Twitter for Dummies - Laura Fitton [10]
Businesses That Use Twitter
If individuals, community groups, and nonprofit groups, can use Twitter (as we discuss in the preceding sections), businesses large and small can use it, too.
Discount airline JetBlue uses Twitter to advertise fare specials, put out weather alerts, and conduct customer service (http://twitter.com/JetBlue). Coffee retailer Starbucks uses Twitter to connect with customers and spread company culture (http://twitter.com/Starbucks), as does online shoe retailer Zappos.com (http://twitter.com/zappos). Early on, computer manufacturer Dell started a Twitter account (http://twitter.com/DellOutlet) to promote special deals on returned equipment and has said that, as of December 2008, its Twitter account has generated over a million dollars in revenue. You can bet, Dell now has many more accounts: www.dell.com/twitter.
So why would a business want to establish a presence on Twitter?
To network with customers and see what they’re saying.
To answer questions.
To finely tool a company image.
To poll and pull in feedback.
To take advantage of an innovative form of 140-character advertising. If you have a limited quantity of something to sell in a short amount of time, you can’t find a better channel than Twitter to make it known.
Even a business with no customers on Twitter can take advantage of five off-platform benefits that we talk about in Chapter 11.
But none of these reasons really scratch the surface of why so many people use Twitter. Whether you want to use it for mostly personal or mostly business reasons, or even a blend of the two, you’ll find that your reasons for tweeting multiply over time while Twitter becomes more and more useful to you. Each chapter in this book clearly explains why Twitter has caught on like wildfire and how you can join in the fun (and enjoy the business benefits) of this microsharing service.
If you’re not sure where to begin, you’ll be glad to know that many professions are comparing notes about the best ways to use Twitter. For example, ExecTweets (www.exectweets.com) shines the spotlight on executives who use Twitter. You can find dozens of industry-specific blog posts and guides on how to use Twitter most effectively. Laura’s company started one list of these guides here: http://pistachioconsulting.com/featured-articles/industry-guides.
For more on putting Twitter to use for your business, turn to Chapter 11.
Getting Your Tweet Wet
Having breakfast and getting ready to ride. 6 hours today...
— Cyclist Lance Armstrong via Twitter, December 20, 2008 (http://twitter.com/lancearmstrong/status/1069006436)
When you log into Twitter, a question appears in large print across the top of the screen: “What are you doing?” The most basic activity on Twitter is to answer that question, whenever and however you feel like it. The beauty of this simple question is that you can answer it in so many different ways, and your answer can spark so many conversations.
While you get more comfortable using Twitter, you may find that you ignore the question of “What are you doing?” altogether. That’s okay. Twitter is inherently flexible and open-ended, so you don’t need to stick to a rigid set of rules. In effect, Twitter is what you make it.
The “What are you doing?” prompt can get some new Twitter users stuck in a rut. Sometimes, twitterers freeze up out of self-consciousness, concern that they’re not doing it right, or just plain old 140-character writer’s block. You know these Twitter accounts when you see them: The twitterers end up twittering only about what they had for breakfast, that they’re leaving the office to go home and watch Heroes, or various other mundane life updates that don’t spark much conversation. Many of these Twitter users don’t end up getting involved in the Twitter culture, and some then stop using Twitter altogether.
If you’re brand-new to Twitter and you’re ready to try it out, turn to Chapter 2 for information on how to sign up, customize your profile, and adjust your settings. Chapter 3 fills you