Three Ways Businesses Use Twitter
by atCommunications, LLC

Is your business struggling with how to use social networking platforms such as Facebook and Twitter? Gartner, Inc. recently issued a report that may provide you with a little inspiration and help defining your own strategy. The report describes the three main ways organizations use Twitter to promote their brands.

If you're not yet familiar with Twitter, watch a 4-minute video introduction from Howcast. Twitter allows users to post short, 140-character updates (called "tweets") about what they are doing or thinking at any given moment. Users select other "twitterers" to follow so they can receive messages in "real time." Users also can search by keyword for public posts related to specific topics.

Here are the three main ways businesses are promoting their brands on Twitter, according to Gartner:

1. Direct: Companies use Twitter as a marketing or public relations channel.
Many businesses establish Twitter identities as part of their corporate communications strategies, much like corporate blogs. They tweet about corporate accomplishments and distribute links to press releases, promotional Web sites, and flattering articles about them. This is generally the easiest way for businesses to start using Twitter. However, they need to be conscious of the fact that using Twitter in this one-sided "broadcast" manner could potentially hinder the business' image within the Twitter community. Constantly pushing self-serving, self-promotional tweets can actually damage a company's reputation. Twitter users like reading tweets that have a personal touch to them, or that provide helpful information.
       Some businesses also use Twitter to respond directly to customer queries and complaints. Comcast demonstrates its commitment to customers by empowering a few employees to address questions and criticisms via Twitter. Other examples of companies that actively seek out tweets about their brands and respond appropriately are Dell, Starbucks, and JetBlue. JetBlue even generates customer goodwill by occasionally tweeting about last-minute fare reductions on seats that would otherwise remain empty, allowing its following of more than 1 million twitterers to snatch unbelievable deals. No other medium would allow the company to promote time-sensitive offers like these directly to so many prospective customers.

2. Indirect: A company's employees use Twitter to enhance and extend their personal reputations, thereby enhancing the company's reputation.
Good twitterers enhance their personal reputations by saying clever, interesting things and attracting many followers who subsequently visit their Web sites and blogs. As people enhance their personal brands, some of this goodwill inevitably rubs off on their employers. Twitter provides a way to raise the profiles of both individuals and the organizations they work for, which elevates companies that wish to be seen as employing influential leaders. An employee twittering with excitement about his or her work, developments in the industry, new products, and other interesting topics – even if not entirely related to the business itself – can indirectly promote positive feelings toward the company he or she represents. So even if your company isn't yet ready to leverage Twitter, you may want to see if any of your employees are already on Twitter and, if so, what they are tweeting about your business.

3. Inbound Signaling: Companies use Twitter to listen to customers and competitors.
Smart businesses are the ones that are in the trenches watching and listening to what the general public is saying about them. Tweets provide a rich source of information about what customers, competitors, and others are saying and thinking about your company. Web-based tools such as search.twitter.com or desktop applications such as TweetDeck and Seesmic allow you to scan what is being said about your company, products, competitors, and your industry as a whole. Your business can tune into these "micro-conversations" to get early warnings of problems, to collect feedback on product issues and ideas, to keep tabs on the competition, and – more generally – to gauge what your clientele is interested in today.

Conclusion
If your company is thinking about jumping into the Twitter foray, know that you're not alone – or too late. But it is best not to jump in blindly. Gartner's overview of the three ways companies use Twitter is a good starting point, but the reality of developing a successful social network marketing strategy is much more complex than the examples cited here. As always, please don't hesitate to contact atCommunications at www.atCommunications.com if you have any questions, or if you would like to discuss how your business can add social media to its marketing mix.

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