Twitter for BusinessHow can we benefit!

Name: Colin BurnsContact: hello@ccburns.meWhat makes me qualified to talk about Twitter as it relates to business?Well nothing really!!! I just think it’s an interesting topic!

Twitter: An IntroductionTwitter is a ‘microblogging’ platform which allows users to post short text messages (up to 140 characters in length) and converse with other users via their phones, web browsers or other applications.In countries all around the world, people follow the sources most relevant to them and access information viaTwitter as it happens—from breaking world news toupdates from friends.

Wikipedia definition of what Twitter isTwitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read messages known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the author's profile page and delivered to the author's subscribers who are known as followers.

We have seen the definition of Twitter, but how else can we use it?Is it a tool to create relationships?Is it a tool to maintain relationships?Is it a tool to monitor your brand?Is it a tool to monitor your competitors brand?Yes to all of the above... And more but we’ll get to that later in the talk!

Is it a tool to create relationshipsThe ability to create relationships with people you have never met or have celebrity status is just a Tweet away. For example last night I had a chat with @god.

Is it a tool to maintain relationships?Again, Twitter is a simple an effective way of staying in touch with those friends who are enlightened enough to use it In real world usage if you are a Geek and your friends are also Geeks then keeping touch with them is a lot easier. If your friends are not Geeks then you are probably creating new relationships with other early adopters

Twitter for BusinessRequires a strategy & defined goals to be most effectiveIf you are a larger business then you probably want a policy to ensure the integrity of your brandBe persistent & patient! When you don’t understand why you are doing this refer back to your strategy!

Some examples of companies that are using Twitter

Sitepoint – twitaway.com

CNN.comCNN use @cnnbrk as method of publishing breaking news to everyone who follows @ccnbrk

Charity: Water -charitywater.orgRecently, Charity: Water, a non-profit working to provide safe, accessible drinking water to developing countries used Twitter to raise more than a US$250,000 for their cause.

Charity: Project 18Project 18 is a newly registered charity that is raising funds to help house orphaned children in Sumatra, Indonesia.How you can help, with something really simple.Goal: Get 100 subscribers to the blog bythe end of the day! Retweets got us there!http://catherinebolt.com

Crisis ManagementTwitter can be used as both a crisis mitigation tool as is in the case of power outages, road closures, flooding etc. and also as a method to communicate with the public once a crisis has hit.

CFA Volunteers

PromotionsWhen you get the time take a look at some of these examples of using Twitter for promotionshttp://www.chrisbrogan.com/cafe-shaped-business-the-roger-smith-hotel/http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10124723-36.htmlhttp://twitter.com/AirAsiaDotCom/status/3324259243helped me get return flights to Kuala Lumpur for 4 people plus an internal Malaysian return flight for $1200  - happy customer!http://twitter.com/VodafoneNews_AU/status/1879585991

SPAM Unfortunately because of all the benefits I’ve listed above the spammers and the get rich quick crew are also on Twitter. I don’t think anyone who has a Twitter account isn’t in some way being spammed.

Big BusinessUsage is different than for little businessesShould be careful (more potential to cause brand image problems if not controlled)Should have a Social Media policy that encompasses Twitter & other social media outlets like Facebook etc.

Small BusinessGenerally not as important to have a policy, because the users is probably either the owner or can be easily monitoredA policy couldn’t hurtGoals would be good if you want to measure the ROIGenerally small business Twitter use tends to be more personal and the users personality shows through the tweets.

TOOLSCoTweet – Manage multiple Twitter accounts and let multiple people manage a single accountDesktop Twitter Clients – too many to mentionPhone Twitter Clients – too many to mention See http://twitter.com/downloadsTemplate Twitter Strategy for Government Departments– extremely useful for Government, Big & Small business alike. http://bit.ly/3wpN14

THANKSIf you would like any further advice or ideas on using Twitter in your business or for your clients businesses don’t hesitate to contact mehello@ccburns.meIf you would like further reading take a lookhere - http://bit.ly/3qZkTH - It is an article I wrote for the Brightlabs(www.brightlabs.com.au) blog when I worked there.