Twitter: Should I use Twitter for my business?

Twitter is the micro-blogging site which limits users to messages – knows as ‘tweets’- of 140 characters.  It may be the third most popular social network in terms of active monthly users but it is the second most popular social network when it comes to frequency usage with 46% of users logging on on a daily basis. 
Because of the up-to-the-minute nature of Twitter users and businesses enjoy a far higher level of brand-engagement.  Twitter provides users with the opportunity to communicate directly to brands and celebrities. 

Pro

Twitter users are fare more likely to follow brands than any other social media platforms users.  60% of users don’t actively post but are there to just be part of the discourse. Those who follow brands are also the most likely to take businesses up on special offers and exclusive contests and discounts.  It is the social network which users expect the highest level of brand communication from. It is also really easy to monitor what people are saying about your brand and business.

Con

With 44% of Twitter profiles being seemingly inactive it’s not as big as other social networks.  You have to be willing to engage on Twitter otherwise your profile won’t be able to rise.  And with 500 million tweets being sent out every day you have to make sure you’re posting frequently in order to make sure you stand a chance of competing with the market.

Should my business be on Twitter?

The answer is, probably.  Your business should be on Twitter is you are providing any sort of current service, selling anything on line, or are involved in anything that involves new and innovative development.  If your sector or business is based on anything current and happening now you need to be on Twitter.
You should use your Twitter account to share anything which could be of interest to someone who has used your brand or may be interested in using your brand.  If any news events affect your business, share them on Twitter.
Here are some tips and more information to consider when approaching your Twitter activity:

• Twitter Pictures.  Including an image in your tweet increases your likelihood of re-tweets by 150% and the likelihood of you getting a favourite by 89%
• 72% of customers expect complaints on Twitter to be replied to within an hour
• 30% of the top companies have a customer service only Twitter account
• Of those brands that reply to complaints and queries over Twitter 42% of users are more likely to recommend over Twitter
• Tweets which are posted from 0800 – 0900 and 1800-2000 are the most likely to generate a higher Click-through-rate
• 53% of users who as a brand a question on Twitter expect a reply within 1 hour

There are also great monitoring tools out there which mean that businesses are able to monitor their brand and similar industries.  Hootsuite is one of the best monitoring and scheduling pieces of software out there.  Find out more information about Hootsuite here.
If you’re interested in setting up a Twitter account for your business and don’t know where to start then why not contact us now?  We can help you from setting up your account to scheduling tweets.

Read More: Should I use Facebook for my business

We got the facts and figures for this post from here and here and here.

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