1. July 2013 | Executivetwitter.com/ExecutiveSPP 33
Social media offers an opportunity to
transform your business at a relatively
low cost during ongoing economically
challenging times.
Popular website Twitter, which allows users to
submit and view unfiltered comments of up to
140 characters, is becoming a valuable weapon for
companies aiming to build a brand.
According to B2B Marketing Social Media
Benchmarking Report 2013, an incredible 85 per
cent of businesses use the micro-blogging site which
allows them to interact with potential customers
and provides new platforms for small and medium
enterprises, in particular, to reach their target
audience.
The website has functions which can make your
company a national success, particularly if you find
the right hashtag – which is the symbol used to
mark keywords or topics as a way of categorising
tweets.
At Customised, we created a Twitter hashtag,
#LiveInstall, that is now used by over 80 custom
installation companies throughout the UK and
overseas to communicate with customers and
industry peers with images, progress updates and
technology news. It is not often that a Dingwall-
based business sends shockwaves through its
industry and it is largely thanks to social media.
Here are my five top reasons for using Twitter to
help grow your business:
1. Connect to customers
From experience with #LiveInstall and Customised,
I know that customers expect you to have an online
presence, beyond a website, where they can give
you feedback, get quick answers and keep up to
date with the business.
2. Build relationships
Twitter allows businesses to network very easily,
at the click of a button. Businesses can network
with existing clients, meet new clients, introduce
themselves to local businesses and interact with
peers around the world.
3. Create brand awareness... for free
Twitter has helped Customised and #LiveInstall
grow incredibly quickly as a brand and has given
us the recognition within our industry despite
our previously perceived remote location. The
#LiveInstall concept has provided an access-all-
areas view into custom installations, revealing
the planning, design, engineering, timescales,
technology and our standards of work. This can be
replicated by other companies in a wide range of
sectors.
4. Promote services and products
Twitter is a simple way of marketing your products
and services.
5. Keep an eye on what is going on in your
industry
With Twitter, you can find out what the latest
changes and trends in your industry within seconds
of it happening. Many news sites even get leads for
their stories from Twitter.
Having a social media presence for your business
is not only a necessity now but it can also help to
grow your business, so what’s stopping you?
Grow your business
It is not
often that a
Dingwall-
based
business
sends
shockwaves
through its
industryiZettle
Take secure debit and credit
card payments on your
smartphone with no fixed
contract and quick transfer to your
bank account. It’s easy to use and
saves time for both businesses and
clients. It also reduces the amount of
time spent chasing unpaid invoices!
We use it to take payments in our
clients’ home whilst on the job.
Price: Free
GroupMe
A useful group messaging
platform available on all
your devices and perfect for
those on the go. You can use it for
messaging with family, friends or work
colleagues. We use it to communicate
with all the #LiveInstallers
worldwide, meaning we keep all our
conversations in one central location –
ideal for keeping everyone up to date.
Price: Free
Evernote
Stop using scraps of paper,
it’s so last century and
doesn’t do much towards
achieving a paperless working
environment. With Evernote, you can
create notes, tagged with images and
locations, on the go and feel good
about being green. We use it every
day on site for logging passwords,
mileage or equipment configurations.
Price: Free
Apps of the month
Kris
Gamblewww.customised.uk.com
@customised
Director of Dingwall-based Customised