Many laugh off Twitter as a waste of time, thinking it is purely for social updates amongst friends, but it is more than that and it is more than just simple 140-character messages. Although that is the size the actual messages are limited to, most tweets include a website link (where the urls can be shortened using websites like bit.ly.com and tinyurl.com.)
Here are ten reasons to use Twitter:
1. Drive website traffic. Twitter messages tease readers into wanting to click on a web address. Plus, it is not just a communication tool. Tweets come up on search engines, like Google.
2. Add a tool for free. There is no cost to create an account. The only expense is the time involved in creating and reading messages.
3. Stay current. Breaking news can reach you faster. Now you do not have to look for news online or in print, as it comes to you. (Almost every major news organization disperses information using Twitter.)
4. Be informed. Follow thought leaders in your area of expertise to learn valuable real-time industry information and stay in touch with the latest trends. Plus, follow your clients and strategic alliances to know what they are saying.
5. Reinforce your brand. By showcasing your tweets that contain your ideas, opinions, expertise, etc., you will have another communication vehicle to promote your brand. Many of those using Twitter regularly look for the right people to follow. By making a great first impression, in no time you will gain loyal followers.
6. Stay in touch. It is a simple way to stay in touch with prospects and clients on a regular basis. Plus, others can retweet (aka: forward) your messages, allowing for viral marketing to take place.
7. Share others’ information. It is very easy to retweet a message of something you think your followers would appreciate. Thus, you can send out valuable information without having to do much work.
8. Increase business intelligence. Monitor what your competition is tweeting for ideas on how to improve your own communications.
9. Make your smart phone smarter. There are free applications for BlackBerrys, iPhones, etc. to help you get valuable Twitter information anywhere you go.
10. Strengthen your email signature. By adding your Twitter address, you are providing unique information about yourself in every email that differentiates you from the competition.
If you need help building a social media strategy, including using Twitter, contact Byrnes Consulting today. Plus, do not forget to follow Byrnes Consulting, LLC on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ByrnesConsultin.
Note: if you are a financial advisor and are hesitant to “advertise” on Twitter, there are some tools like arkovi.com that can keep you compliant. Plus, you might want to take a baby step by just following others to take advantage of the news benefits of the tool, without sending out your own messages.
