This week we begin a regular section where we overview an online technology – tell you about what it is and how it can be used to promote and simplify your business.
This week… Twitter.
Twitter? Tweet? Twittersphere?
Sigh, more jargon to bust. ‘Twitter’ can simply be described as a real-time log of thoughts and actions. With crazy recent growth in popularity, I think this is certainly one of the technologies you should know about and consider implementing for your business.
Basically the idea is: you or your business have a page on Twitter.com and when you have something interesting to say, you get 140 characters to update the world. Kind of like a txt message, but instead of sending it to Michelle you send it to Twitter (stab in the dark there on the off chance that someone you frequently txt is called Michelle). Other Twitterers follow these Tweets in the form of updates on their Twitter page or mobile phone.
Believe it or not, since launching in 2006, Twitter is now the world’s 3rd largest social network (behind Facebook and MySpace) with approx 7 million users. It is very quickly becoming a mainstream way of sharing real-time information (mainly in the US at this stage, which means the tide will be coming to our shores in about 6 months)
The main type of business I see benefiting from using Twitter fit into two categories.
Business with fans eager to see what their company is up to. Here I use tshirt retailer JustTees.co.nz as an example. Their target demographic of males in their late teens / early twenties fits in perfectly with the typical early adopters of technolgy like this. Twitter could offer a way for Just Tees to keep members up to date with what they are doing, reading, listening to, watching etc. etc.
Business wanting to offer quick special offers. With enough followers, putting a special offer out to these loyal followers can potentially offer huge rewards. Computer company Dell has led the way in this space. According to a press release “Dell says Twitter has produced $1 million in revenue over the past year and a half through sale alerts.” While this is of course less relevant for NZ SMEs, it is still an opportunity to build a community around your brand and inexpensively inform existing customers when you have special offers.
Cost and Setup
Twitter is completely free to set up and use! Start ‘tweeting‘ immediately once you have signed up at twitter.com. You may even want to jump on over to our Twitter page at www.twitter.com/webspring to see what we’re up to and how we use it.
Future
Google is apparently looking at buying Twitter and adding it to their stable of online stallions including YouTube, Blogger and Gmail. If this happens Twitter will be pushed even further into the mainstream. Either way, it appears this has enough traction to at least offer businesses another inexpensive way to let people know about specials, events and generally keep customers in the loop with what they are up to.
Another interesting area Twitter is apparently looking at is allowing businesses to view aggregated tweet information: basically a summary of all discussions around a word, brand or product. This would be very useful to quickly guage how popular a new product is, or spot common problems before they spread.
Next Issue
Best Online Tools for Business: Building Useful Business Networks with LinkedIn
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Best Online Tools for Business: Twitter
This week we begin a regular section where we overview an online technology – tell you about what it is and how it can be used to promote and simplify your business.
This week… Twitter.
Twitter? Tweet? Twittersphere?
Sigh, more jargon to bust. ‘Twitter’ can simply be described as a real-time log of thoughts and actions. With crazy recent growth in popularity, I think this is certainly one of the technologies you should know about and consider implementing for your business.
Basically the idea is: you or your business have a page on Twitter.com and when you have something interesting to say, you get 140 characters to update the world. Kind of like a txt message, but instead of sending it to Michelle you send it to Twitter (stab in the dark there on the off chance that someone you frequently txt is called Michelle). Other Twitterers follow these Tweets in the form of updates on their Twitter page or mobile phone.
Believe it or not, since launching in 2006, Twitter is now the world’s 3rd largest social network (behind Facebook and MySpace) with approx 7 million users. It is very quickly becoming a mainstream way of sharing real-time information (mainly in the US at this stage, which means the tide will be coming to our shores in about 6 months)
Interestingly enough, it is already creating alot of buzz in the US with high profile people using it, including: Al Gore, Shaq, Richard Branson, Coldplay, Stephen Fry and even Barack Obama!
Business that would benefit from Twitter
The main type of business I see benefiting from using Twitter fit into two categories.
Cost and Setup
Twitter is completely free to set up and use! Start ‘tweeting‘ immediately once you have signed up at twitter.com. You may even want to jump on over to our Twitter page at www.twitter.com/webspring to see what we’re up to and how we use it.
Future
Google is apparently looking at buying Twitter and adding it to their stable of online stallions including YouTube, Blogger and Gmail. If this happens Twitter will be pushed even further into the mainstream. Either way, it appears this has enough traction to at least offer businesses another inexpensive way to let people know about specials, events and generally keep customers in the loop with what they are up to.
Another interesting area Twitter is apparently looking at is allowing businesses to view aggregated tweet information: basically a summary of all discussions around a word, brand or product. This would be very useful to quickly guage how popular a new product is, or spot common problems before they spread.
Next Issue
Best Online Tools for Business: Building Useful Business Networks with LinkedIn