Does Your Business Really Need a Twitter Page?
Do you have a Twitter page for your business? I’m interested in what kind of a return you are seeing off of it. I am becoming ever more unconvinced that Twitter is the right place for localized small to medium sized businesses. The majority of the interaction I see on Twitter is spread globally, among people that will never see your store front.
I believe, at least for localized business, that blogs and Facebook are the way to go. People are on Facebook more and more to connect with people that they used to know, they know but don’t see as much as they’d like, and as an easy connection to family. Many of these people are local to you, and have many people on their Facebook that are also local to you. Blogs seem to have gotten a bit lost in this year’s social media shuffle. They can be one of the most engaging forms of social media. If done right, they can offer a very personal glimpse into the mind of the writer.
I’m forced to wonder how much revenue a small business, with no mail order, really stands to make from Twitter, when a combination of a blog and Facebook fan page will reach your local people very easily. That’s really the key here…easily…Having a presence on too many social media platforms forces you to devote even more of your very expensive time.
Do you agree, or disagree with me? Am I on the money here, or way off the mark? Let me know, I’d really like to discuss this.
Ironically, I’ll be posting this to Twitter as soon as I publish it.
5 Comments
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
- Tweets that mention Does Your Business Really Need a Twitter Page? | Anocial -- Topsy.com - [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Brian Ellis, Y Grantham @4uqi. Y Grantham @4uqi said: Web| Does Your ...
Leave a Reply
Digital Designs
I offer digital designs that are beautifully done. I do websites on a whole new level. I work primarily in WordPress, delivering top-notch, clean, modern websites for a fraction of the cost of...
Contact Now
Interesting question, Brian. My main thought is that it each business may experience different results with different social media platforms. There is really no “one size fits all” approach. I think the main question to be asked is where are your customers likely to be and what are they looking for from you/your business?
Twitter may serve nicely for one business as a media outreach tool, while another can find success sending followers time-sensitive messages about specials, events, etc.
Interestingly, sometimes the location of the business can have some effect. As an example, a client I have worked with had locations in two different cities. In one city fan response to Twitter activity had the most immediate impact, while Facebook ruled the other.
I agree, however, that blogs have been largely overlooked this year in all the discussion of Facebook, Twitter, et al. I would suggest further that email marketing has been remarkably overlooked in the digital business development discussion. As old school as it may seem, it is still quite effective for many.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Shane, I agree that there is no one-size-fits-all. We must be ready and eager to be flexible. As I gain more and more highly localized clients it has been shaping my view of social media and its uses. I’m sure that once I start gaining clients outside of our small area that my views will change. Then again maybe they won’t, but it will be interesting to see how this idea of mine evolves.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Evolution is good. My thoughts on the various platforms continue to evolve as well. Learning from each other’s thoughts and experiences helps make better sense of the whole landscape.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
I’m no expert at this point (been on twitter for several months), but I think you’re right. I think the people you reach via twitter are very different than those on FB. I do think you can learn a lot about your peers, customers, etc. on both–but in very different ways.
I feel that twitter drives a lot more traffic to one’s site (in my case, anyway), but it seems that that the protocol is slightly stricter there (I think). FB feels a bit lighter/looser to me, which might be why it works so well in a local sense and with those you already sort of know.
I think that the best thing for people to do is experiment with both, get to know who they’re dealing with and what their interests/needs are and then, take it from there.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Spot on Lisa, and thanks for taking the time to weigh in
Like or Dislike:
0 
0