Because Twitter's not just for twits ;)
I regularly give talks for entrepreneurial businesses on how to make their marketing pay. Top of my list for most is to try social media as part of their marketing toolkit. And within that, I almost always recommend Twitter. Particularly if the business in question is one where authentic one-to-one relationships count.
CC License photo credit: _gee_
How long have you been on Twitter?
I have been on Twitter now for around 15 months and loving it!
How many people follow you?
At the moment – around 1500 plus
How many people do you follow?
Erm, around 1400 plus.
What made you sign up to Twitter?
I had heard lots of people talking about it on the radio and tv so my initial reason was curiosity, then I realised it could be good for the business too.
How often do you ‘Tweet’?
A few times a day.
A Guest Blog By Christopher Sherrod.
In the early days of Twitter you could do anything and get away with it. Well, not anymore. Twitter has gotten pretty aggressive about certain techniques to get large number of followers.
I talked to consulting client of mine that bought a course on twitter (not mine). And his twitter account was suspended permanently.
So I asked him some questions on how he used twitter.
What I learned clearly shows why his account was suspended permanently.
Some Automation Is Not Good
A Guest Blog by Mark Aselstine of Uncorked Ventures Wine Clubs
“Over the past few months I’ve been experimenting using Twitter as a way to help my business during these very early days, I believe I’ve found a couple of very basic insights which may help others use Twitter more effectively for their business.
A guest blog from Barry James of Receipt Angel
Twitter has been a bit of a revelation to me over the last couple of months or so. Of course I’ve been aware of it for a year or two – but it didn’t grab me straight away. In fact I was more than a little dubious about the whole ‘Social Network’ thing. Especially why it would work for small businesses – and how.
A guest post by James Ainsworth of Marketing Donut
Given that social media is a field of marketing still in its infancy, reports are published daily on social media habits. Indeed, the viral growth of social media usage studies, and studies of studies, was recently highlighted in terms more expected of Private Eye than a serious publication like The Economist, which said: “An astonishing amount of time is being wasted on investigating the amount of time being wasted on social networks.”
A guest blog from Gaynor Humphrey.
When you think of social media you may not instantly think of 2 middle aged, traditionally built women. However for Best Years, run by Gaynor (thats me!) and Liz, it has rapidly become an integral part of the marketing mix.
Best Years wholesale knitted and fair trade toys. As a small business in a sector dominated by large multi nationals we have had to carve a niche out for ourselves in order to survive and prosper. Our success is based on staying close to our customers’ needs. To do this we exhibit at 5 large trade shows a year and send out regular digital newsletters. We also use our website, www.bestyears.co.uk both to attract more customers and hold data on all our products.
A guest blog from Bryony Thomas
I run Clear Thought Consulting, a management consultancy specialising in marketing transformation programmes for small businesses. In the last six months, through Twitter, we have:
It is a fantastic tool for doing business. And should definitely be on the list of marketing techniques to try in 2010 for every small business. Our top three activities on Twitter are:
A guest blog from Graham Salisbury:
OK. So what does Twitter do for me?
At the basic level it’s an integral part of my masterplan to launch my HR Case Studies blog onto an unsuspecting work!
I first developed HR Case Studies in July 2010, intending it to be (as it says on the tin) “a resource pool of HR related updates and HR case studies from the national press for teachers of Business Studies.” Twitter is invaluable not only in driving traffic to the emerging site, but it also serves as a live stream of news items for potential inclusion on my blog.
The trouble with twitter, a guest post by @Essex_Courier.
I'm happy to use Increase Sociability.