work for you.

If you would like to discuss including Social Networking within your on-line marketing strategy, please contact us at design@argentrammedia.com. http://www.argentrammedia.com/