Three ways we use Twitter as a business tool
In the last six months, through Twitter, we have:
- Hooked up three people we hadn’t previously known with new paying clients.
- Met up with somewhere in the region of 20 local experts who are now on our referral list.
- Received two good quality leads, with a combined value in five figures.
It is a fantastic tool for doing business and should definitely be on the list of marketing techniques to try in 2010 for every small business. Our top three activities on Twitter are:
1. Promoting ourselves
Now, this has to be done in a really open, honest and authentic way. After all, Twitter is an opt-in medium, and if people don’t like what you’re saying the ‘un-follow’ button is only a click away. We use Twitter to drive traffic to our website, with high quality free content, like Blogs and presentations. We know that the majority of people will simply read, nod and leave. That’s fine. Over time this builds up into a bank of goodwill, full of people who drop us into conversation with their friends and contacts, or drop us a line when a need arises.
Twitter is the third highest source of traffic to our website. I recently received an email from a contact at a local agency, “Wow, keep doing what you’re doing, I only ever hear good things about you.” Delighted, I asked who had mentioned me – three people with whom I have regular contact on Twitter, but have never met in person, had mentioned Clear Thought on totally separate occasions. One had also forwarded him one of our Blog articles relevant to their conversation they’d found via the site. The key here is the content you make available – it needs to be interesting and useful.
2. Market Research
Twitter is totally brilliant for a bit of research. We’ve used it in a few different ways. You can use various monitoring tools to search names and phrases to see what is being said ‘out there’. This is a great starting point for preparing more detailed research for client projects looking at sales messages, customer service or brand perception. We’ve also used Twitter to find people to interview for more detailed research projects. You can also drop people a link to an open survey, if it is appropriate.
3. Office Banter
There are three of us in the business. We often work from home, or out and about with clients. In this setting, Twitter is great for a bit of human contact. People send each other playlists on Spotify, or vent their frustrations with the weather, or simply chat about something they saw on TV. It’s the home-worker’s equivalent of the water cooler. We do have a few rules on this one. We never say anything on Twitter that we wouldn’t say at a professional networking event. So, typically no swearing, bitching (ooh, just did) or moaning. But a bit of friendly conversation can keep the synapses firing nicely.
All in all, Twitter has become a key tool for our business. It also finds itself in the mix for most of our clients these days. One of whom recently doubled inbound enquiries through smarter use of social media and digital marketing, including Twitter. So, give it a go.
And, remember that it is a conversation, not a bulletin board.
By Bryony Thomas | Chief Clear Thinker | Clear Thought Consulting Ltd | @bryonythomas | www.clear-thought.co.uk
This blog originally appeared as a guest post on Business on Twitter
If this blog is of interest to you, you may also like to view:
- 10 Minute Tips: How does social media support the sales funnel?
- Case Study: Digital and Social Media Marketing
- Blog: B2B Social Media: Be There, Be Relevant, Be Proven
Clear Thought Consulting works with small businesses, equipping them with the marketing strategies, suppliers, skills and set-up that they need to become bigger businesses. We do this by planning and delivering 12-month marketing transformation programmes – supporting a small business through a step-by-step process to making marketing pay. We firmly believe that when you can’t out-spend your competition, you have to out-think them.
Published on 5 May 2010
