Twitter. It’s been in the news a lot lately.  The growth of Twitter, a micro-blogging social networking site, is amazing. Some reports suggest more than 10 million users are now signed on to Twitter and the majority of them are 35 years and over.

Many ask, how can something like Twitter help my business?  If used properly, and this means by providing a good mix of posts and updates, Twitter can help a business accomplish the following:

1. Branding. This is a social networking site, you publish updates about you and your business. These updates  can help establish your personality; bringing your company name to the minds of others.
2. Make Connections. Whether a client, a possible joint venture partner or even a competitor, you can instantly connect with many people. The ability to reply to anyone on Twitter and use Direct Messages (privately) allows you to chat with many.
3. Find Prospective Clients. The viral nature of updates on Twitter, takes that old Faberge Shampoo commercial many steps farther – remember that one > You tell two friends and they tell two friends and so on.  With Twitter you can take that number of friends (two) and multiply it by hundreds, even thousands.
4. Notify others of Business events and updates.  Posting an event online can make it seen by many – it moves in a viral manner from friend to friend. People you would never have reached in any other manner can hear about your new product launch.
5. Bring Traffic to your Website.  For many this is their major goal of social networking. By posting interesting information and giving value to your connections they will want to learn more. You should be piquing interest enough that people will click on your links.  Your site needs to sell them once they visit, but Twitter can help you build the traffic walking in your front door (your website).

This all sounds quite simple, but can take some time to plan and setup properly. There are rules and etiquette out there that people are indeed following.  If you go in blind, you could break all the rules and your efforts will go unrewarded.

There are many resources on the web to show you how to join in the social media and networking movement. Businesses and people are adding social media to their marketing tools because they are seeing tangible results.  My recommendation is that you take your time, plan properly and set up your profiles to show off you and your brand.

If you are uncertain how to do this, there are people/businesses out there who specialize in just this type of work, and at varying levels. Depending upon the size of your business -in particular, what and how much networking and followup reporting you require – you may be looking at different types of service providers.  Time on Task VA Services provides a variety of Social Media Services from Creating a Strategic Plan, to a Customized Setup to full Management of your Networking Profiles. Please feel free to contact us for a complimentary consultation, we can give you a quick overview of how Social Media can benefit your business.

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