Tweeting your way to business success
Soyabeans are dropping in Chicago as speculation mounts that China will release stockpiles, a British school group has left swine flu quarantine on the mainland and soaring property prices in the country have prompted calls for banks to be cautious about lending. And that is just in the last half-hour.
Welcome to Twitter, the micro-blogging site that self-described social media expert Joel Comm claims can help businesspeople promote products, build a brand and generate interest in their company. In Twitter Power, Comm aims to show the reader how to piggyback on the site's social networking features to promote a business and keep in touch with people who matter. It's an attractive idea, not least because the service is more or less free and has the potential to connect companies to a deep pool of consumers and knowledgeable critics, 140 characters at a time.
Comm presents a step-by-step guide to launching a Twitter page, building a profile and linking to mobile devices. From there, he initiates the reader into ways to build a following, depending on whether the goal is mass appeal or a targeted group of enthusiasts. One of the keys, Comm says, is to find influential Twitterers on your topic and encourage them to follow you. Over the longer term, building and maintaining a following depends on producing compelling updates, avoiding spam and participating in the broader Twitter conversation.
One example in the book is the feed by the Digital Photography School, which uses the service as an extension of its website to help digital camera owners make the most of their equipment. DPS posts 'tweets' about events and links to updates from manufacturers. Since the book was written, digitalps has grown from about 1,200 followers to more than 13,000.
Overall, Comm is most convincing about Twitter's applications as a customer service tool. Rather than waiting on the line for a response from a call centre, consumers can register their queries and complaints and track the response from a designated corporate Twitterer. Comm says companies should use their Twitter presence to create a 'human' image and post entries in an informal, friendly manner.
For example, JetBlue Airways' on-duty Twitterers use the service to alert customers about possible flight delays and answer questions about everything from rubbish disposal to seat allocations. Tweets can also help build brands by transmitting company news, soliciting feedback and releasing information about special offers.
Unfortunately on the mainland, when commerce meets online controversy, the result is a shaky foundation for a business model. Twitter's power, its ability to connect people, has been its undoing and the service, along with various other social networking sites, has been inaccessible on the mainland.
Samantha Kierath is a freelance writer
