Twitter, is that still around?

Thursday, November 12, 2009

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

Where and how?

Users can send and receive tweets via the Twitter website, or external applications used on both PCs and mobile devices. Twitter is an open Community, meaning it allows open access of content for anyone. However, users can chose to hide their content through different Privacy settings. A “follower” must then be approved by the author.

What should I write?

Many companies today use Twitter as a way to distribute generic marketing messages and product launches. This is not our suggested usage of Twitter -as a channel for one-way communication. We rather think that companies should embrace Twitter and use it as a way to connect with their target audience on a more personal level. Learn what people are saying about you, listen and monitor.

Start the conversations about you on Twitter with topics related to your brand or industry. Although it is your brand you are representing, all companies are made up of people. Respond frequently and sincerely.

Knowing what people say about you is the first step. To actually use the information and respond to people is step two. The golden rule in Twitter-conversations is to be honest in your answers.

Variation and creativity: A varied content in your Twitter stream makes it more interesting to follow. 

What is the value?

Twitter has become a place where companies build brands, do research, send information to customers, conduct e-commerce and create communities for their users. Companies can learn of what is said about their brand and provide a direct response to criticism and questions. For Twitter to be a part of a company's efforts to communicate with customers, the customers must be willing to "follow" the company on Twitter. As of now, the companies that have the highest amount of followers are the ones that really communicate with their followers. The customer/stakeholder chooses which company/profile they are willing to get messages directly from.

On Twitter the company has a chance to establish direct dialogues with its stakeholder in real time. If you are looking to broaden your audience, Twitter is simply an effective channel to use.

Twitter is both about becoming more transparent as well as building relations. Remember that Twitter/twittering may be a time-consuming task for any company or organization. It is important to take this in consideration when launching your profile.