Are You Limiting Yourself On Twitter? Start Connecting!

Image courtesy of http://jamesreeve.info/

What is this hype about Twitter anyways? Should I create a Twitter account? What can my business gain with a Twitter account? Yes, these really are the questions I am hearing these days. If you aren’t on Twitter then you missing out on the free, (yes, I said free), benefits that you can achieve with an active Twitter account. Twitter is more than a place to update your followers on your detailed daily routine, but can also be a highly effective social media tool. Below are just a few benefits of having an actively managed Twitter account for your business or website.

If you already have a Twitter account, have you used the Search box on your Twitter homepage? This acts as a great search tool, as you can find valuable resources that the Twitter community is tweeting about. With enough networking and engagement through Twitter, you hope in time that you can search for your business name, or website’s URL in that Search box, and find individuals tweeting about you. Follow these people, see exactly what they haveto say about you and your business, and you may find yourself using Twitter for improving and managing the customer service facet of your business.

Brand your business and your logo with your Twitter background. There are multiple applications to use to enhance the background of your Twitter account. Twit Backs, Twitter Backgrounds and Sweet Tweet are just a few applications that allow you to personalize and customize your Twitter background. Give your Twitter background the look and feel of our website. Consistency is key. Prominently display your business logo, slogan, URL, blog URL, toll free numbers, and any other information you feel your customers will be interested in.

Reach out and follow others in the Twitter community who posses the same interests as you do. You may find the individuals through the Search box I’ve highlighted in my first point, or you may use a Twitter search directory, such as Twellow, to explore individuals in the same industry, profession, or expertise. Network and collaborate with these individuals. You will find some of the interaction that occurs could lead to new ideas, new partnerships, new business avenues that you otherwise wouldn’t have considered in past networking opportunities.

An important goal for many businesses and website owners is building traffic to their store and/or website. Twitter is one tool to help build the number of visitors to your site. To gauge the number of Twitter visitors and the level of traffic to your site from Twitter, take a look at the “Referring Sites” area under the “Traffic Sources” section of your Google Analytics account. Do keep in mind that with any analytics program, there is a slight margin of error. Overall, Google Analytics can help in providing you an estimated level of Twitter traffic. With the increased popularity of users utilizing desktop Twitter clients, these visits will not be included in the Referring Sites tally, but may be a portion of the number of direct visits to your site. You may want to consider the growth in Direct traffic over the course of months when you did not have a Twitter account with those months you had an active Twitter account.

Have fun with Twitter. Beyond following those with similar interests and goals, connect with old friends, past coworkers, and build new relationships. Twitter is a great tool to bounce your business ideas around, and also a wonderful tool to explore new areas outside of running your business. Find a lot of buzz about a new movie, or a new restaurant in town? Check it out, explore what’s out there.

Twitter has changed the way we all use the web and how we connect with our friends, our customers, and our audience. Whether using Twitter as a social site for building friendships or to capitalize on increasing your brand and online presence, enjoy it! Stay up to speed on the new advancements and opportunities within Twitter and you may be able to expand on my list of Twitter benefits!