Twitter Has Its 20th Billion Tweet: Here Are 3 Reasons Why It Works in Business

by Denise

Twitter Has Its 20th Billion Tweet: Here Are 3 Reasons Why It Works in Business

Twitter the micro blogging social network reached its 20 billionth Tweet last week. So what you might say? Well true, I occasionally have been known to make similar comments. What is interesting though is the viral phenomenon of social networks such as Twitter, Linkedin and Facebook.

The 20th billion tweet was amazing enough. More astounding is that it took 4 years to mark the 10th billion tweet which occurred in March this year and only another 5 more months to double it.

Twitter started life over four years ago as a way to make blogging easier for people online. The technical term for Twitter is a micro blogging platform. The non geek version is that it is a way to communicate with people in less than 140 characters.

Side note: Blogging actually started life as an online diary where individuals like you and I could keep a diary for the entire world to see. Hence the term weblog. Over time people started to coin the phrase blogging.

The basic remit is that users of Twitter can tell each other what they are doing at any point in time, share information, pictures, images, top tips etc. As its popularity has grown it is also a great place to find out answers to any number of questions you might have and of course to keep up with all the latest gossip.

The concept is to follow and be followed by Twitters’ who have similar interests’ passions. The exciting part for many people is that in theory you have a direct line to people who you might never have in a month of Sundays. This could be possible business connections mentors etc.

As with many “platforms” like this there are surges in cult usage depending on which celebrity as decided to use the social network in question. Twitter has gained in popularity in the UK particularly over the last year with the TV channels and cult programmes like the X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent leveraging it for their own viral marketing campaign.

From a business perspective Twitter usage is booming. Though you might have to spend “time” on your marketing efforts with Twitter from a cost point of view actual costs are tiny.

Imagine having over 2000 followers (small by some standards) and what if just 10% of these people went to your website and decided to join your newsletter. That is an extra 200 people on your database that has cost very little.
There are various free software programmes that help you automate processes.

In addition to low cost Twitter has many aligned and easy to use applications that you can utilise to automate following and messaging people. Some business owners have literally thousands of followers. They create this by having a strategy and a plan that helps them connect with their audience.
They also automate this with software…though many might not admit it.
From a small business internet marketing perspective how can it benefit business? Well there are a number of ways. This can be summed by 3 main headings. Communication, Connection and Contribution.

Connection

As small business owners we all want to connect with our market at a number of levels. From the initial introductions, to building rapport and demonstrating that we understand “their” issues and problems and most importantly we have a possible solution for them. We do this through communication.

Communication

Classical sales training will always teach that most customers and clients will only start to buy after the 7th interaction with you or your company. The sales and personal development guru Brian Tracey talks about this at length in lots of his excellent books and training. You can also find even more validation through studying N.L.P and the study of excellence which has numbers, studies and evidence to back up this claim.

It is logical when you reflect on other areas of your life. Generally as human beings we like to get to know one another. The more we see, hear or experience someone the more boxes they tick as we evaluate them at both a conscious and unconscious level.

Think about when you met the certain someone in your life? Yes I know it might have been some time ago. I am sure it might have been love at first sight though my suspicion is you did not get into a committed relationship until you had at least seen them a few times?!
Now think about the beauty of Twitter. This process of communication and connection can happen at a much
faster pace.

Contribution

Let’s explain this one a little more .BNI is a well known networking business. It works on the premise that givers gain. All this is based on the law of reciprocity. In other words you give me something of perceived value to me and I give you something in return. That might be, I open up to listening to you, or I consider buying something from you. We have an example close to home.

Though I may be a bit of a geek. Fixing electrical circuit breakdowns in the house is not my strong point. Luckily for us there is a local electrician in our village. Last year everything went black! I rang Ian our Knight in shining armour. He came round worked his magic and didn’t charge us, the reason being “Well I was on my way home” Now when it came to replacing 6 spotlights in our kitchen who do you think got the work? Correct. By the way if you live in South Lakes Ian Speakman is fantastic as an electrician!

Back on track now! So how does this link to Twitter. Well you can share tips and information about your target markets issues and problems. Suggest helpful websites with information, free programmes reports etc. You know the type of thing. When you are an expert in your field it is easy to give away information that will not devalue you your product or service. It creates trust and helps to establish an unconscious link.

Using an example of how this could work. Say you are selling a product or service to help people lose weight. You could share a link to a site where they can plot their weight loss for free. Or a nutritional website where they can find out what fruit and vegetables are in season. Do this on a regular basis and then you might be surprised how many of them will come and buy your service.

People that are then following you will start to see that you are a good “egg” with something valuable to say. Eventually they start to come and look at your website with all your programmes and services. Then hey presto your phone rings or you here the kaching of a PayPal button. You feel good they feel good and everybody is happy.

Action steps

So what next? Well first don’t ignore this social network. It is exploding because it works and more and more people want to do business with individuals they, know like and trust.

1. Sign Up for an Account

2. Make sure you have a picture of you and a link to your website in your bio. Weird or silly photos for business
will get fewer followers.

3. Connection with your audience. DONT overly promote yourself first. Make it engaging add value and share.

4. Get yourself either a free guide to using Twitter or Google Twitter guides.
You can probably pick one up for less than a fiver! If you Google Mark Shaw he has some great free stuff.

5. Follow people and watch the conversation

6. Follow us and we will follow you back you can find us at http://www.twitter.com/najedaonline

To You and your online success!

Denise and Sharon

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