While Twitter can be an effective (and free) tool for promoting small businesses, it’s not for everyone. Your time is valuable — and it takes time to maintain an active, useful Twitter account. Find out if you’re better off skipping Twitter or putting it on hold while you develop a solid social media strategy.
Five reasons to skip Twitter:
1. You just don’t get it.
If you just don’t get the “point” of Twitter, you’re not alone. Some users hit the ground running, firing off dozens of tweets a day and amassing hundreds of followers. Others struggle with the structure of the site and the concept of sharing bits of information in 140 characters or less.
Give it a try and nose around for a while. If it’s simply not for you, your efforts will be forced. That’s a waste of your time — and people will be able to tell that your interactions are half-hearted.
2. You only want to promote your business.
Twitter is a social media networking website. Think about it as a room full of people milling around. You can overhear their conversations and introductions if you stand close enough. You might notice a group talking about something that interests you. You may gravitate toward them and enter the conversation.
No one is standing around with a bullhorn making announcements — so don’t be that guy. If you’re not interested in a natural give and take and a good balance between reading and promoting, skip Twitter.
3. You don’t have any free time.
While it’s possible to set up some automated services to update your Twitter account with blog updates or promotional tweets, you’re unlikely to see much benefit from Twitter usage unless you put some real human effort into it. You need to reply to others. You need to follow people with similar interests. If you’re a local business, you really need to follow locals.
These tasks probably won’t require much more than twenty minutes a day as you get started — but if you can’t keep up with that sort of consistent maintenance, wait until you have more time.
4. Your customers don’t use Twitter.
Are your customers likely to be on Twitter? Not sure? Ask some of your regular customers how they use the Internet. Consider their average ages and general level of education, but keep in mind that you don’t need to have a web or technology-related business to interact with your clients online.
If you can’t interact with customers, provide customer service or develop natural leads on Twitter, you probably have no reason to be there in a business capacity. (Try a personal account to test the waters if you want to get a better idea before putting your business out there.)
5. You have nothing to talk about.
Content is king — even on Twitter. Do you have anything to say? If not, you’ll constantly be scrambling for updates. You don’t have to be a professional writer to succeed on Twitter, but you do need to have pertinent things to share. The last thing you want to do is waste time stressing over what to Tweet about.
Upcoming sales, tips related to your line of business, events, and success stories make great Twitter updates. Discussing the local weather can only go so far, so make sure to have a general idea before you get started. It can be as simple as a bulleted list of possible topics. As conversations begin, the update process will become more natural.
Maria Mora offers friendly, down-to-earth social media consulting and editorial strategies. You can usually find her messing around on Twitter.
