To Twitter or Not to Twitter, That is the Question

Tech Trends Technology To Twitter or Not to Twitter: That is the Question By Ji Hyun Lee used to monitor customer feedback— “new dress collection is boring.” Or announce product launches— “Next month, new green tea flavored organic yogurt will be available.” “ e beauty of Twitter is its ease of access, ease of use, and great adaptability,” says Julio Ojeda-Zapata,Technology Expert and author of Twitter Means Business. How Microblogging Can Help or Hurt Your Business. Smaller businesses, especially minority and women-servicing enterprises, have the most to - gain from Twitter. “For a woman and minority enterprise, this thing new arrives on the scene. Pick up your involves finding women and minorities on Twitter which isn’t Blackberries because the Twitter revolution has hard to do.” Because the essence of using Twitter is its capacity to form human relationships, smaller companies servicing a arrived and it’s about to make doing business a specific market enjoy the most visible ROI from using Twitter, Ojeda-Zapata says. “ ey have an instant advantage over cold, faceless corporations.” Tricia Mumby, Co-founder of Mabel’s Labels, a four mom- What is Twitter exactly? owned enterprise that produces labels for children’s clothing and school supplies, uses Twitter for her business. “I believe Simply put, it’s a social networking tool designed to keep that women are more inclined to seek advice and opinions people updated on their daily activities anytime, anywhere. which is something Twitter is used for regularly. It’s a great It’s like sending a very short instant message— limited to 140 way to build connections.” She also adds that people on characters— for everyone in your networking rolodex, just Twitter share more and are more helpful than in any other without the rolodex. ese updates, or “tweets,” can be sent networking tool. “Twitter users tend to create a community of and received as text messages via cell phone, email, or on a trust amongst their followers.” desktop application available on the Twitter Website. Another huge benefit to using Twitter is that it’s virtually To Twitter, you simply answer the question, “What are free. Occasionally text-messaging rates can apply but that you doing?” to people connected to you— followers— and has more to do with the mobile service rather than Twitter. in turn they respond to your update. ere’s no limit to the When viewed with the amount of money companies pour into number of followers, or “tweeples,” you can have, and there’s traditional advertising in efforts to influence its customers, no limit to the number of people you can follow. not using Twitter isn’t an option. Brevity is the goal and no matter what the message, the mission is to develop a personal connection with your How do I use Twitter for my business? followers. Many companies are still trying to figure out how to leverageTech Trends Why should I use Twitter? Twitter effectively. To get the most out of Twitter, businesses need to decide who to follow, what to update and how often. Social networking tools like blogs, instant messages and Any good marketing strategy involves careful research so it’s Facebook have all proven to be effective communications best to learn who you want as your followers, and then work strategy for businesses. Similarly, Twitter updates can be on getting their attention.32 DiversityPlus Magazine | January/February 2009

Tech Trends For minority and women owned companies, it’s easy tofind followers because chances are they share similar interests. Tips on Good TwitteringOnce you find the customer base you want to target, send outa tweet update inviting them to follow you. In an environment saturated by sales pitches, it’s increasingly “It is essential that your personality comes out and that difficult for businesses to reach and retain customers. As withyou let people know who the person behind the brand is,” says any technology, moderation is key so remember to send outMargie Traylor, CEO of SiteWire Marketspace Solutions, an enough updates to keep your customers interested, but notonline marketing agency that uses Twitter to post marketing so much that it becomes “noise” that irritates your audience.statistics, trends and company blogs to network with clients. Because customers are wary of sales pitches, it’s best not to send out Twitter updates that are overt advertisements.Who uses Twitter? “Perhaps [Twitter’s] greatest disadvantage is its lack of focus; it’s basically a big room with lots of people talking allBloggers and news organizations frequently source Twitter at once, about all kinds of subjects. Finding the right peopleand this also has a tremendous effect on MWBEs as they’re talking about the right subjects in that big, cacophonous roomalways looking for cost-effective ways to promote their is a bit of a challenge at first,” adds Ojeda-Zapata.products and services. For “mompreneurs” like Mumby, So before you start sending out updates, know your Twitterthe niche market for Mabel’s Labels are other mothers of etiquette. Send out useful information to good people and ifyoung children. “Mama Bloggers are a huge part of our social you don’t have anything pertinent to say, it’s better not to say it.media strategy and participating in the ‘Twitterverse’ gives us In the end, irrelevant tweet simply becomes spam.legitimacy and connections with the bloggers. We care about Still Twitter technology is on course to change the waywhat they are writing and…reading their ‘tweets’ is a great people do business and for many MWBEs, the positive resultsway to stay in-touch quickly,” Mumby adds. are well worth it. For Traylor, her advice for companies new to A Puerto-Rican themed iPhone program called Parranda Twitter is to remember that customers want to connect with Tech Trendswas launched on Twitter and its updates were sent out entirely people, not the brand. “Use Twitter to learn from others,” shein Spanish. e successful promotion of this new product says. “Don’t just take, contribute value as well. Learn frommarketed specifically for the Hispanic demographic shows your own initiatives with tools like Qwitter that alerts youthe tremendous reach it has on minority-owned businesses. when someone stops following you… e future of business“Twitter is good for identifying relevant audiences and networking is a two way conversation.”engaging in conversations with them,” says Ojeda-Zapata.

To Twitter or Not to Twitter, That is the Question

by Ji Hyun Lee on Feb 16, 2011

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