Twitter 101 ? to Tweet or Not to Tweet?

Brought to you by Cincinnati Bell

So you keep hearing about Twitter—on TV, from your kids, and even from colleagues. But what is Twitter, what is a “tweet,” and how exactly do they work? If you find yourself asking these questions, you’re not alone. Many people are just discovering this new social media tool. And small and medium-size business (SMB) owners have the added task of figuring out how to use Twitter to grow their business.

Twitter is completely free, easy to use, and provides a channel to speak to customers and prospects in real time, in a medium that is relevant to them.

Odds are, people are discussing your brand online already. Shouldn’t you be there to respond?

The Basics
Twitter is a free social media tool that instantly broadcasts “tweets,” or updates less than 140 characters long, on their Web site, www.Twitter.com. These messages are posted to your profile or your blog, sent to your followers, and are searchable by anyone via Twitter search.

Businesses and individuals create profiles on the site, which become their Twitter identities. The first step in the process is setting up a profile, which can include an image and some basic information about your business, as well as your Twitter identity name. Once you’ve established your Twitter identity, you can begin to promote this profile to customers and prospects; for example, “Follow me on Twitter at @username.” When you start updating your profile, or tweeting, other users can view what you have to say by searching for specific keywords or by following your account.

You can also choose to follow other Twitter users, meaning that their tweets will appear in your Twitter feed. Your feed, a real-time list of updates from the users you choose to follow, is the first thing you see every time you sign into your account.

Why Twitter?
Twitter is unique because it enables you to directly connect with individuals when and where they are having conversations today—on their computers and mobile phones. Even better, twitter lets you track tweets about your brand, so you can find out in real time what current and potential customers are saying about your company.

If someone has a bad experience with your company, you can address the issue immediately and diffuse it, which can reduce the risk of negative perception of your company or brand. If someone has a good experience, you can thank them for the positive buzz and engage them as advocates of your brand. Encourage your followers to visit your Web site or store by tweeting about special promotions, contests, or discounts.

Now What?
So how do you turn your Twitter profile into a business asset? According to Twitter’s own guide to businesses, Twitter 101, the key is first identifying your unique business goals. Do you want to drive traffic to your Web site? Address customer service complaints? Publish news or special offers from your company?

Teusner Wines, a boutique winery in Australia with just three employees, is a good example of an SMB that figured out how to use Twitter to increase traffic on their Web site (read their case study here). After creating a Twitter account, the company searched for wine-related tweets. When they found interesting or influential people talking about the wine business, they followed them and joined the conversation about their shared passion for winemaking.

After building up a following, the winery started reaching out to the people talking about their brand. The messages were friendly, informal, and not a direct sales pitch. Most simply thank the customer for trying Teusner Wines. Not only has the company seen increased traffic to its Web site, but more people also are coming to the winery for tours.

Cincinnati Bell actively monitors Twitter and when it comes across a tweet involving a customer service issue, someone from the company immediately responds with an offer to help. In many cases, issues are resolved or mitigated because of the ability to directly connect with disgruntled customers.

Cincinnati Bell’s new Web site for SMB customers, www.cincinnatibell.com/righthere, includes a special section called “Shop Local Businesses,” where business customers can get the word out about special promotions and offers. If you have a Twitter account and want to share an offer on this Web site, all you need to do is include #all4local at the end of your tweet. In Twitter language, #all4local is a hashtag. Hashtags help improve the ability to search Twitter and find information related to specific subjects.

The Internet is full of resources that can help you harness the power of Twitter, including a great article from BusinessWeek and previous blog posts on this Web site about using technology to connect with customers as well as some non-traditional advertising options.

The most important thing to remember is that Twitter is new to everyone; we are all trying to figure out how to make the most of this novel tool. Consider trying out one or more of these suggestions in your business and let us know how it works out. Have some fun, and happy tweeting!