There is no denying that more and more businesses are adopting Social Media at large as part of their overall marketing mix. There is also no denying the power of Twitter, not least when you think about GaGa’s 10.5m followers, or the recent premiership footballer scandal (what?).
Nevertheless, what is often scrutinized is how to properly utilise use Twitter in the corporate domain. Many companies are taking stabs in the dark without any real understanding of what they are (or should be) doing. So when we heard that Mark Shaw, part of the tweet elite and author of ‘Twitter Your Business’ was using our service, we couldn’t think of anyone better to turn to when Powwownow had a few questions of our own.
Powwownow: “Mark, you’re the man in the know – tell us, how on earth can a company look to monetize this maze of conversation otherwise known as Twitter?”
Mark: “Twitter is not a broadcasting station or a direct selling platform, that’s the first thing to remember.”
Powwownow: “OK, maybe we jumped the gun!”
Mark: “Indeed. It was developed five years ago as a social network tool to simply update friends and family on your movements, but that said, you are right, it has since morphed into an excellent business & marketing tool.”
Powwownow: “Care to break that down for us and our readers?”
Mark: “A communication channel which in its simplest form, allows you to post status updates on what you are doing and receive updates from others. The real value is in the ability to search for real people talking about real stuff right now and in real time. Currently, Twitter has approximately 300 million worldwide accounts with approx 450,000 new accounts being opened daily, therefore a community you should not ignore!”
Powwownow: “OK…”
Mark: “The rapid growth of Twitter means there is now a strong likelihood that anyone can find clients, customers, strategic partners and suppliers and even new business market sectors.”
Powwownow: “A-ha, so no direct sales, we’ve got that, but more of a tool?”
Mark: “Absolutely!”
Powwownow: “Got it. So what is the most powerful thing Twitter can do for a business?”
Mark: “By becoming visible in the Twitter community you can create advocates which in time can lead to referral business. Twitter not only allows you to demonstrate an expertise but affords a vehicle to gain recognition of that expertise that traditionally and without expensive PR would have been difficult if not impossible to achieve.”
Powwownow: “Any fundamental rules or tips?”
Mark: “One of the key things to learn is that of having a committed and consistent approach. This means setting your profile up to look professional and completing a short bio highlighting some key points about yourself. You will also need to do a little bit each and every day rather than turn up write some messages and then disappear for a few months”
Powwownow: “Having read your book, we noted you were as big an admirer of the search tool as we’d ever met. Care to explain why?”
Mark: “The ‘goldmine’ of Twitter is its search engine which is similar in many respects to Google but with one major difference, search engines are traditionally used to find suppliers whilst Twitter’s Search Engine can be utilized by a supplier to find individuals who are in need of their service. Furthermore it allows the individual looking for a supplier to find conversations relating to their search and then engage immediately.”
Powwownow: “We use it for that very reason in fact. Nice to know we’re doing something right. But why Twitter over any other social network?”
Mark: “Twitter is different from other social networks because it is accepted as a combined social/business platform. Others, like Facebook tend to be more social and Linkedin is seen as a more corporate engagement forum. It is easily accessible, simple to use and allows you to engage without prior approval unlike the aforementioned tools. The power of Twitter is becoming recognized in every boardroom, front room, office and shop alike and its ability to allow a forum for almost any category of issue will make it the online tool of choice.”
Powwownow: “Got it! So, you must be inundated with queries from all sorts of businesses. Could you tell us all a few of the most common queries?”
Mark: “The questions I get all companies regardless of trade to think about are why do they want to be on Twitter? Who will be doing the actual twittering? And finally what are your definitions of success and how will you measure them? It is important that you sit down and think about these questions and provide truthful answers. That will then determine your Twitter strategy which like any other business activity is critical to giving you the best chances of success, allocating the correct resources whilst at the same time being as effective with your time as possible.”
In conclusion, Twitter is so many things to so many different people. It has a fun social side to it whilst also being a very powerful business tool as well. There is a Twitter etiquette which must be learnt as trying to simply do it your way won’t necessarily be successful or productive.
“When I consult companies big or small, I always ask them to consider 3 essential questions before starting out on Twitter. I get them to think about are why do you want to be on Twitter? Who will be doing the actual twittering? And finally what are your definitions of success and how will you measure them? It is important that you sit down and think about these questions and provide truthful answers. That will then determine your Twitter strategy which like any other business activity is critical to giving you the best chances of success, allocating the correct resources whilst at the same time being as effective with your time as possible.”
So, when are you going to join the conversation?
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Follow Mark Shaw here
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Mark Shaw is an award winning ex sales guy that advises and trains businesses, and individuals on how to utilise Twitter to gain more business & to be effective with their time. Mark has approx 14,5000 followers, author of the book Twitter Your Business & has been on radio, published in the media and given talks all throughout the UK in his capacity as a Twitter expert. Mark was a very early user of Twitter, having joined in April 2008..It has been his passion, his love and his full time business ever since
contact info..
http://facebook.com/twitterexpert
http://tinyurl.com/twitteryourbusiness
