Post date: Nov 19, 2010 12:51:20 PM
Twitter is a social networking, multilingual micro blogging
tool that allows companies and businesses to keep in touch
with their clients. Businesses can update their clients and
prospective customers on new products, company news, and more
through a 140 character "tweet." Clients who have a
twitter.com membership (which is currently free) can choose
to follow your business or your business can request tofollow a client to stay in touch. As a social networkingtool, Twitter's services have remarkable potential.However, if the service is not used correctly it canpotentially harm your public image, create a perception thatyou did not intend, or hurt your business in terms of lostrevenue.If you are looking to build a social network around yourbusiness, you must be ready to engage your network invarious facets of your business: research and development,product design, and customer service are just a few keypoints. The idea is to have your network feel as thoughthey have in some way contributed to the overall product orto the business in some way. Merely adding several peopleto follow does not aide your business in any way. Therelationship you have with your network will determine the
revenue you receive.
If you have created a Twitter account for your business,
leave the personal tweets about how you spent your Sunday
and what you ate, out of the system. Granted some of you
may have businesses you run as an individual, but the
primary focus should always be the business you are
promoting. If how you spent your Sunday has anything to do
with the business focus or the business image you would like
to impress upon your followers, then by all means tweet it!
Try as much as possible to keep it professional.
Your tweets should have an interpersonal touch; avoid the
mechanical updates that a programmed robot would key. Treat
your followers with care and keep them in the know of what's
really going on with the business. Also, concerning your
layout and background choice, I have seen several business
profiles that lose it with their choice of backgrounds. If
you have company colors and a logo, try and incorporate that
into the layout design of your profile.
One last yet terrible mistake for businesses using Twitter
is always tweeting about themselves. As the name suggests
it is a social tool which should be used to boost
interaction between one's company and one's clients. A sure
fire way of being avoided or ignored on Twitter is to
constantly tweet about one's self and products only. Talk
about, for example, a worthy cause that your business
supported and add links to it.
About the Author:
Rick is a camera repair specialist at C.R.I.S. Camera
Services ( http://www.criscam.com ) in Chanlder, AZ. Rick
enjoys scuba diving and spelunking with his friends.