If your company is at least two years old and you do not have a network of hundreds or thousands of followers, it’s time to take a good look at Twitter.
In 2008, Twitter experienced an unheard-of 752% growth rate, according to Compete.com. Launched back in July 2006, Twitter is only 2 ½ years “old,” and is changing the way people communicate in real time.
And this creates a monumental opportunity for small business owners. We all know that people do business with people they like and people they trust. Using traditional marketing methods, that process could take months or even years.
With Twitter, and with other social networking sites, you can shorten that process dramatically. Let me give you an example of how this works.
You create a Twitter account and decide to follow me @itsmeYO. I receive a “tweet” (the name for the 140-character messages that are sent via Twitter) letting me know that you are following me. You will now automatically receive any and all messages I send out on Twitter. You continue this process with everyone you know who has a twitter account and you begin to create your Twitter community. Soon your Twitter stream is filled with interesting (and some not-so-interesting) tweets about what those people are doing, thinking or reading. You get to jump in and comment on their tweets or let people know what you are doing, thinking or reading.
Pretty soon you will get to know people more personally and, if you are genuine and authentic, it gives them the opportunity to get to know you better. If they like you, they’ll continue to follow you and engage with you. Once they engage with you, there is a great opportunity for trust to be established and built upon. And once they like you and trust you, they’ll be more willing to use you or refer you to their network of communities.
People, including your competitors, are already out there tweeting their horns, so to speak. Are you ready to make some noise?
