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I’ve read many posts about whether social media can really help your business. The obvious advantage is networking. However, I’ve seen 5 ways that Twitter has specifically helped my business when it comes to “Right Place, Right Time” beyond just the general socializing most people do on it.
1. Getting instant help. A great example of this was when I was working on a new site recently and couldn’t figure out how to customize my navigation. I Tweeted what I was looking for and Amanda (@phillian) immediately responded that I needed to upgrade my Thesis. Problem solved in 10 minutes.
2. Quick feedback. When you are working on a project, sometimes you just need a fresh pair of eyes to take a look. Or even someone with a different browser than you are using. Two weeks ago I Tweeted about my new Percy Jackson site and within 10 minutes had feedback from 5 friends who happened to be online on a Saturday night. I was able to tweak some things on the site before officially rolling it out.
3. Unexpected mutually beneficial relationships. The other day I Tweeted about a guest post someone had done for me about Mystery Shopping. James from JustFreeStuff.com asked if he could use it in a newsletter. I said “sure” and didn’t expect anything back. The next morning I woke up and found over 1000 hits to my site from his site and newsletter! It worked out great for both of us because he got some content and I got some traffic. We weren’t looking to do business with each, it just worked out that way.
4. News you can market. I follow a number of people for very different reasons, but sometimes I end up with a marketing nugget I wasn’t expecting. For example, I follow @GameHouse because I promote their old “Real Arcade” products on my moms site. They other day they Tweeted about a Twilight New Moon game on sale that day only for $1 on iTunes. It made a perfect post for my Twilight merchandise website using my iTunes affiliate account. I would not have even known about the game (or the sale that day) if I had not been following them on Twitter.
5. Sales opportunities. At least once a week I see a Tweet where someone is looking to buy something that I sell on one of my sites. They usually say something like “If you have an affiliate link for X merchant, let me know so I can make a purchase” or “I’m looking to buy X, anyone know where I can find it?” If you’re the first to respond to them, you’ve got yourself an easy sale.
The one thing to note about everything above is that none of it is “in your face” marketing. It’s not me pushing my links or websites to anyone. Rather, they are just some of the benefits that you can receive to your business by being an active Twitter user and building your Twitter community. What other ways are you using Twitter to help your business?
I agree with all of these points & have experienced them all as well. I started using Twitter as more of a personal thing, but it has definitely transitioned into a business tool.
.-= Shannon´s last blog ..Andy Jenkin’s Video Boss Freebies =-.
@Heather Isn’t it funny how you really feel like you can get to know people just by interacting with them on Twitter?
@Rob I think the time wasting is the biggest complaint about Twitter. And the fact that you don’t usually make money DIRECTLY from it. But the indirect benefits are clearly worth something.
Trish,
Great article. Thanks for that. I enjoyed it and brings some different insight compared to some other articles I have read.
Keep smiling.
Rob
.-= Rob McFaul´s last blog ..Dear Fed Up… =-.
I completely agree with all of the above! I also find that I’m building real relationships, which translate to sales & partnerships down the road. For example, the Indy Blogger Girls Night Out I’m putting together. It should be a free event, because I’ve built a relationship with a local restaurant owner.
I obviously didn’t know I would be organizing something like that when I started following him last year. I just wanted the deals & coupons he tweets, but I found myself replying to personal things as well until it was smooth & natural to say, “Hey, I have this project you might be interested in sponsoring.”
.-= Heather´s last blog ..Start a Lunch Co-Op at Work =-.