Creative Ways to Use Twitter for Business

Funny as it is, the idea from this blog was spawned by a question asked to me by my mother.  She is a real-estate agent in Los Angeles, and asked me if she should use Twitter to help grow her business.  Without hesitation I said, “Of Course!”  There are many ways that business owners and those who are self-employed can use the power of Twitter to their advantage.  Twitter provides us with a near limitless platform to reach people in real time; it is really unlike anything out there.  From real estate agents, food vendors, book stores, to any business that provides products or services; Twitter can grant you access to a large number of potential customers who already have the intent to spend.

I have outlined a few steps that might help your business utilize Twitter effectively

1)      If you do not already have a Twitter account, create one, and make sure that you brand your account properly.  If you are in business for yourself, it would be smart to use your full name, that way when someone types in your name on Google, you are highly visible.  In the case where you have a common name, or do not wish to use your full name, a username with industry relevant keywords can be just as good or better.  If you are a small business, make sure to use the name of your small business as your username.  If this too is taken, come up with a variation of your business name, with an industry relevant keyword.

2)      Follow Follow Follow – In the start, follow as many people as you can.  Start out with your immediate network, and then see who they are following and who follows them…  Repeat this process regularly.  Within a few days, if done right, you should have a good amount of followers.  There are also some great Twitter Tools that can help you add followers as well.  Follow both random people, and people within your industry.

3)      Use TweetDeck – In my opinion TweetDeck is the best Twitter tool that one can use.  It allows you set up a maximum of 10 keyword searches.  These keywords can be anything; determine what the 10 best search keywords for your industry/business are and set up searches for these terms.  Then, as you see these searches come up live in real-time; you can target your demographics.  Let’s say you own a cupcake store in Miami, and you set up a search “cupcakes in Miami.”  You then see a tweet that was tweeted just moments ago asking “does anyone know where to get cupcakes in Miami?”  Bingo!  You have a potential customer wanting to buy something you provide.  At this time all you have to do is tweet them back giving your business location and information.  If you do this on a regular basis, imagine all of the potential new clients you can get just from the functionalities that TweetDeck offers.

4)      Tweets- The previous three steps are easy, and anyone can do them.  You just need to stay consistent.  Not only should you keep your eyes peeled on tweet searches, but also tweet valuable information about your business.  Whether it is new locations, new things in stock, updates to your merchandise, maps, pictures, and links to your website.  Make sure that your tweet account doesn’t seem like it is a robot.  Add a personal touch to it to give your business a voice.

There are many ways to use Twitter to enhance your business endeavors.  The preceding was a basic strategy on how to market yourself on Twitter.  You can find many more marketing ideas and strategies on your blog and articles page.  If you have any other questions, feel free to leave a comment or contact us.

References: http://mashable.com/2009/07/17/Twitter-street-vendors/

http://www.Twitterpowersystem.com/blog/creative-ways-to-promote-your-local-business-using-Twitter/

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