Twitter, Twitter, Everywhere

Twitter gets a lot of the internet devoted to it. People talk about it ALL the time, to the point that people are either “I don’t get it” and ignore it or figure they’d better get themselves educated. I’m in the “You better get yourself educated” category.

Search

Why? According to Twitter founder Biz Stone (yes, that’s his real name, and yes, it’s awesome), Twitter is the fastest growing search engine. That means people are turning to Twitter more and more often to search. Which means YOU had better be there to be found.

Monitor

In addition to searching on Twitter, people will seek out the opinions and advice of their followers. Need a chiropractor? Just ask your Twitter friends. You can benefit by searching for words like “chiropractor” and “Pittsburgh” on apps like Hootsuite. Every time these come up from ANYONE on Twitter, you can see them. This is so powerful, yet so simple and easy to do.  Imagine having someone walk into your business and say “Hi, I’m looking for an X, do you have any recommendations?” and then turning them away. That’s what every business is doing when they don’t monitor Twitter. It might not turn into a new customer, but it could.

Personal Connection

So, let’s say you’ve headed my advice and are monitoring your business-related keywords on Twitter. Whenever a valid inquiry comes through, you need to respond. This starts a personal connection with this person, and we all know that customers love a personal connection.  Worse case, they simply ignore you. No problem. But best case they become a new customer, who then recommends you to others on Twitter. See, you’ve not only gotten a new customer, but a new advocate, because they’re already active on Twitter.

Freebies

People LOVE free stuff. Tweeple are no different. Twitter is a great way to get your word out inexpensively. Offer a coupon, a free something when they come in, anything to get them to A. retweet (basically forwarding your tweet) and B. spend money with you. When you connect with our new customer friend for the first time? Offer a coupon! Now you’ve made a personal connection AND offered them a good deal.

Reel Them In

While you’re out there in the Twitterverse drumming up new cust0mers, remember to bring them back to your website. Include a shortened link to your site. Whenever I’m sending out a news story or a photo, I always use the one on the website, not an attachment to the tweet. This brings them back to the site, which makes it easier for them to learn about your business, which makes it more likely they’ll do business with you. Remember, your bottom line is, well, your bottom line. While the services on Twitter and Hootsuite are free, your time is not (neither is your staff’s, as you well know!). Use it wisely by “multitasking” your efforts, making it as easy as possible for your new Twitter friends to say “Yes.”