Twitter is a controversial marketing tool. On the one hand, many companies have achieved a considerable amount of success on Twitter, marketing their products and services to people around the world and branding their business like never before. On the other hand, Twitter takes commitment, and anyone that thinks they’re going to see ridiculous ROI right away will be sadly disappointed.
But Twitter does offer its fair share of benefits to companies hoping to improve their market visibility. Here are several of the benefits of Twitter and why they can help your business succeed.
Personal
Twitter is one of the only ways to personally interact with potential customers. This type of interaction builds loyalty, brands your business, and does more on a person by person basis than nearly any other marketing method imaginable. It’s unlikely you’ll reach as many customers as you can with other types of marketing, but it’s possible to have a better interaction with them and potentially create long lasting relationships.
Market Research
In many ways, Twitter is also a market research tool. As you interact with customers, search Twitter and more, you will learn what people are saying about you, your products, and your industry, and ultimately find ideas that may help your business in the future.
Free Press Release
When you’ve built up enough followers, Twitter can act as a free press release tool. Any time you need to announce something to the public, simply make a tweet or two and suddenly everyone knows about your news. You don’t need to spend money on a press release, and unlike with a press release you can answer any questions your followers have about the news directly.
Customer Satisfaction
Twitter is also an excellent customer satisfaction tool. Not only can you respond to customer questions and engage with customers that contact you – you can also find customers through the search feature that have mentioned your business and try to make things better/right. Companies that are active on Twitter are able to save customer relationships and look better to the public with a few 140 character responses.
Positive Branding
Assuming you run your Twitter account correctly, with someone in charge of your campaign that is skilled at making jokes or presenting a positive and friendly attitude, Twitter also does a good job of creating a positive association with your brand. The effects of this association may not be apparent right away, but with time, people begin to associate your brand and what it has to offer with the same lighthearted tone of your account.
Developing Your Business on Twitter
Either commit to your Twitter account or expect it to be unsuccessful. But if you are willing to invest in a well-run Twitter account and work toward developing a real reputation on the social media site, you’ll find that there are many benefits that can help your company thrive in today’s economy both in the short and long term.
