Social media accounts can be a useful tool for businesses – when used correctly. But if you’ve only got a Twitter account because everyone else does, you’ve got to ask whether you really need one.
Twitter is a great way to interact on a more social level with your customers – whether you’re providing customer care or offering advice, tips or promotions.
However, running a Twitter account can take time and skill. It’s not just about sending out links to products or re-tweeting cat videos.
What do you want to get from it?
The first question should always be, what do you want to get from Twitter? What does success look like?
Are you looking to establish yourself as a market leader with insightful blogs; is it a customer service tool to get feedback and change your business accordingly; or do you simply want to drive people to your website and let it do the talking for you?
If you can’t answer these questions, ask again, why do you have an account?
How are you using your account?
Does your account just sit there or are you using it for updates on your personal life?
While you don’t need to keep it strictly business, you should avoid too much personal information. Remember, Twitter is public so all your tweets could appear in Google searches for your company.
It’s also worth looking into who is following you. Are these potential customers or just random people? If you’re not attracting the kind of followers you want, you might want to reconsider your approach.
Who runs it?
Many firms now hire their own social media manager, but that can be costly – especially for a small business. This leads many firms to hand the task over to someone in house.
Not only is it preferable to have someone with social media skills handling Twitter accounts, but if you’re giving the responsibility to someone else you’re taking time from their day – and time is money, as they say.
Which social media to use?
A good place to start when asking whether you need Twitter is looking at other social media sites.
Does your company have a Facebook and LinkedIn? If so, take a look at how they are doing. If you’re getting lots of interaction and leads from these sites, you may not need Twitter at all.
Benefits of Twitter
Having said all this, there are so many benefits for small businesses if Twitter is used correctly.
• Recommendations: There has been a 663% increase in Twitter users asking for small business recommendations in the past 2 years, says AdWeek.
• Brand loyalty: AdWeek also found 67% of Twitter users are more likely to buy from a brand they follow
• Generate leads: A third of social media marketers can successfully generate leads on Twitter, says social media guru Jeff Bullas. Social Media today backs this up with figures showing B2B marketers with Twitter accounts generate twice as many leads than those who don’t have accounts.
Posted by Julie Tucker