Is Twitter Noise or a Business Tool?

Recently, this question appeared in a LinkedIn discussion group.  It received lots of attention and many interesting comments.  The majority of people saw Twitter as a business tool.  A few said it’s just noise, but those people did not elaborate.  In other words, they said something like, “noise,” and nothing else.  The ones who saw Twitter as a viable business tool talked about the way they were using it.  That, of course, was much more helpful than those who said, “noise,” without comment. 

Dell came out with the bold announcement that it earned $6.5 million from its Twitter channel.  A recent poll conducted by 6S Marketing that included ten thousand respondents reported almost all are actively involved in social media and saw the benefits firsthand.  Some highlights included: 70 percent of respondents using social media and having a Facebook account; 58 percent blogging; 47 percent on Twitter; and 61 percent actively tracking what people were saying about their brand online.

If Twitter is a viable business tool, how are people using it?  Here are some of the ways noted on that LinkedIn discussion thread:

•   It’s a great way to get lots of information quickly.  Those commenting talked about building relationships with other people and having conversations with them.

•   Twitter enables you to follow important thought leaders in your field or your industry.  If you teach classes or mentor people or even supervise others, you can quickly learn what others are saying about the latest trends.

•   It’s a great way to create brand awareness and it’s free!  Businesses can improve customer awareness of both products and services with a concentrated Twitter presence.

•   It enables you to quickly stay in touch with industry news.  This was one of the most popular responses to the question about Twitter’s effectiveness.  With all the information pouring at you from so many directions, Twitter enables you to sift through that information, target who you want to read and gain a broader perspective.

•   When you join in conversations and build relationships, new business results.  Several people commented on getting new projects, new clients, or new referral partnerships through their Twitter connections.

•   One HR executive said he found Twitter very useful in locating new blogs to follow and in meeting new people.

•   Another person said Twitter contributed to 70 percent of his company’s bottom line.  He discussed creating brand awareness coupled with developing strategic alliances and real time customer support.  In other words, Twitter alone is not the answer.  Twitter combined with traditional selling methods shortens the sales cycle and creates business opportunities where none existed before.

•   Twitter drives traffic to your business.  You must tweet effectively with a nice mixture of tweets that are interesting to your readers.  Post blogs, yours and those of others, highlight interesting statistics, share quotes, rate and evaluate products and services. 

•   Use Twitter Search for certain words or topics to see what’s been written about them.  It’s a great way to do niche marketing.

•   Use Twitter the right way!

So what does using Twitter the right way mean?  Here are some tips that are worth repeating.

1.  Do not add to the noise.  Do not post trivial information that people do not have time to read.  We are not interested in where you had coffee or what you had for breakfast.

2.  Do not spam people.  It’s very important not to post items that insult your followers.  The goal of Twitter is to build a relationship through conversation.  Learn about the person before you try to sell your products and services.

3.  Unfollow people you do not want or who spam you.  On Twitter, anyone can follow you who wishes to.  But, you have the power to unfollow them.  Use your block follower button wisely.

4.  Set goals for Twitter.  What are you trying to accomplish?  Is it brand awareness?  Are you searching for information about something?  Are you creating a certain visibility for yourself or your service?  Are you interested in sharing information?

5.  Create a targeted following.  That means you must take your time and hunt and peck out those you want.  You will not create thousands of followers at once, but you will create a quality list.

I’m going to quote one of the responses on the LinkedIn discussion that I believe sums it all up nicely.  This comes from Ken Newman, “Twitter can be about building relationships.  It can be about finding people who interest you and sharing things that interest them.  It can be about helping to find a missing child.  It can be about shining a light on human suffering.  It can be about raising enough money to save one man’s life. And yes, it can even be about finding that one business connection that turns into an enormous opportunity.”