I’m often asked “what is the point of Twitter? Why would it be useful for my business?”
My answer: I love Twitter! Yes, it can be a time waster, as can email or any part of the Internet. I try to limit myself to 2 or 3 times a day, no more than five minutes at a time. I like to check in to Twitter both morning and evening, because some of my Twitter friends are in other time zones.
My routine generally consists of scanning tweets (twitter comments) and reading any of interest. If I find an interesting comment that others might like to read, I click a button to re-tweet it and share. If I can add a helpful response to a comment, I do so.
Any tweets that mention me, or are addressed to me – publicly or privately, show up in separate folders so can be easily checked and answered if needed.
As people follow me, I look at a number of things before deciding to follow them back. Those include: a profile photo so I know who I’m interacting with, a general location, some background information that shows they share some of my interests, tweets written in English, without profanity, and not just sales pitches. These are my criteria, yours can be whatever you decide.
Twitter is fantastic for customer support. I purchased some software and had trouble using it. A support ticket to the company wasn’t answered as quickly as I needed, but I knew their spokesperson used Twitter. One tweet to them about the problem and within a half hour I was a super satisfied customer.
I use Twitter to arrange meetings with people as well. I could send multiple emails and wait for each response, but since Twitter requires short messages, I can simply say “Such and Such Cafe on Main Street at 1 pm. tomorrow. Who can come?” In no time, I have my answers and everything has been arranged.
Often, I’ll see tweets asking for product or service recommendations, mentioning a job opening or educational opportunity. Contests are announced, movie and book reviews are discussed, people are genuine.
Know, Like, and Trust – these are the qualities people look for when dealing with others. And Twitter allows that interaction to become a reality, no matter where you live.
If you haven’t already, I encourage you to join the many businesses that have found Twitter to be one of the best ways to interact with their customers and keep a pulse on their target market. If you’d like to follow me, I can be found at twitter.com/torontocarol. I look forward to getting to know you online.
Carol