Twitter – Top 10 Uses for Business

December 16, 2009

One of our most frequently asked questions recently is “How can twitter help me or my business?”. I hope there are some uses in these lists for you and your business to take advantage of Twitter’s real time, one-way mini-blogging.

Twitter for Business:

1. SEO- Search Engine Optimization – Google actually picks up these tweets and displays them in their search results. They won’t be long-lasting like your home page rankings, but they can be effective for highlighting a new product, new webpage, or your latest blog entry
2. Reputation monitoring and tracking your competition – check out http://monitter.com/ for tracking what people are saying about your business or any other keyword of interest like your competition
3. Opportunity to solve a customer problem – Comcast solves thousands of complaints per day by monitoring Twitter when a customer tweets something bad about their service
4. Specials of the day or week – Restaurants are getting great responses by tweeting their daily specials or coupons for something free
5. Tips for using your products or services – help your customers out with the “inside tips” for using your products or services and at the same time let them know all the other things you can offer
6. Contest or new product promotions – Contests are a great interaction on the Internet to attract attention.  The right contest can go viral and create tremendous interest in your company
7. Service openings (as for a dentist that has a cancellation) – This is a great way to fill those last minute openings, combine the twitter feed with a 10% discount and you may never have another hole in your daily schedule
8. Emergency notifications to employees and customers – Companies are always looking for ways to contact employees in emergencies that require plant closings or other actions.  Twitter can provide one way to help this, not the “only” way, but one path
9. Networking for new contacts – At its core, Twitter is another way to network with short interactions, getting to know each other, liking each other, and gaining trust if it’s done well
10. Get feedback – if you need feedback just tweet about it asking what people think. Once you have a follower base, this can be a valuable source of business decision making information

If you want more ideas, check this out for 50 Ideas for Using Twitter for Business by Chris Brogan:  http://www.chrisbrogan.com/50-ideas-on-using-twitter-for-business/

If you’d like help with your social marketing campaign, contact us.