Archive for April, 2010

The basic concept of Twitter is to send short messages to individuals who elect to hear from you. What a simple concept. Twitter users have expanded that concept to paradigms that were not dreamed of when the tool was developed.

A Two Way Communication Tool

Too many people think of Tweets as one way communication. Those are the folks that think their word is golden and yours is not. We all know who they are. The real beneficiary of Twitter is the person who gets quick answers to urgent questions. Ask a specialized question and get an expert response.

People that are following you elected to do so themselves. They probably did it because they share some of your interests. So when a question pops up, odds are someone following you has some knowledge on that subject. When they see your request, they can respond to it. And the odds are pretty good that you’ll get a response.

Twitter can be used as a communication tool that is only open to people that you want to allow into the conversations. On the “Account” page in “Settings” you can click “Protect my tweets” and then you will be required to approve who will be able to follow you.

Using twitter in this manner is designed to create an online forum. It includes team members who can interact and keep members of the group informed on the progress of a project they are working on. Gaining a large number of followers is not an object of team communication. The object is getting quick communications in the hands of a select group. Those posted communications are then available for members to read and review at their convenience.

In team communication Twitter can be used to post updates to a project, troubleshoot a problem, or request help. Make sure your team members are familiar with Twitter. Those who are not may need some training and should be encouraged to get familiar with it.

The management of your business’s tweets to the public carries with it the need for someone with enough responsibility to represent the company. This is often a sales person or other member of the company marketing department that already interacts with the public. A good communicator is imperative.

Your marketing manager then needs to study what successful businesses in your industry are doing with Twitter. You may find there is a need to set up multiple Twitter accounts. One may be designed to notify existing customers of updates to their services. Another may be to offer free advice to the public in an effort to turn them into customers.

So if you haven’t done it, get a Twitter account set up for your business. Tie it into your blog site. Then send your postings to your followers. If you need help, contact us at Business And Social Media, or call Huck Huckabee 704-438-2910.