5 reasons why you should invest in Twitter

A recent study found that two-thirds of UK business owners aren’t capitalising on social media. Yet our agency and million of companies are proof of how it can raise your online visibility and ultimately boost sales.

Here’s our five reasons why you should invest time into Twitter:

1. It’s a cost-effective form of marketing

Your marketing budget is limited – right? Good news: Twitter’s a fantastic way of reaching audiences for free!

But it does take time, effort and an ongoing commitment which comes at a cost. So if you’re going to do it, do it properly!

Develop a plan for reaching your target audiences and schedule in regular reviews so you can evaluate your progress.

2. Gain far reaching exposure

With 320 million active users worldwide, there’s a real opportunity to share your story.

Amongst the most active users are journalists and bloggers. People looking for stories and content about your business or sector. Poised to share it with their engaged followers with 75% of journalists saying Twitter is their preferred platform.

3. Network from the comfort of your sofa

Heard of Twitter chats? They’re an effective way of meeting likeminded businesses, or finding something in common with other users.  And even better, you can network from the comfort of your sofa.

Some examples are #venuehour, #crafthour, #coasthour or #weddinghour. Plus lots more! These hours are ‘virtual’ networking events where similar businesses chat online at a specific time and date, and often around a chosen topic.

Where we’re based, #Norfolkhour takes place Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays at 8.30pm. A friendly, fast-paced hour of chat, sharing tips, advice, recommendations and meeting new people.

Take part in one and you’ll soon be hooked! Follow ‘social’ media etiquette and always be conversational, friendly, share tips and knowledge. And don’t go on the hard-sell.

4. Boost your customer service

We can spend so much time procrastinating about what to tweet, it’s easy to forget Twitter is also a powerful listening-in tool.  And can act as an early-warning system for customer service issues.

Use Twitter to find out what people are saying about your business.  Perhaps someone’s complaining but they haven’t come to you directly. By listening in, you have the chance to put things right, protect your reputation and prevent the issue from spiralling out of control.

Perhaps a competitor has let a customer down and you can come to their rescue. Or if someone is singing your praises, then you can publicly thank them for their business.

5. Support your sales team

Twitter’s not a platform to sell. It’s a place to be social, share and strike up new conversations. But having said that, it can support your sales process too.

Twitter is used by consumers to seek out recommendations from people they follow and trust. And increasingly we’re buying from social media channels, with 28% of users making a direct purchase last year.

Can your small business afford to miss out?

Feeling inspired?

Learn how Twitter can boost your small business in 2016 and join us on one of our introductory Twitter workshops that we run quarterly.

We only have few spaces left on our Twitter training course in Norwich on Thursday 9th June 2016. So be quick!  Book here or call 01603 219191 to reserve your space.

 

Photo credit: Free picture of money via Fotor.com / CC BY