More and more small business folks are giving in to what seems like an insurmountable mountain of hype and jumping on the twitter bandwagon.
But, some people still look at twitter on the surface and conclude that it’s one big waste of time. I can’t say I disagree completely, however, like all social media and marketing tactics, before you can determine if something makes sense you need to analyze your objectives. So, instead of asking why you would use it, ask how it might help you achieve some other already stated objectives.
1) Would you like a way to connect and network with others in your industry or others who share you views? It’s a good a tool for that.
2) Would you like a way to get instant access to what’s being said, this minute, about your organization, people, products, competitors or brand? It’s a good tool for that.
3) Would you like a steady stream of ideas, content, links, resources, and tips focused on your area of expertise or interest? It’s a good tool for that.
4) Would you like to monitor what’s being said about your customers to help them protect their brands? It’s a good tool for that.
5) Would you like to extend the reach of your thought leadership – blog posts and other content? It can be a good tool for that.
6) Would like a way to quickly find vendors, partners, tech help, even employees for your organization? I can be a good tool for that.
7) Would you like to promote your products and services directly to a target audience? Not such a good tool for that, but it can light a path back to your website!
Now, if that weren’t enough, the open nature of the twitter platform is spawning uses far beyond what was ever imagined or what many people can grasp – and this use of the technology will only get bigger.
Here are few things you may have never considered
8) Publish your Flickr photos on twitter – Visit twittergram and set-up an account and then just upload to Flickr but tag your photo twitter and it goes into your twitter stream.
9) If you use online todo list Remember the Milk – you can set it up to flow into twitter – this might be a way to assign todos to remote teams
10) Using strawpoll you can create mini polls into your twitter stream – great for flash feedback
11) Use twitter to keep up on traffic jams with commuterfeed
12) Have twitter alert you when you have a meeting with timer
13) Get and fill current job openings with tweetajob
14) Track FedEx, UPS and DHL shipments with TrackThis
17) Get a tweet when your plants need water – – okay this one would be way cooler if it simply tweeted you when the plant watered itself.
Illustration: Pasquale D’Silva
