Twitter for businesses: is it worth it?

If you run a business, it’s likely you’ve considered more than one way to reach out to an audience on social media. Of course, Facebook and Instagram are tried and tested avenues to gain visibility and increase reach, but have you ever considered Twitter for marketing purposes? Twitter is popular on the level of personal use, and this app can offer you a leg up on your competition in the world of business marketing.

If you’ve never tweeted, don’t worry too much! We’re here to offer the low-down regarding the most effective ways to use Twitter as a growing or established business, and whether it's worth investing the time and energy.

Twitter for businesses: is it worth it?

Everything to know about Twitter

If you haven’t used Twitter before, you might need a quick crash course regarding what it entails. Twitter allows instant access to a variety of users both personal and professional: this includes big businesses, celebrities and experts in all fields. Once you’ve obtained a profile, you have the ability to tweet at anyone you desire.

A tweet consists of 280-characters of text as well as the possibility to include images, videos or sound files. These parameters allow for a quick quip, opinion or response that can put you in conversation with journalists, friends, politicians, other business owners and professional marketers. Building relationships with those in your field is more than possible by way of Twitter's platform.

Twitter currently has over 330 million active users. With a number that large, it’s easy to imagine how you could gain visibility and grow a diverse professional network. Not only does Twitter have an extensive amount of users, there is the ability for a real-time experience. This is helpful for tracking current events as well as responding to customer service requests and queries.

Another point worth mentioning is the search function on Twitter, allowing you to search through all tweets on the topics of your choice. This might seem arbitrary but is inherently important when looking for information about your business or field. 

Looking for a social media expert to create an online presence for your company?

Contact us so we can refer you to specialists in our network

The ways Twitter can directly impact your business

User engagement

The success of your business in relation to your Twitter is all about user engagement. Tweets are only relevant in their first few hours of being posted. 

If you find they are not getting likes, retweets or otherwise, then your work on the platform isn’t coming across as effective. However, it is recommended that you avoid putting money towards generating leads by way of Twitter. Instead, focus on organic reach and learning to engage with followers and potential customers in real ways.

It is very unlikely that Twitter users are going to click through hashtag leads. Hashtags are only effective when used alongside a coordinated messaging campaign. With this in mind, manual engagement is absolutely necessary when it comes to increasing visibility on this platform. Search for others who are discussing topics closely related to your business, follow them, retweet their content and express genuine interest whenever possible.

Twitter trends

In a nutshell, Twitter trends were originally large form conversations that a variety of people on the platform engaged in, and would range in a variety of topics. Although trends still exist, they have now morphed into a form of advertisement, and not the kind you’re looking to invest in.

This means that bots use this function to push a mostly political agenda, and Twitter has suppressed organic hashtags as a result. Now, trends are almost always purchased, and these topics are not organically developed. For this reason, as a brand, it is recommended that you stay away from trends unless your business has a positive and politically driven message.

Drive traffic towards your website

Now, we’ve already mentioned the ways that you can use Twitter to directly engage with the public. But what about its ability to drive traffic towards your website? Having prospective customers find their way to your website will directly depend on how often you use Twitter. In some instances, the more your tweet the more likely you are to have people find their way to your page, and in turn your website. However, it is important not to overwhelm your followers.

Make sure that any content you're sharing is relevant to your audience, tweeting a few times a day for good distribution. Also, as mentioned your content needs to be a direct reflection of your business and brand message. Since Twitter has a quickly moving platform as well as a character limitation, you should use every opportunity to be as straightforward as possible.

Brand communication is not only reflected in your posts, but it is also reflected in the way that you interact with others.  As we continue to mention, engagement on Twitter is paramount to your success but avoid simply copying and pasting a link to your website in subtweets and comments. 

Boost SEO

Twitter is fairly essential when it comes to boosting your SEO and further attracting visibility. Sometimes, if a tweet is comprised of keywords that are currently trending, this can appear individually in search engine results. This is an excellent avenue for sharing links and blog posts, and in turn, generating traffic towards your website. Also, bear in mind that it involves zero cost!

So, is Twitter for businesses worth it?

We would argue yes, Twitter for businesses is worth it. This is especially true if you have the staff to dedicate time to social media management, as dedication is completely necessary if you’re looking to redirect traffic. Remember, this is another free avenue for social media marketing. However, make sure the content you are posting is useful, creative and relevant, as everything you post will reflect back into your business.