“You should start a twitter”

A so-called ‘web consultant’ told my boss recently.  I just listened and did not want to jump into talking about twitter.  That’s the problem with me sometimes, I like to listen and think but talk very little.  He went on saying that he managed to rake in interested people to buy his services just via twitter.. bla bla bla.

So – should any business start a Twitter account?

Starting a Twitter account is easy.  You just need to select a unique name and just register the account.  What’s harder than clicking a few buttons?  Its the maintenance that is difficult, not the starting.  I see Twitter as a tool that needs proper planning and maintenance just like any other marketing tool.

If you have a Twitter account, you have to integrate it with your entire marketing plan.  Because its ‘live’, it can give you feedback (positive & negative) that your other tools/channels might not be able to.  Therefore, you need to monitor your twitter activities closely.  Besides monitoring the conversation on your Twitter, there is also a need to check out what the rest are talking with regards to your brand / product / service and also what is going on in the industry.

Having a Twitter also means that your followers expect you to be online most of the time.  Something like >12 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year.  This is especially for consumer products and services, as your customers could just mention you for a response.  While most are not expecting an instant response, a 2 day delay would definitely be not acceptable.

Most importantly, how to get followers to your Twitter account?  There is no point tweeting to no one, right?  Twitter has strict laws on following and unfollowing.  I’ve seen many going on the follow and unfollow frenzy (because I have a Twitter mechanism tracking this!), which I do not recommend.  If you get caught by the Twitter automated tool, the account will be suspended.  Its not a very pleasant thing to happen.  There are a bunch of ways to increase followers, one of it being the campaign method (do something to increase interest and have them follow you).  I’d also like to reciprocate the follow, after all twitter is suppose to be an engagement tool so it should be two-way traffic.

It is also important to get ‘Industry Influencers’ in your list of Twitter followers because they can bring your message further to your targetted audience.  Once they are in your list, then its time to engage with them directly.  It takes a combination of research and the use of tools to weed out these Influencers.

Starting a twitter account is just the beginning.  To maximize the use of twitter for business, it requires planning, researching and consistency in updating, monitoring and improvising.

Related posts: