How To Use Twitter For Business The Right Way

A number of recent media stories have reported the different ways that companies are adopting Twitter for business use. When it began in March of 2009, Twitter was just intended for communication among individuals. However, a number of organizations (including most major print and broadcast media) have begun to actively participate on the platform. Not all companies are using Twitter in the same way, however. Some are tweeting, some are just “listening”, and some companies are doing a combination of both.

Some companies are using Twitter as a marketing or public relations channel, almost like another corporate blog. They post information about corporate accomplishments that include links that take people back to corporate web pages, press releases, and other promotional sites.

While this method may seem like an easy, logical way to get started, this doesn’t really jibe with the prevailing Twitter ethos. An overabundance of self-promotional information can in the long run do more harm than good if that is the only type of information that is being posted. A lot of users that seek information on Twitter do so to find little factoid’s and nuggets of information that they can’t find elsewhere. Moreover, the 140-character limit for all posts (or “tweets”) means that such information found will be direct and to the point. Blatant self-advertising on the other hand is looked upon in a similar way as spam emailing.

Some companies use Twitter indirectly by allowing their employees tweet instead. Since the employees are using Twitter to enhance their own personal reputations, the company’s reputation ends up benefiting by proxy. Employees posting upbeat and interesting messages about their work,industry development, new products, company events, even if they are unrelated to the company itself, can promote positive feelings for whichever business they are employed by. Of course sometimes this can work in reverse as in the case last December when a Yahoo employee twittered for hours throughout a mass layoff there (ending with her own).

Some companies use Twitter internally to share ideas or communicate about what projects they’re working on. However, if this information is confidential in nature, it can probably end up being more trouble than it’s worth due to the lack of security.

Other companies aren’t as much participants on Twitter as they are “listeners.” Through the use of search tools like search.twitter.com or desktop applications like TweetDeck they are able to keep track of what’s being said about the company, its product names, or even the industry as a whole. More and more companies are tuning in to these micro-conversations as a way of being alerted to problems(or potential ones) and to gather feedback on product issues or ideas.

Just a few examples of how some well-known companies are using Twitter nowadays include Starbucks (posts new offers and also participates in threaded discussions of these offers with their Twitter-followers), Whole Foods (asks what their clients like to read and watch, recommends new food podcasts and invites them to the company upcoming events) and Southwest Airlines (Via their Twitter profile Southwest runs non-official, entertaining discussions with their customers).

If your business is thinking of joining the Twitter community, it’s best to study it first and go in with a well thought out coherent strategy. There are numerous web-based resources that can assist with this process so you can maximize the benefits while avoiding (or at least minimizing) pitfalls.