Twitter a Valuable Marketing Tool

The Twitter Debate 

Should we consider Twitter to be a marketing tool or is it just for people who have a lot of time on their hands and the need to jibber-jabber all day long? 

I will be honest, I was an early adopter of Twitter and then I ignored it for quite some time, because i just dont get the idea on how to use it. However once i understand it fully, i absolutely like it. 

Think of Twitter as a means to get instant public messages out to your audience, whether it is an audience of colleagues or potential customers. 

Twitter is becoming an increasingly important platform for online communication and, yes, conversation. TechCrunch reported that Twitter is receiving 8 million unique visitors per month and about 3 million messages are posted daily.  

How can we use Twitter as a marketing tool? 

Good question. Let me see if I can help. 

Twitter As A Source of Information

As I mentioned, over 3 million messages are posted everyday. Are you mentioned in any of them? What about your company? This might be a good time to find out. Twitter provides a search engine that allows you plug-in company names, brand names, topics and even personal names. How is your buzz level? Are there any negative comments out there? If I were you, I'd use the search engine to check in a regular basis. 

Today, I found out that Coles made a customer unhappy and he Twittered about it. I learned that Rockstar Games has some really cool iPhone applications and that the pancakes at Pancake Parlour is to die for. All that was posted recently, so whether you are engaging on and participating in Twitter or not, someone may just be twitting about you or your company.  

Use Twitter as a Media Outlet 

You can use Twitter to post news or updates about your company or products. However, please don't do this before you become familiar with the format and etiquette of Twitter. The best way to do this is to post a link to the full content of the news or update. Think of what's valuable to your consumers and let them hear about it first on Twitter. You'll be amazed how your following will grow. Plan it carefully to prevent a disaster just like KennethCole 

KennethCole Twitter Disaster

A Promotional Palace 

It's not uncommon for companies to post promotions, sales, or specials on Twitter. An example would be Dell, they do it well. It's important to remember that Twitter is about conversation and breaking news, so be sure if you are posting promotional information that you make it conversational and personal. If I want an ad, I'll turn on TV. 

Create Character in Your Brand 

Twitter is a fantastic tool in giving your brand a voice and a personality. Being successful in Twittering, you will have to put forth your personality and a unique style. That's what makes the difference and can increase your Twitter following and make it a successful marketing tool for you. 

Great Marketing Research Tool! 

Imagine having a test group of millions, that can provide real time consumer feedback at a unprecedented level. Companies will be able to release a new product and almost instantly find out what people think. Additionally they can get take the pulse of customer sentiment and then make changes to increase customer satisfaction. Twitter could also empower customers to get their complaints heard as unhappy customers will have a way to tell thousands of followers about their bad experience. All it takes is a short text message that gets retweeted and a brand’s reputation can be tarnished overnight. This could mean a stronger focus on improving customer experience. Optimistically, companies will be able to better understand the customer by listening more closely and using the data mined from the Twitersphere to create improved products and services that will increase customer satisfaction.

That's my view on how important Twitter can be as a marketing tool, not just an everyday jibber-jabber media. Is there any other view that you guys have on twitter as a marketing tool? feel free to share.