Understanding Twitter As a Marketing Tool

When I discovered Twitter at the end of 2008, I was curious to understand how Twitter could be used as a marketing tool for my small business.

I learned as much as I could about Twitter as a free marketing tool for my business online. If you are a business owner or service professional using social media for networking and to drive traffic to your website/blog, you should definitely include Twitter into your online marketing mix. To find clients and generate sales on the internet, you must first drive traffic to your website or blog.

Twitter is an effective FREE social networking tool to use for that purpose. Since using Twitter consistently, I have seen a growth in followers, but more importantly it is one of the top 4 contributing sources of traffic to my websites.

Understand what Twitter is

Twitter is a social networking website that also acts as a micro-blog.  After signing up for a Twitter account, you develop a list of contacts.  These are individuals you want to follow or receive updates from.  Many will return the favor, becoming followers of your updates.  There are no limits on how many messages you can send; however, there is a 140 character limit.  Updates, otherwise known as Tweets, are sent through instant messaging, mobile web applications, RSS feeds, Twitter website and the many Twitter tools available today.

Twitter in a nut shell

When you use Twitter as a marketing tool for your business, you want to go to Search.Twitter.com and look for tweets that are applicable to your website, blog, product or service.  Occasionally send updates to your friends. Highlight your new blog post, by giving a short summary and provide a link.  Summarize a product/service you are selling, or provide a discount code.  You can also reply to members that you follow. This is Twitter in a nut shell.

5 Benefits of Marketing your Business with Twitter:

1.   Generate interest in your business

In addition to generating traffic to your website or blog, you can also generate interest.  First, create catchy Tweets.  For example, instead of inviting people to buy your products, ask for their feedback.  Then, ask your followers to forward information on your product to their contacts.  When you have a catchy message and product or service, it is easy to generate interest on Twitter.

2.   Make a sale

Regardless of whether you sell a product or a service, a sale will generate income.  By increasing visitors to your website, you increase your chances of making a sale.  For example, do you sell children’s clothes?  If so, your target market is parents.  Perform a search on Search.Twitter.com to find posts that focus on parenting.  You can offer a response that leads to your website, increasing your chances of making a sale.

3.   You can update customers

When connecting with customers, invite them to opt-in for your newsletters.  Or, give your customers the opt-in for Twitter updates.  You can share promotional codes, new product releases, and so forth.

4.   Use Twitter to hire help

Whether you want to hire a full-time employee or outsource a project or two, you can use Twitter to find qualified individuals to do the work.

5.   Build relationships with future customers or business partners

Most importantly, use Twitter as a means of connecting to prospects, customers and even possible business partners. Treat Twitter connections like you would network with other people at a social or professional networking event. Allow people to get to know you and offer help before offering your products and services.

For more practical tips and tools on using social media (like Twitter) as social networking tools to grow your business, please subscribe to the Virtual Project Consulting ezine! The monthly ezines are only 2 pages long and jam-packed with social media tools and tips.