So You’re Not on Twitter? 15 Reasons Why Your Small Business Needs to Be on Twitter

Today’s post is all about WHY your small business needs to be on Twitter.  Please connect with Ashley on Twitter @SmallBizAtlanta. Enjoy!   

Twitter can be a very useful tool for small businesses to attract new customers and engage existing ones. Twitter gives small business owners an opportunity to join the conversation and enhance their overall web presence. Here are 15 reasons why your small business needs to be on twitter.

1. According to thenextweb.com, Twitter is adding 11 new accounts per second and could pass 500 million accounts in February!

With close to 500 million accounts you better believe that your customers are on there. Sign up for an account and “get in where you fit in”. Let your customers know that you are online and provide them with facts, tips, promotions, contests, answer to their questions and more. Keep in mind that Twitter is a ‘social network’ not an ‘advertisement network’—meaning join the conversation don’t just blast out information about your products or services.

2. Twitter is 100% FREE

There is no charge to sign up for an account. For small businesses on a budget this is an ideal why to engage and market to customers with a high impact marketing tool.

3. Opportunity to build customer relationships

Customers are the lifeline of any business, small businesses can connect with their ‘lifeline’ daily developing solid relationships with potential and existing customers.

4. Create awareness about your brand

Inform potential and current customers about your company’s Facebook Fan Page, blog, events, and other important small business details that will create awareness about your small business brand.

5. Market research

Small businesses have the opportunity to do their own market research with a platform like Twitter. Learn about your customers ask a Question of the Day or conduct polls, quizzes, and surveys to get feedback from potential and current customers. Develop a market research strategy geared directly towards your customers.

6. Extend the overall reach of you brand

Twitter gives you the opportunity to market to people all around the world. In addition to local customers a small business can offer products and services to customers everywhere, ultimately increasing their bottom line.

7. Reach customers in ‘real time’ 24/7/365

If business is slow you can run a promotion on Twitter to get customers in your door or to your website to make purchases, unlike traditional forms of advertising.

8. Be recognized as an expert in your niche

Provide customers with important and helpful information about your products/services to position yourself as an expert.

9. Opportunity to have valuable information go viral

Share tips and pointers that are useful to customers and get re-tweeted (your original tweet is tweeted by followers and perhaps none followers to their audiences). With re-tweets your small business information reaches more people faster, which could ultimately lead to more sales.

10. Opportunity for media exposure

There are thousands of journalists and other media contacts on Twitter. Tweeting valuable newsworthy information about your small business could lead to a media opportunity in print, TV, or on the web. Additionally, you can opt to follow local media sources that cater to your niche and tweet them your valuable information as it becomes available, this also may land your business spotlight in the media.

11. Targeted to consumer interest

One of the beauties of Twitter is that your followers care about what your business has to say and offer. Your small business has the ability to engage in conversation with people that are eager to hear from you. You will not be marketing to a crowd that is not interested in your products/services.

12. Give customers instant resolutions to any problems they my experience with your company

If a problem arises and a customer connects with you on Twitter to inform you about it, this is an opportunity to handle it with grace. Connect back with the customer and let them know that their problem is important and offer valuable solutions to the problem that will gain your customers trust. If the solution cannot be addressed via Twitter, you can still reach out the customer and let them know you have received their complaint and you are handling it.

13. Launch a viral marketing campaign

Have a creative marketing campaign in mind? Twitter is a social platform that has the potential to make any small business marketing campaign go viral as long as it is creative, fun, and easy to share.

14. Connect and network with other leaders in your industry

Twitter gives you an opportunity to keep a close eye on the competition, as well as network and connect with likeminded individuals in your industry. Get ideas and stay up to date with trends in your industry.

15. Manage your reputation

People are going to talk about your business rather you are online or not. Join the conversation and give them valuable stuff to talk about. Also be ‘in-the-know’ about what is being said about your business on the Twitter platform.

At this point can you think of any logical reason for your business not to be on Twitter? (If you can please list a thorough explanation in the comment section below). Essentially with Twitter your business can reach a larger audience, build your brand, gain customer trust, and market directly to a group of people that want to hear from you for the low price of FREE! What are you waiting for join the conversation, build your customer base, and increase your profits.

Ashley Neal is an entrepreneur and small business advocate that specializes as a luxury men’s style consultant. Ashley has a passion for discovering creative sales and marketing techniques and sharing them with small business owners. She writes for Examiner.com as the Atlanta Small Business Examiner.