Twitter is the conversation of the web and gives you a voice which can be heard before others. Businesses can use Twitter to build customer relations, announce exclusive breaking news, and also receive useful feedback from customers. Twitter lets you create a tweet (a short caption of up to 140 characters) which is then filtered through to your followers. The great thing about Twitter is its versatility; there is no excuse to let the conversation stop as you can tweet from the internet via PC, mobile phone, SMS; or there are even applications for the i-phone whereby you can post and manage your tweets!

Twitter can also now be used to provide fresh relevant content to your homepage in the form of a twitter news feed. You could even use a Twitter feed instead of a blog if you want to make short statements which will instantly update your website. This is also a great technique in terms of search engine optimisation, especially if you make the effort to get keywords into your statements (tweets). This also allows you the user to manually update your website without great technical knowhow; all you need to do is to post a tweet and your website will automatically be updated. If however you want to sync your twitter feed with your blog you can also do this whereby your articles headlines can be converted into tweets.

Tweeting provides an online persona for what otherwise can be a faceless company on the web. Listening and advising customers can lead to better customer relations and strengthening of your company’s brand. A common phrase amongst marketers in reference to twitter is that:

“It shrinks the emotional distance between your company and your customers.”

The growth of Twitter is rapid and by actively tweeting you are effectively showing customers you are in touch with current trends. Such is the power of social media that I believe tweeting will quickly become an integral part of your company’s digital footprint.

Tweet Tips:

• Get customer feedback Don’t just preach and announce your own news, start a conversation by asking a question and listening.

• Post links to articles that are relevant to your business.

• Wear t-shirt and 3 quarters – use a casual tone; after all this is a social media.

For more information on how ihm can utilise social media for your website please click here. Happy tweeting!

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