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Remember the old saying, “A little bird told me?” Well, in the world of social media and baby boom business, this saying is more true than it has been for some time. The little bird is from Twitter and what he says comes from you!
Twitter is one of the “big four” in social media (facebook, twitter, youtube, linkedin). While there are those who use flikr, slidshare, and even do podcasting, the big four account for the overwhelming majority of social media for business. Today we are going to talk about Twitter.
As of March 21, 2011, Twitter has been around the net for five years. This 140 “micro-blogging” program has gain in popularity in the past few years as celebrities, sports figures, political candidates, and even the President have active twitter accounts.
So, what can you do with this 140 character platform to both engage the social media world while building your business? Let’s consider five things:
- Twitter gives you a real-time look into your business niche. By setting up simple searches, you can “check in” on your niche and see what the social media world is thinking about your industry.
- Twitter gives you a real-time look into what people might be saying about your business. Good comments as well as bad fly across this medium at speeds that would make you head spin. Keeping up with what people are saying is especially important if you need to deal with something negative.
- Twitter gives you a real-time look into what people are saying about your competition. Just like your business, you can watch the twittersphere for things said about your competition. Good things help you see where you may need to improve your own business, bad things may give you an advantage over your competition.
- Twitter gives you the opportunity to communicate directly with customers/potential customers. Engaging your niche with valuable content always brings more eyes to your blog and more sales to your business. In this engagement you can ask questions, do surveys, and provide your community information valuable to them.
- Twitter gives you an opportunity to put your products and services “on sale” to those who follow you regularly. Twitter coupons and sales are a great way to judge your social media reach.
The only thing that limits your use of Twitter is your creativity (and the terms and conditions of course!) The only thing you need to do is to start. Sign up, follow some people tweeting about your niche, engage them in conversation and you are on your way. Remember, don’t sell … talk. Ask questions … then listen. Answer questions that highlight your personality and skill set. Be patient, people need to get to know you before they will “buy what you’re selling!”
Next post – Facebook
