7 Ways Twitter Can Help Your Business
Source: http://www.thenextwomen.com/2013/07/30/7-ways-twitter-can-help-your-business
Author: Guest Author
Small business owners are today faced with several challenges as a part of their everyday business operations. First and most importantly, is the basic need to survive and break-even. Second, is the focus on top-line growth through new customer acquisition or new business from existing customers. Third, is the focus on cost reduction / optimization / rationalization. And last but not least is the focus on profits. Oh! I forgot to mention all the other additional aspects which running a business usually involves – like Positioning, Branding and Marketing, Innovation, Human Resource Management, Communication, Operations, Finance, Strategy, Compliance, etc.
With so many things that need to be done with limited resources and small teams, it can get really busy and overwhelming for small business owners. And it’s so easy to wonder if there is light at the end of the tunnel!
Well here’s the good news! Social Media can definitely help address some of these challenges. Not only is social media cost effective, ubiquitous, easy to learn and adopt; but if a well-integrated social media strategy is adopted, the probability of business success is significantly amplified!
In this article, I will list specific ways in which Twitter can be leveraged for the benefit of small business owners.
First and most important is to establish the BIG “WHY?” – “Why do you as a small business owner want to use Twitter?”
The question is very simple, albeit very important. But giving the right answer usually requires a lot of thought, introspection and clarity on your business goals and strategy. Once you have this answer, the Twitter journey is a lot more focused, useful, productive and enjoyable!
Small business owners could typically use Twitter for any of the following:
1) Connect and Interact with Customers (Existing / New)
The only pre-requisites for this are that you should know exactly who your customers are and whether they are active on Twitter.
Case-in-point: An entrepreneur I know who runs a high-end designer fashion label was working on the Social Media Strategy for her business. During discussions, it emerged that most of her customers are NOT on Twitter. And hence, it made limited sense for her to invest time and effort in building a Twitter presence exclusively for her customer interactions, or for lead generation / business development activities.
As a small business owner, if you’ve established that you’re customers are active on Twitter, the next step is to start active engagement with them. The purpose of customer interactions can vary from announcements of new products / services / offers / discounts, to sharing regular updates on information which is valued by your customer base.
Take-Away: Be clear on who your customers are, and whether they use Twitter. Then you can start connecting and interacting with them.
2) Create a Brand
Twitter can be an effective and powerful channel to establish your brand. The only pre-requisite is that you should be clear on what brand image you want to create, and ensure that you tweet in line with this brand image. This will determine your competitive differentiation, industry presence and positioning. For example, if you are a research firm who provides research services in technology areas, you should tweet snippets about your own research findings, or interesting data / facts and references on technology related research. This will enable you to create your own voice in the Twitter-verse.
Take-Away: Clear, consistent and continuous communication in line with the brand is the key for brand creation and brand recall.
3) Business Networking
One of the keys to success for small business owners is the kind of business networks they are associated with. Twitter can be a very powerful medium to establish new business connections and strengthen existing ones. On many occasions these business networks can help directly / indirectly in new and upcoming opportunities. In addition to specific one-to-one networks / tweets / Direct Messages, active participation in Twitter chats can be a great source for building new business connections or the identification of new business opportunities.
Take-Away: Focus on building and strengthening business networks on Twitter.
4) Research
One of the most important back-end activities essential for most small business owners is continuous focus on research around specific focus areas. Twitter is a great platform to get real-time access to quality information on any topic. The two specific ways which are of great help in this regard are Hashtag search, and by following the Gurus (experts) in a specific area of interest.
The good news is that research time can be significantly reduced on Twitter. Sometimes an easy way to get answers is to ask a question on Twitter, or ask someone with a good Follower base to post the question. More often than not, this can be one source of primary research data, similar to an online real-time survey.
Take-Away: Be clear on the research objectives and use Twitter to get direct feedback, responses or hear from the experts.
5) Ideation
Twitter can be used as a great platform for ideation. Ideas around What next?, How to grow and improve your business?, etc. can occur several times during social conversations and interactions – especially when you engage in dialog on what would make customers happy or what are the current pain–areas which plague a specific customer segment. In addition, interacting with industry peers and in specialized forums / networks can often spark off those “Eureka moments”.
Take-Away: Look to Twitter to hear, discover and learn what others are doing. This is the first source of new ideas.
6) Continuous Learning and Knowledge Updates
Constantly learning and knowing what’s happening in your industry, within the market with your customers, partners, suppliers, competition, etc. is absolutely essential for small business owners. Twitter can be a very effective in helping you do this! The easiest way is to identify your key partners, competitors, customers, analysts, publications and experts in your specific line of business, and follow them on Twitter (provided they have a Twitter presence). You will be able to gather real-time data and insights into trends, views, opinions and perspectives.
Take-Away: Look to Twitter to hear, discover and learn what others are doing. This is the first source of new ideas.
7) Daily Dose of Inspiration/Motivation
Again, Twitter can be of immense help in this department. Following Twitter handles which share inspirational quotes, positive thoughts and motivational words / links can sometimes make all the difference in changing our moods, approach, thoughts, perspectives and responses. So, try to start your day by reading something positive / inspirational / motivational – this can set the right tone for your day! And if you’re feeling blue, look up the tweets of someone who motivates / inspires, and that can help you sail through many a blue day!
– See more at: http://www.thenextwomen.com/2013/07/30/7-ways-twitter-can-help-your-business#sthash.Xu6fLNcV.dpuf
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