{"id":15804,"date":"2017-08-03T09:18:07","date_gmt":"2017-08-03T08:18:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dentons.net\/localinfo\/?p=15804"},"modified":"2017-08-03T09:19:51","modified_gmt":"2017-08-03T08:19:51","slug":"twitter-small-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dentons.net\/localinfo\/twitter-small-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Twitter for Small Business"},"content":{"rendered":"

I feel a bit silly now: back in the early 1990s I scoffed at the Internet when first introduced to it via a 28K dial-up modem, and declared it would never be a profitable medium. Likewise, until a few \u00a0years ago when I first started tweeting on behalf of a small business in the hope it would help with marketing, I was sceptical about Twitter\u2019s usefulness.<\/p>\n

How wrong can you be? Now, as a seasoned and experienced tweeter, I have realised what hundreds of thousands of other digital marketers also know \u2013 with upwards of 500-million active monthly users chatting to each other \u2013 this is a social media platform that can work wonders.<\/p>\n

I still don\u2019t use Twitter personally \u2013 to me holding inane conversations or tweeting out the fact that I am having porridge for breakfast just doesn\u2019t seem worthwhile! I have, however, huge respect for Twitter as a networking forum for business, and a first class tool for winning customers. It’s a PR, advertising and marketing medium all rolled into one, and it’s free.<\/p>\n

FAKE FOLLOWERS<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Developing a successful Twitter presence takes time and patience. Taking shortcuts doesn\u2019t work in the long run. Mm, yes, I suppose I had better clarify that contradiction in terms: essentially, you could pay for one of those packages advertised online that promises to send out X number of tweets a day on your behalf. You could also buy followers, even re-tweets and likes, which you might think will make you look hot stuff on Twitter.<\/p>\n

The problem with pre-programmed tweets and fake followers is that people who use Twitter will soon see through the artifice, and realise that you are not being authentic and certainly not social media savvy. Instead of admiring you and joining your merry band of followers, they will shy away. Instead of lending kudos to your brand, trying for a quick Twitter fix will damage it, and your reputation. It also lays you open to security issues, and incurs the disapproval of the Twitter overlords.<\/p>\n

The only way to achieve a healthy Twitter presence is to work at growing your following organically, and the way to do that is to taper your offering to a relevant audience \u2013 those who are interested in your industry, or who have the potential to become your customers.<\/p>\n

LESSONS LEARNED<\/strong><\/h4>\n

There is plenty of advice available online, targeted at small businesses and sole traders, about how to successfully use a Twitter account. I don\u2019t intend to rehash it all here, but if you are a complete Twitter \u201cvirgin\u201d you\u2019ll soon get going if you work through the tutorials on the Simply Business website.<\/a><\/p>\n

What I would like to share are some lessons I\u2019ve learned through experience:<\/p>\n