How Companies Can Use Twitter
There are two main questions I hear over and over again when it comes to Twitter…both of which revolve around the same theme of how do “I or we” use it? From a individual perspective the question becomes more about what the person is looking to gain. From a business perspective things get a bit more complicated but the objective becomes clearer.
I have heard plenty of positive stories and have had my own success using Twitter from a business perspective. Whether for pure traffic generation, customer service, revenue or just general communication - it is clear Twitter is a powerful took every company should be taking advantage of.
Below is a quick list I put together of ways companies can utilize Twitter (in no particular order).
- Coupon Promotion. Have a coupon or discount code? Why not put it on Twitter and let your fans become your marketers by retweeting and posting. An even better idea is to generate a Twitter exclusive coupon.
- Promote limited time offers. “Only 3 hours left to save an extra 25% off our top products!”
- Online Reputation Management. By using Twitter Search you can monitor mentions of your brand and address any potential issues.
- Customer feedback / reviews.
- Out of stock alerts. Have a hot product that is selling well? Let your followers know there is only a limited quantity left.
- Job recruiting.
- New product alerts
- Shopping advice. Who doesn’t love a good “Here some of our favorite summer shoes” type links?
- Be the expert. Proactively engage the Twitter audience through Twitter Search. If you are a sock company and someone is asking about socks - answer their question! Not only will you gain a follower you might gain a customer as well.
- General company news and announcements
- Message testing. Before launching an advertising campaign why not get instant feedback / reaction from your followers first?
- Company fun / random facts.
- Tips and advice related to your companies business.
- Links to new content / blog posts.
- Question & Answer sessions.
- Company stock quotes.
- Market research
- Customer Service
- Promote email
- Promote profiles on other social media services.
- Direct communication from company executives.
- Interesting news and articles not from your company but related to your business.
Should a company take on everything listed above? Of Course not. But, every company who has a Twitter presence should at least be doing a few.
What are some of the other ways companies can use Twitter?
Comments
Comment from Kieran Hawe
Time: May 12, 2009, 2:59 pm
@stan 2 things: 1) putting into effect an effective Twitter strategy doesn’t require a great deal of resources. 2) I am against anything automated on Twitter as that defeats the purpose of engaging with your audience on a personal level.
Comment from Ken P.
Time: May 12, 2009, 8:16 pm
I agree that companies should be on Twitter but you have to weigh the time and effort against other projects based off of ROI.
Comment from Kieran Hawe
Time: May 12, 2009, 8:25 pm
@Ken Yes ROI should be the basis of all marketing decisions but Twitter cost is basically zero - just time. If time spent working with twitter is an issue use my favorite solutions - interns.
Comment from Ryan
Time: July 28, 2009, 4:28 pm
Kieran, your point is well-taken but your observation “Twitter cost is basically zero - just time” is exceptionally frustrating for me. “Time is money” is a cliche because it is true if you are in business.
If I had the option between $100 and more time, I’d take the time. I use Twitter and am glad to have read some of the suggestions in the article but no responsible business person can argue that Twitter’s cost is zero if used for business. It’s a new take on the Fallacy of the Broken Window.
Comment from Kieran Hawe
Time: July 28, 2009, 6:46 pm
@Ryan - I agree with your point that “time is money” - that fact is the time spent on any initiative should be weighed based on ROI, impact and priority.
Comment from Stan
Time: May 12, 2009, 2:47 pm
How much of this could be automated? Seems like a great deal of resources need to be added to manage this.