Social marketing is an essential tool to promote your business (or non-profit organization). Your customers expect it and even small businesses are increasingly entering the social media domain.
Every business owner knows in the end “the sell” is really about connecting with your customer. And customers are increasingly found in the virtual world: Facebook has 325 million and Twitter 18 million users, and rising. Our job is to bring these customers to you.
We suggest horizontal integration of your social media, that is, using Twitter, Facebook and a blog. This can make your website much more search engine friendly and help spread the word of what you’re selling through multiple channels.
At Glendale Designs we notice that some of our customers are a bit unclear about what Twitter is. It is a form of communication that is a bit like instant messaging (IM) but only allows for 140 characters. This means that you have to be precise. Let’s give you a short intro about twittering and what it takes to do it well.
1. Record
Tweets are like instant messages in that they stay around on your Twitter profile page, if you do not actively delete them. This is a tweet of one company owner:
“Can all of you I am following read my tweets or just the people who follow me?”
Yes, everyone can read them – and this tweet does not make the company look very professional and at least should have been deleted. (Disclosure: We changed a couple of words around in this tweet because we have no interest in publicly embarrassing this company.) Your twitter account is another public face of your company- keep that in mind when you tweet.
2. Placement
A tweet is a bit like a website in that people might look or search through your tweets to decide, if they should follow you. This means that whenever possible the last tweet of any sequence is the one that will be on top of the tweets. For example, a good last tweet of the day could refer to your current sale.
3. Timing
Twitter, of course, has a cycle. There are some times of the day that are better for tweets than others. It largely depends on your followers and industry as to when it’s best for you to tweet.
4. Wording
Even though we already mentioned this, it is important enough to get its’ own heading.
Your tweets have to be precise, which is hard when you have only 140 characters and have to convey complex information, like an important discount Factory Direct Models offers for instance: “SAVE $20 – TW Discount Code TW092009 Use here http://tiny.cc/rV0Q3”
5. Changes
Twitter is still an emerging social medium. Things change and they change quickly. For example, Twitter just implemented Lists, which are meant to enhance your communicative powers. As an effective tweeter you have to be up-to-date on those developments.
6.Consistency
A consistent branding tone matters and has to be coupled with an authentic voice. For example, I do not show appreciation for a tweet that I personally think is of a questionable nature. I think this authenticity has also led to us being successful with our client twitter campaigns.
7. Commitment
Consistency and relationship building takes time. More time than our customers have, which is one of the reasons why Factory Direct Models hired us to Facebook and tweet for them.
8. As the World Turns
The Twitter population responds quickly to important events (from the Fort Hood tragedy to a movie release) and you have to be aware of this and if applicable adjust your tweets accordingly.
In the end Twitter is a very public way to connect with your customer and Glendale Designs knows how to do just that – in an ever changing world. We’re not just about selling the product, we care, and connect.
