Our marketing executive James Brown tells you why you’re missing out by not being involved with 500 million other Tweeters!
I’ve been on Twitter for as long as I can remember. I’ve used it for work and I use it on a personal level too but there are so many reasons you should be involved when it comes to the world’s number one social media channel. Here’s a top 5 list of why I think you should be involved:
Interaction & Connectivity
Be it a personal account or a business account, there are few better ways to interact with people than on Twitter. Whether you’re engaging with a serious topic or laughing at a funny cat video – there is so much to do. On a business level, it is an excellent way to connect with customers and clients with the ability to really feed off praise and constructive criticism. A lot of businesses spend a lot on market research and so they should, but Twitter is an excellent tool when it comes to interacting with that very market. On a personal level it is a great way of sharing what is going on in your life and connecting with people you would otherwise never have had the chance to communicate with. Put it this way, I know people who have met through Twitter, fallen in love and are some of the happiest couples I’ve known. Well done Twitter!
Knowledge!
Okay, I’m going to admit that often, when a news story breaks, I hear it first on Twitter! Is that the case for everyone else? Twitter has revolutionised global news consumption and delivery. Prince William and Kate, the Osama Bin Laden Raid and the Boston Marathon Bombings – three major stories and all broken on Twitter first. News agencies and journalists now have official accounts breaking the latest news from across the globe so you hear it first whilst on the bus, the loo or anywhere you may well be at that point! Knowledge is power and Twitter is the best at delivering that.
Directing Traffic
Okay so this is one from a business perspective. If you want to drive people to your website, blog etc then Twitter is a powerful tool. A short summary of your news/blog/message, a link and an image (it helps!) will help you reach an entirely new audience and help them to discover you. If used correctly Twitter, and other social media channels, are powerful tools. Think of them as a megaphone. There is no point in producing great content if no-one is going to see it so why not shout about it through your megaphone?!
Bringing People Together
Twitter can be used to bring people together for a common cause. It can be serious, it can be silly but it works. Charities often use Twitter and hashtags to generate interest and donations for their cause but it can also be powerful when uniting and sending a message. The recent traumatic events in Paris when 17 Charlie Hebdo journalists were brutally killed was obviously top story news and Twitter played its part (see point 2) but it also united people across the world. People refused to be silent so the phrase ‘Je Suis Charlie’ was born and Twitter ran with it. The ‘JeSuisCharlie’ hashtag trended across Twitter as people made their voices heard – that is something quite powerful.
It’s fun!
Okay so Twitter isn’t all about driving traffic to websites, seeing the latest news and promoting yourself – it is also a lot of fun. Connecting with your friends, following your favourite sports teams, stalking the celebs or simply having an opinion which can be heard – Twitter will keep you busy. Don’t have much to say? Don’t worry because you don’t need to tweet to be on Twitter. Why not use it as a way of connecting and keeping in touch with all the things you love?
Hopefully I’ve persuaded some of you to get onboard the Twitter bandwagon. It has negatives, I won’t lie but when used well, it is THE most powerful social media tool on the planet.