There was once a time when we never would have considering using Twitter for business. It started out as a way to send group messages to friends, and then was an obscure way for celebrities to let their most rabid fans know they were brushing their teeth (and what was with that 140 character things, anyway?). These days, Twitter is a worldwide platform and nifty marketing tool. The network can be essential to a business’s marketing campaign, providing you with another platform to inform and engage current and potential customers, yet “why do we need Twitter” is one of the questions we’re most frequently asked. Here are our 5 top reasons on why you should expand your marketing strategy and use twitter for business:
1. Customer reach
There are currently over 500 million users on Twitter, a number that is growing every day. If you can correctly leverage Twitter as a business platform, you’ve got the opportunity to connect with more customers. Twitter has managed to edge its way into the daily routine of many people (or customers – either way you look at it). People log on every day, whilst brushing their teeth, drinking their coffee, or even as soon as they wake up in the morning. That’s the best thing about Twitter – you can be on the minds of your customers before they even get out of bed.
2. It’s free
Like almost all social media networks, Twitter is free to sign up, with optional extras that come at a price. But unlike some (*cough* Facebook), Twitter doesn’t punish you if you choose not to fork out. This means that a well-timed tweet can potentially be seen by 100% of your followers, rather than the 5-10% you’ll see elsewhere.
3. It’s where the reporters hang out
Twitter is the social media platform of choice for bloggers and journalists. It’s their go-to for ideas and sources, and it’s where they share their thoughts – both published and not. This makes Twitter essential for monitoring what’s being said about your business and for finding press opportunities.
4. It’s real-time
Information on Twitter is shared immediately, and is one of the most effective social media tools for to-the-point, real-time communication with your audiences.
5. Twitter can go viral
On Twitter, sharing someone else’s content is an encouraged key-feature, not something that’s reserved for winning clothes vouchers and showing cat pictures. If someone sees your tweet and “retweets” or favourites it, it becomes visible to the people that are following them. This in turn leads to more awareness of your product or service, and so on and so forth.
So there you have it – our top 5 reasons why more and more businesses are starting to use Twitter and why you should, too. Just make sure you don’t become a Twitterholic and come down with Twitterhea – no one wants to be bombarded. Need a hand? Liquidity can help you build a full social media strategy so we can handle the hashtags while you focus on running your business – get in touch today.