Many of us have heard of Twitter and the act of ‘Tweeting’. Some of us use it, whilst some may be
afraid. Some may even find it useless! The fact is, many individuals and businesses
use Twitter on a daily basis. From regular
Joe’s, to influencers, to celebrities…. Even the ‘beloved’ POTUS! So why not explore Twitter and see what it can
and cannot do for us or for our businesses.
Twitter is a website launched in the early 2000’s, which
allows for ‘tweets’ or posts that are brief.
Persons or businesses can set up a Twitter account that can be used in
conjunction with other forms of social media.
Posts can be done on Twitter at any time, day or night and as many times
as possible.
When I was first introduced to this forum and even up to
recently, I really could not see the benefits or even the need for it. I sincerely thought it was just another way for
people to express themselves. I could not
identify how it assists or even relates to businesses. But, thanks to this Digital Marketing class,
I have been exposed to some of the pros and cons, and it now makes so much more
sense, especially for business!
Twitter for businesses has its advantages and disadvantages….
Some of which I shall identify hereunder, in agreement with NI Direct, a
business advice channel located in Northern Ireland (NI Direct Government Services, 2018) :
Cost: The initial
set up cost for Twitter is zero!! Zilch… nada…
Gathering feedback: Twitter
provides a means to gathering feedback from existing or potential.
Brand identity: Once a
brand identity has been established, Twitter helps a business communicate this
identity to its audience.
Customer Service: Twitter
allows for direct interaction and communication between the business and its
customers. This being a public forum,
allows for the wider public to see how well the business handles negative
situations.
Audience: Twitter
gives the business the ability to reach a wider audience. It also allows the business to focus of a
specific audience through the use of hashtags.
Of course, Twitter is not all peaches and cream. There are also disadvantages to this
forum!
Some of these are:
Resources: Using
this forum requires time and relevant skills by the person or persons
designated to its maintenance.
Negative Publicity: The same public forum which allows for
the business to be shown in a positive light, also allows the general public to
view negative feedback from customers.
For this reason, a Twitter account should be handled very delicately and
skillfully.
Time: Because of the fleeting nature of Twitter
post, timing is especially important to ensure that the targeted audience does
not miss the tweets.
Spam: The internet is laden with spammers and spam
related links. Twitter being even more
public than other fora, lends to it being more susceptible to spam related
content.
Word Limit: Because
Twitter is a microblogging forum, there is a character limit. Businesses will need to be concise in its
communication on that forum. This, in
particular, is the reason why it is a good forum to use to lead to others which
may contain more content.
Using Twitter is no longer an enigmatic task
for me, now that I know more about it.
It has actually become a quite attractive tool and once I get my entire marketing
plan done for the business which I co-own with my husband, you bet your bottom
dollar I will be using it for business!!
Have you thought about using Twitter, either for business or
personal? Do you have a Twitter
account? If you do, hit me up with the
link in the comment thread below! And feel free to follow me using the link below.
References
NI Direct Government Services. (2018). Twitter for
business. Retrieved from NIBusiness Info:
https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/content/advantages-and-disadvantages-twitter-business
Very informative , Twitter is indeed useful for business.
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