How effective is Twitter for growing a small local business?
When it comes to helping your business grow, social media is a must. But, with so many available social media platforms it can seem like a very daunting task. How do you choose which platform to tackle first? Or, do you just engage in all of them at once? Is it even worth my time, and who will notice or care about my small business? If you are asking these questions you are not alone. Here is some advice on where to start, and what steps you can take to feel accomplished and see results.
First off, it is not the best idea to dive into all the social media platforms at once. Coming from a Millennial that might seem like confusing advice, but in all reality it’s not. Think of it this way – if you attempted to manage all the social media sites at once it would be like playing for all the sports teams at your high school. You would be exhausted trying to juggle so many practices and games. If you want to be the best you need to dedicate your time and efforts to the sport that has the most potential.
Now, that being said, which platform has the most potential? The top 5 platforms used today in order are; Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and Reddit. You might be thinking, why is this article about how effective Twitter can be for my business, when Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram are more popular, shouldn’t I try one of those first?
No, and here are 3 reasons why:
Money
The biggest problem for a small business tackling social media is the ability to gain followers. If you have money the easiest tactic is to buy ads on the social media site to help generate views. That can cost you a pretty penny (actually hundreds of thousands of pretty pennies). Twitter can be effectively used without spending a dime on ads, and it generates more clicks than facebook while outperforming facebook ads. It’s also more directly engaging.
Connecting/Building Relationships
The best way to gain followers and be seen is through engagement. You can tag someone in a post, or search people and interact with their content. When you communicate on Twitter it’s like directly communicating with people individually and collectively. The best way to understand how Twitter facilitates communication, is to think of it as a telephone. It isn’t a huge megaphone you shout in and everyone hears you. You want to make direct contact with one person. Use the advanced search engine. This seems to be a secret hidden in plain sight. Enter keywords that pertain to your business or product, and interact with trending topics, or follow people. Those that follow you, and the person you connected with, will see you engage on a personal level, and will increase the visibility of your business.
Keep updated and get creative
Twitter is not only a great way to engage with clients, but you can keep up on all the trends, and more importantly you can/should interact and comment on these hot topics. This will build your credibility in front of more people. Just like talking to people and building relationships in person, engaging on trending subjects will increase your visibility, and reputation.
After each service/transaction ask your customers if they want to follow you on twitter for special offers, or even let them schedule appointments/services via twitter. If you have a brick and mortar business have a sign in your store with your twitter handle. Make sure your website has a link to your twitter page. Some companies have even taken food orders via Twitter. Get creative on how you connect and build relationships. Latter this week we will have some tips on how to be an innovative twitter user.
Twitter can take some time and effort, but it is worth it.
Cool articles about Twitter I highly recommend!
Create one-to-one contact. Think of twitter like a phone. Be personal. The new algorithm focuses on content that they interact with. The more they like or view your tweets the more they will see it. It can seem slow going, but the most effective way. And if you make one tweet with one person content worthy, their friends will see it.
https://sproutsocial.com/insights/twitter-for-small-business/
Twitter’s overview of how to tweet as a business
https://business.twitter.com/en/basics.html
Twitter gives you more for your money, Twitter reaches a different demographic, and Twitter’s community is much more active. Insert yourself into relevant conversations. Give your Twitter followers something special, Tweet like a person.
http://blog.sumall.com/journal/small-business-can-use-twitter-effectively.html
20 tips to market better on twitter. Great stuff! Especially like #2,3,8,9,13,14,15,17, and 20
https://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/20-powerful-ways-to-use-twitter-to-grow-your-business.html
If you run a small business and aren’t using Twitter, I have to ask, why not? It seems that just about everyone else on the planet with access to the web or a cell phone is. As of April 2016, 310 million are using Twitter and there are 500 million tweets sent a day.
https://www.thebalance.com/top-reasons-why-your-small-business-should-use-twitter-2948523
Twitter Demographics
https://www.omnicoreagency.com/twitter-statistics/
All social media demographics
http://www.socialmediatoday.com/social-networks/top-social-network-demographics-2017-infographic
TOP 15 Social Media Sites
https://www.dreamgrow.com/top-15-most-popular-social-networking-sites/