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While attending ILM 08 last week and talking with Ben Saren of CitySquares, I bit the bullet and signed up for Twitter in between sessions one day. The next thing I know, I am spending more time trying to get it set up the way I like it than listening to the speakers. LOL!
Signing up for Twitter and setting up an account is pretty simple. There are a good number of apps associated for Twitter to interact with your Facebook page, blog, mobile phone, etc, making it very easy to access. Right now, I think I have a good handle on it, but I am still learning.
So what is Twitter? From wikipedia, “Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service, that allows its users to send and read other users’ updates (otherwise known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length.”
Another good explanation is Jennifer Laycock’s post Still Trying to Understand Twitter? Think Post-it-Notes at Search Engine Guide.
So small business owner, is Twitter for you? I would think so. Yes it requires some time but a tweet is only 140 characters-so it does not take a ton of time. Any way to help communicate with your visitors/customers is definitely worth it.
As I was getting myself familiar with Twitter, I did some searching on its marketing potential. I came across a few good articles:
Top Rank Blog: Guide to Twitter as a Tool for Marketing and PR
Jenniferslegg: Ten ways market your blog on Twitter without being a spammer
Small Biz Trends: How and Why To Use Twitter For Small Businesses
Search Engine Guide: Twitter for Business: 10 Things to Consider Before You Get Started
On December 11, 2008, DuckTapeMarketing will be having a webinar, for those interested: Twitter for Business Live Webinar.
Local search and Twitter: The same day I signed up, Matt McGee put together a list of those in local search that are on Twitter. If you are curious who is on the list, head over the Matt’s The List: Local Search Industry on Twitter. (He has already updated one time.)
If you want to follow me, go for it! My username at Twitter is l_sullivan.
Finally, I will leave you with a quote from Aaron Brazell, from his article Golden Rule of Twitter Marketing.
“If I had to detail a Twitter Golden Rule it would: Tweet about others at least as much as you Tweet about yourself.
Make sure that your marketing efforts on Twitter engage in conversation. Ensure that you are promoting someone else’s content as much if not more than you are promoting your own. Make sure people know who you are. Twitter is personal, so build your personal brand. It will only help your business. Trust me.”
Sounds like good advice to me– tweet, tweet!
I think it is good for local business as well. The most important thing is to really try to connect with people that will benefit from your business. Targeting people local to your business will be key.