My Case for Twitter (Tweet me!)

Twitter. Tweets. Tweeps. Hashtags. RT’s, D’s, and @’s.  Can somebody please decode this for me?

Well, actually, with almost 6 million visits to Twitter.com in January, 2009, this lexicon is becoming quite commonplace.  The popular micro-blogging site that allows users to update their status in 140 characters or less has evolved significantly over the last several months.  While once thought to be a site where users would be inundated with constant away messages like, “Going to see a movie” or “Out to lunch with an old friend,” today, Twitter has become an invaluable resource for passing useful information across the web.  As our CMO, Polly Black, once said jokingly, “How incredibly arrogant we all are to think anyone would really care!  But, surprisingly, people do care.”  Don’t get me wrong… you can absolutely still use the tool just to keep tabs on all your friends, but you’d be missing the biggest opportunity that Twitter provides…an audience that has self-selected itself to hear what YOU have to say.  So you better have something to say that’s worth hearing.

There are countless advice columns out there about how to effectively Tweet.  Follow everyone who follows you, always respond to your @’s, provide useful links, be a resource for your followers, search keywords regularly… the list goes on.  The point is, if you’re not already Tweeting, you need to start.  The benefit of Twitter only reveals itself once you’ve experienced it yourself.  And don’t be too overwhelmed.  Just baby-step your way into it – something is always better than nothing in social media.

From a business standpoint, BoldMouth constantly gets the question, what is the return on investment in social media tools like Twitter?  Sure, I can send 200 tweets a day and be an authority on a topic, but what does that mean for my bottom line?  And the truth is, I can’t tell you.  But that’s definitely not because there’s not value associated.  The question I would pose in return to these skeptics is, “What is the value of someone recommending your product or service to somebody else?”  If you can attach a number to that question, then you’ve got your answer.  Look at how many recommendations you’re preventing by not providing your consumers with the tools to do so! There might be several hundred (or thousand) people Tweeting about your company every day, but wouldn’t you like to know?  And wouldn’t you like to be able to communicate directly with those individuals to amplify the conversations?

Another metric Twitter provides that you can take right to the bank is traffic to your corporate website.  With such frequent updates in content, Google indexes Twitter high on its search engine results pages.  Take BoldMouth for example.  Admittedly, we were late to the game in the Twittersphere, (or Twitterverse- take your pick), focusing on our clients’ social media first and foremost.  But after Tweeting for only 5 days (@boldmouth), our Twitter profile shows up second when you Google “BoldMouth,”  and it has become one of the leading sources of traffic to boldmouth.com.  More eyes on your site inevitably means more business, especially if you have any sort of e-commerce feature.  After all, that’s why you built your website in the first place, right? More business.

So there ya go.  My case for Twitter.  The proof is in the pudding.  There is, in fact, value in social media (not that we ever doubted there was).

TAGS: BoldMouth, Twitter, Tweet, Google, social media, Polly Black, Katie Hollar, micro-blogging, ROI, value

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