By Lydia Chen Shah, Director Marketing Communications
Still pondering whether or not you should set up a Twitter account for your business? Perhaps you’ve heard yourself say, “I don’t see the value in Twitter for my organization.”
That was me at the beginning of this year. Then I decided to listen. To who? To other people twittering, or tweeting. I wanted to see how people and businesses interacted on Twitter.
I set up a personal account @LCShah, found a few friends, actual friends that I knew before joining Twitter, and followed them. (Yes, I know “following” someone sounds stalker-ish to some.) I found some WebMetro team members already on Twitter (like one of our SEOs @SamKhwaja) and followed them. By following these people, I was able to view their tweets, reply, and retweet or RT to my followers if desired. I viewed who they followed...and started following people I had never met before but enjoyed what they had to tweet. Then I started searching for companies I like to see if they were on Twitter. After all, I want to make sure I’m on the up-and-up when it comes to deals or promos.
Then I noticed emails in my inbox “Jane Smith is now following you on Twitter”...how did they find me? Why are they following me? Maybe they searched a keyword or topic at http://search.twitter.com/ and I appeared with my tweets. Some people auto-follow if you follow them. Like me, a few of them probably viewed who their friend/followers followed. Do you follow? – No pun intended.
I learned very quickly that Twitter offers a powerful platform for one-to-one interactions and quickly, no, instantaneously disseminating information, opinions, and more. Twitter’s exponential reach is impressive. I could interact, influence, learn from and engage with brands, individuals, and groups I might not otherwise have access to. Pretty cool. So, if you can do this in a personal capacity...what about for business? Next step, get @WebMetro started.
Initial findings: Twitter has been very powerful for us. We don’t have a cajillion followers like @THE_REAL_SHAQ but that was never the goal of getting WebMetro on Twitter. We wanted to, and continue to , interact with our audience – clients, prospects, industry, partners, etc. – and be more external than we have in the past. It has also given us tremendous insight. We learn a whole heck of a LOT from being on Twitter about customers, competitors, and the Internet marketing industry. In fact, of 3400 companies surveyed including half of the Fortune 100 list by DMA’s Social Media Council (May 2009), direct marketers believe that capturing customer insights is where social networking can have the highest impact.
Have we received any new business as a result of Twitter? Twitter has assist value. There is no doubt that Twitter can be a significant touch point in the digital purchase funnel which can push a candidate closer to conversion. I can vouch for this as a consumer and as a marketer, from both sides of the coin. I’m saving the deets on this topic for another blog post, including which brands or categories Twitter seems to enable a higher propensity for engagement.
Note: For a business, Twitter may mean dedication and time. It is an INTERACTIVE tool. Just because there is a little work involved when you’re tweeting for a business doesn’t mean it can’t be fun. If you’re a true marketer at heart, I think you’ll love it. And you might even get addicted to the darn thing. It’s meaningful. It’s insightful. It’s conversational.
If I had to guesstimate...75% of my tweets (personal not for WebMetro) are about food. The remainder is a hodgepodge of pets, reasons why I love L.A., marketing, travel, and a whole lot of other mishmash (like the Lakers!). If you’re interested in that kind of stuff, follow me @LCShah. If you want to connect with a team of Internet marketers who are fanatical about ROI, follow the agency @WebMetro.
Now, do you think Twitter will replace email? @ or DM me.