Last month (before I got cracking with this blog) Biz Stone, the founder of Twitter, announced a new guide for businesses using Twitter.
This will please many businesses who are wondering how to use Twitter for commercial purposes.
The guide has been presented as an website called Twitter 101, and includes tips, advice and case studies that anyone can access to better understand how to use the platform.
You can access the sections below:
So what is Twitter?
Twitter is a communications platform that helps businesses and their customers do a number of useful things. Businesses can:
- Quickly share information with people that are interested in the company
- Gather real-time market intelligence and feedback
- Build relationships with customers and other people that care about your company.
Your customers can use it too. They might:
- Tell you (or anyone else) that they had a great–or disappointing–experience with your business, offer you product ideas, and share your promotional offers around with their friends and connections.
You can eavesdrop on the conversations taking place right now about your brand by searching Twitter for the name of your company, product or brand. If you have a Twitter account already, your home page has a handy search box on the right side. If you don’t, go to search.twitter.com.
So how do businesses use Twitter?
Apart from the uses of Twitter that I’ve already outlined, one of Twitter’s key benefits is that it gives you the chance to communicate casually with customers on their terms, creating friendly relationships along the way. Most corporations find this tough to do – it’s more natural for them to hide behind stiff annual reports and legalized company brochures.
The conversational nature of the medium lets you build relationships with customers, partners and other people important to your business. It humanises your company to your customers.
Plus, the platform lends itself to integration with your existing communication channels and strategies. In combination, those factors can make Twitter a critical piece of your company’s bigger digital footprint.
Today businesses are offering exclusive Twitter coupon codes, links to key posts on their blogs, sharing tips for shopping online, and announcing specials at store locations.
So to get Twittering, head to Twitter 101 for the lowdown on how to make use of this social media platform for the benefit of your brand. You too might lead a flock before you know it.
