People often ask me what Twitter is and why they need it. Most people tell me that they think it’s a joke and that people just use it to say silly things, like what they just ate for lunch, or how bored they are at work, or what their dog just…… wait, never mind on that one, you get the picture.

Actually they couldn’t be more wrong. Although some people who use Twitter on a personal side might use it in such a fashion, we business professionals use it in a totally different way. It’s really no different than how you use Facebook or LinkedIn, when you’re networking professionally it’s good to keep your personal life out of the business part of your life. Twitter is amazing for business and the sooner you jump in and get your feet wet, the better you’re going to be.

Do yourself and your business a favor and get your Twitter account today, it will take less than five minutes and soon you’ll have quite a following. Just a tip here: ENGAGE. Engage every day, several times a day if you can. It will take some getting used to, but before you know it, you’ll be thinking of all sorts of things to tweet about.

Here’s my 4 INCREDIBLE reasons why you need Twitter:

1.) Connecting with customers

Millions of people are using Twitter everyday, and they tweet only a sentence or two at a time, but it’s proven to be successful for businesses too. You can tweet about new products or services and be ahead of your competitors if their not using Twitter yet. You can engage with your customers on a level that would otherwise be non existent. Imagine reaching hundreds, possibly thousands of people in a matter of minutes, who are all talking about you and your business and retweeting and sharing your product information. Let’s not forget it’s FREE! Twitter is what is often times called viral. It takes only mere seconds to share news with millions of people.

2.) Branding your business

People usually think that you have to a big brand before someone is interested in following you. This could not be farther from the truth. If you have customers, trust me, they want to be following you to keep up with what’s going on in your business and what new products and services you might have that they need. They want to be the first to know and the first to have the newest toy. By engaging with your customers each and everyday through Twitter, you’ve increased your brand loyalty. You’ve kept them informed, you’ve helped them with what they need and you’ve made them feel important by taking only a few moments out of your day. What more could you ask for?

3.) Customer Service

You can provide an all new level of customer service through Twitter. Your constant engagement with your customers ensures that they are always in the know. Imagine knowing when your doctor’s office got a new piece of medical equipment that might be useful to your needs, or your favorite car wash is out of order, or the newest line of spring clothing arrived today and your one of the first to know. Tweet new hours of operation, promotions, even offering one day promotions is a great sales tool, coupons, giveaways, the list is endless.

4.) Marketing

The best thing about any social media platform, especially Twitter is that your reaching a target audience you otherwise wouldn’t be able to reach. When you advertise in direct mail, newspapers, etc., you’re usually reaching a specific number of people, let’s say 4,000 in this example. Most people don’t carry that ad with them in their pocket and show it to everyone they talk to that day, your reach is still about 4,000 people, give or take. But with social media and Twitter, your one tweet can reach an unlimited number of people and FAST. I don’t know a business out there that wouldn’t agree that word of mouth and referrals are the best possible recommendations a business can get. Social media and Twitter are doing just that. Their broadcasting your business via word of mouth.

Happy Tweeting! Oh yes and remember to Follow Me on Twitter @HoltzTina.

Tina Holtz, Miss Executive

Related articles

• Why Social Media is the New Customer Service Channel (Part 3) (avaya.com)
• Twitter for business (simplybusiness.co.uk)
• 5 creative ways to use Twitter for your business (simplybusiness.co.uk)
• Cost-effective tweets and posts make millions (theraconteur.co.uk)
• Why Twitter Might Be Your Best Recruiting Tool (news.terra.com)