If you’ve read my introductory article, Twitter for Beginners, you know what Twitter is, how to use it and also how not to use it. Now I’ll show you some ways that Twitter can benefit your business and we’ll check out some popular tools that could improve your Twitter experience.
5 WAYS TWITTER CAN BENEFIT YOUR BUSINESS
1. Read what others are tweeting (posting) to see if you can help anyone out. Lots of people ask for advice or leads on Twitter because it provides such a huge pool of resources. Your help will be appreciated and you’ll likely add someone new to your following!
2. If you write a blog for business marketing – and you’re blogging in a way that helps others as well as enhancing your personal or company brand – don’t be afraid to tweet links to your recent blog posts. TIP: Because each tweet is limited to 140 characters, you will find TinyURL.com very handy for shortening long web page addresses.
3. Follow and be followed. Always remember that Twitter is a two-way conversation. A big part of successful tweeting is replying to those who tweet you. Twitter is not just about who follows you; it is also about who you follow. If you find someone who tweets interesting things, see who they’re following and do the same.
4. Make sure you aren’t just broadcasting your own news on Twitter. Promote the success, innovation or ingenuity of others, just as you would with referrals amongst your local business community.
5. Engage by sharing the human side of your business, which in most cases should have little to do with your business. Social media is built on human connections. For a great example of a company using Twitter in exactly the right way, check out this story about online American shoe store Zappos.com
So remember, don’t be afraid to put your questions out there in your tweets, and the more people you have as followers, the more quickly you’ll get a response. You can also find other interesting people to follow on Twitter by seeing who the people you are following refer to in their tweets.
There is something both strategic and serendipitous about following links to new people in Twitter – you never know when you might link to another great resource or potential business connection.
POPULAR TWITTER TOOLS
There are quite a few tools out there now which make it really easy for you to manage your Twitter account and your tweets. These range from computer desktop applications that are installed on your computer to mobile applications that run on your cell phone or mobile device, such as a Blackberry or iPhone.
Tweet Deck
Tweet Deck is a desktop application (or program) that installs onto your computer for both Windows and Mac users. This is for the serious twitterers who’d like to have an online presence in the twittersphere at all times by keeping the program open instead of using the traditional version, which means keeping a web browser open.
I personally don’t see the benefits in downloading and installing an application to my desktop, which also takes up a lot of room, when I can simply do everything from www.twitter.com. However, many people prefer Tweet Deck (pictured below) or similar applications like Twhirl, so you decide for yourself.
Twitteriffic
Twitteriffic is an iPhone application that runs smoothly and elegantly on your iPhone. It sports a clean user interface that allows you to toggle the option of a listed view, or an individual view of all the tweets so they can be viewed seamlessly. It allows you to post and reply to tweets easily and efficiently.
What’s more, you can tap the camera icon within the application to take or upload a photograph for your next tweet; and you can even tap the location icon to update your Twitter profile so other users can find you (if you’re into that sort of thing). Get yours here.
Twitter for Facebook
What’s wonderfully efficient about Twitter for Facebook is that I can be logged into my Facebook account and pull up my Twitter application within a few clicks to post something. Not only is that tweet sent out amongst the Twittersphere, it’s now also updated my Facebook status!
If you mainly use Facebook for keeping in touch with friends and you’re wondering why I find Twitter for Facebook so handy, check out this introductory article by Mashable, on utilising Facebook for business.
HAVE YOU TRIED TWITTER? WHAT WERE YOUR FIRST THOUGHTS?
