Twitter: Window of Opportunity or End of the Line?
Roughly 5(?) years ago a friend of mine introduced me to Twitter. “Just give it some time, it will be huge” he said. I thought he was being ridiculous, why would anyone care to be updated on the random happenings of my day? Fast forward a few years and twitter has created a culture of it’s own. Not only do people care, but they crave those tiny pieces of insight into the lives of others. Twitter has also infiltrated the Business World. Companies create accounts to promote their latest product, share insider information, send out updates etc, etc. The idea of twitter is great, reaching a large audience of people, who you normally wouldn’t have access to, convey your ideas in 140 characters or less, seems simple enough right? Wrong, there is a whole slew of do’s and don’ts.
A fabulous conversation transpired today after one AV company tweeted a statistic about how so few companies are taking advantage of twitter. The discussion quickly led from one question to another. I wanted to take a moment to recap and give my thoughts. First off ladies and gents, regardless of who you are, where you are, what time it is, or which account you are tweeting from, you are being watched, and what you say will cause others to form opinions about you. So be aware of that, it’s easy to get caught up in the heat of the moment, giving your opinions or saying things off the top of your head, but keep in mind what you say will end up wandering the inter-webs for eternity, so be careful!
Next, if you are tweeting from a company account, each tweet is a representation of your company. It’s sounds obvious, but never tweet information that was not approved for the public. Your company will be held to whatever is tweeted from that account, so stay true to the mission statement, ethics and goals of that company. If you are tweeting from a personal account, but you are associated with a specific company, make sure you clearly state in your bio that your opinions are your own, and not those of your employer and or company.
Moving on, twitter is a great tool to catch leads and expand you business. Here are a few of my thoughts on using twitter to bring in clients. Don’t spam. Constantly tweeting the same thing, over, and over, and over again will only irritate people. Instead of bombarding the twitterverse with links, take the time to seek out potential clients and build relationships. Twitter is all about networking. If you develop friendships and cultivate a good community you are more likely to benefit your company. Twitter makes you available to others. If your clients know you are available and ready to answer their questions and or accommodate any other needs they have, they are more likely to return for your services.
So there you have it, Twitter can either be your blissful window of opportunity or dreaded end of the line. You choose!
