Small business research company Warrillow, in one of its recent newsletters, writes that amongst all social media Twitter is by far the best way that smaller businesses have found to to connect with the companies they want to be in touch with.
Warrillow uses automated email marketing company Infusionsoft and Intuit as examples of two companies leveraging Twitter to reach their small business customers.
If you find that Twitter is a waste of time and is not working as you think it should, consider the three tips below and see if you are doing these things:
???? Dedicate a resource. Intuit and Infusionsoft are two front runners on Twitter in Small Business and both have a position (or portion of a position) dedicated to tweeting. Expertise is required in creating succinct thoughts in under 140 characters and a single source helps create consistency in your company?s voice.
???? Differentiate Twitter Accounts. Infusionsoft and Intuit also use multiple Twitter accounts to separate out information and exchanges. Both delineate customer service vs. general information/sales tweets; Intuit goes a step further and uses an ?IntuitDeals? account specifically for promotions.
???? Be responsive, not verbose. The power of Twitter is generating interest with a quick and powerful message; the 140 character limit is there for a reason! Resist the urge to create a high volume of tweets – instead, get a few interesting posts out per day and then be ready to react to and engage your followers.
At a Manhattan Chamber of Commerce event earlier this year, the director of marketing of Cafe Metro talked about how once a week he uses Twitter for a special promotion to customers. Quite innovative.
Although Twitter is gaining in popularity, don’t forget that the basics of email marketing, having a great web site (along with search engine optimization) is critical.
Ramon Ray is the editor and tech evangelist for Smallbiztechnology.com
