Use Twitter to Communicate Effectively
Posted By Brad on January 31, 2010
Let me start off by saying I am by no means a social marketing guru. However, I use social media every single day to communicate and understand its place in online marketing. Unfortunately there are still some businesses out there who don’t understand the importance of communicating with their customers or clients which is why I’m going to give you a little rundown on how to use Twitter effectively with one simple rule: Converse with your followers.
Twitter is all about communication and engaging with your followers. You should check your replies daily if not more often to see if anyone has replied to your tweets or has mentioned you or your business in their tweets. You can find the replies link in the right hand column of your Twitter page directly under the HOME heading and the link will look something like @bradsworldland. Click this link and it will take you to a results page that has every mention of your Twitter name.
Use this page like your inbox for email and reply to every single mention. If you’ve just discovered this feature on twitter and see there’s been a flurry of activity mentioning your @name, don’t panic, it’s not too late to reply, you haven’t lost them yet. Simply respond, no matter how late of response it may be, and most importantly be honest. Don’t make an excuse for the delayed response, don’t be generic either with a “hey sorry for the delay, ya we deliver” kind of response. Be genuine with something like, “Thanks for reaching out. Yes we deliver! Sorry for the late response, we’re new to twitter and still figuring it out.” Remember it’s all about connecting and communicating with your followers and this type of response will go farther with your followers.
Also, don’t rely on direct messaging, it’s usually filled with spam and people trying to get you to buy or see something and is not as effective as the replies page. At the same time, don’t neglect your direct messages either, occasionally you’ll receive messages that are actually intended to receive a response. I would monitor this on a weekly basis but check your replies page daily if not more frequently and remember to participate in the conversation.
[...] probably have a website, dabble in some PPC (pay per click advertising), possibly have a blog or twitter account, and you send out some emails from time to time. Traffic is good, but again you’d like more and [...]
i always update my Twitter and i love to twitter my daily activities to my friends and loved ones. i also maintain a personal blog for entries which requires more detail.