Twitter for small business

One of the most popular tools for online broadcast at the moment is Twitter, a microblogging platform which allows mobile updates and replies of 140 characters or less.

A key discussion point for businesses has been whether they should be using Twitter and other social media platforms with branded accounts or getting key staff to write.

There are plenty of examples with big brands – Dell, as a mostly online company, has an entire page for its Twitter accounts. This includes the brand name Twitter account (@DellOutlet), numerous Dell and tech news accounts and some very carefully managed staff accounts (like @StefanieatDell). Politicians have taken to using Twitter to help them connect to their electorates, with @BarackObama being a key example of personality-based accounts and @DowningStreet a ‘branded’ account.

These brands have the advantage of having an established audience – they can afford to experiment. But how can you make Twitter work best for small business?

Firstly you need to recognise that there is no blanket rule. What works for one business may not work for another. Plus, this is a new area and we’re still discovering what works best.

Here are a few questions you need to ask yourself:

• What do you want to get out of using Twitter? Talking to your existing customers? Finding new ones?
• Is your line of business suited to blogging/microblogging?
• Is your company run by a few main personalities or is it decentralised?

Small to medium consulting firms have found Twitter beneficial because it gives them a platform to be human and get to know potential clients. For this purpose, they have individual Twitter accounts for their consultants.

However, the danger of this is that personalities which aren’t immediately identified as part of a brand may not help brand image at all. And personal accounts which are too focussed on the business they work for can start to lose credibility. There’s a tough balance.

Twitter will not suit every small business, but the most important thing is to put yourself in the shoes of your customer and think about what they want to talk to you about. Be interesting. Respond to them. Whether you’re Twittering personally or for a brand, the best way to get followers is to add value to their homepage.

A barrier that small businesses face with using platforms like Twitter is that the key staff are too busy making sure everything else gets done to take the time to post regularly and build their online presence. It’s important to realise that you get in what you put out – even if it’s the right fit for your business it takes time to get the full benefit from social media.