Live from TWTRCON '09: 5 reasons to be on Twitter even if your audience isn't - SmartBrief

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Live from TWTRCON ’09: 5 reasons to be on Twitter even if your audience isn’t

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Digital Technology

Today’s first post from TWTRCON comes from SmartBrief on Social Media Contributing Editor Ambreen Ali.

Your company can benefit from Twitter even if your audience isn’t on the social media site, oneforty.com’s Laura Fitton (@pistachio) said during the TWTRCON pre-keynote. That runs contrary to the advice most social media newbies are given — to seek out their customers and target audiences on social networking sites. Fitton offered five reasons it doesn’t matter if your audience is on Twitter yet.

  • Search engine optimization. Companies can help their SEO efforts simply by starting a Twitter account with a strategic name. “Very common words that happen to be Twitter handles absolutely dominate on Google,” Fitton said. She should know: Google “pistachio” and her Twitter account ranks high.
  • Research. Twitter is a goldmine for real-time focus groups and for trying out ideas on a sample audience. All it takes is starting a hashtag on the topic. “Communities form around the hashtag,” Fitton noted.
  • Content generation. Plop a Twitter feed on your Web site and you have a constantly refreshing supply of content. The microblogging site is buzzing with ideas and commentary that — if you cull your following properly — will resonate with your audience.
  • Word of mouth. Dell’s tremendous success on Twitter (@delloutlet has more than 1.3 million followers) demonstrates that brands can organically grow their audience when they provide genuine value. But spam won’t get you anywhere, Fitton warned, saying Twitter is “not something you can parachute into.”
  • Free PR. So many journalists and bloggers are on Twitter, and you can get their attention simply by writing engaging tweets. “You’re going to be picked up by the trade publications,” Fitton said. “I have had embarrassingly good luck getting covered in the press, and I have never sent a press release. The press has found me.”

It’s no longer excuse enough to say your customers aren’t on Twitter. The site clearly offers benefits for many aspects of doing business.