5 ways Twitter can help your business get ahead!

Using social media in the business world is no new wonder, with the majority of companies owning both a Facebook and an Instagram page. Twitter, however, is often seen as an 'in-between site' with many users unaware of the full potential and engagement as each post is no longer than 140 characters long. Whilst 140 characters does not like a lot, a recent survey by Twitter and  Market Probe International revealed the latest realities:

• 72% of followers are more likely to buy something from a business they follow on twitter
• 86% of followers are more likely to visit a business twitter page if a friend recommends it to them
• 85% of people feel more connected with a business if they follow them on twitter. 

Twitter posts, or 'tweets' are a great way to send out a short message, get involved with currents trends or news, and interact with followers and businesses in a way which is informal, instant and posted in real time. This makes twitter a great space to promote deals and competitions, to interact with live news using hashtags, and to make a memorable imprint in a short and snappy way which saves not only you time, but your followers time as well. Just like Facebook, Twitter actively encourages business accounts and it's services are free. Unlike setting up a Facebook page however, Twitter can be a lot easier to maintain and is much quicker to set up. Twitter itself actively boasts that a Twitter business page can help you get website traffic ,gain relevant followers and drive app downloads. You can visit the link here to get started. 

If you needed more persuading, here are 5 advantages to owning a business page on Twitter: 

1.) Market Research.

Twitter is a great way to send out feelers about new products and ideas. The short posts lend themselves to encourage an interactive Question/Answer conversation between the business and followers. By only allowing a short amount of words per post, it is also easier for business to scan through tweets containing relevant answers and keywords. Twitter also allows you to conduct anonymous twitter polls amongst your followers. 

2.) The use of the Hashtag.

Hashtag's are extremely popular on Instagram, but work even better on Twitter. A hashtag is any word, or phrase without spaces, beginning with the "#" symbol. People add hashtags to Tweets to link all the content related to a given topic. Click on a hashtag to go directly to the search results for that term. Hashtags that become very popular are often "Trending Topics". This allows you to stay relevant, or enables you to aim a tweet at a specific audience who is also interested in that particular hashtag. Hashtag's are also a great way to add a bit of depth and humour into your tweets. 

3.) Twitter allows you to show personality.

Twitter is great for sharing photos, GIFs and short videos, and the retweet, quote tweet, reply, follow and favourite buttons allows for this to occur naturally. You can share someone else's tweet onto your timeline, reply to an individual, 'like' somebody else's tweets and even privately message them, all of which allows you to prove that your business involves real-life people who are able to respond rapidly. Today, it is commonplace for big brands to respond to customer complaints through Twitter, and is a great way to interact quickly and efficiently as a customer service mechanism. Just like Facebook, Twitter also allows you to have a profile picture, cover photo, pinned 'Tweet' and a Bio section. 

4.) It is great for instant news.

 A recent study revealed that 86% of Twitter users used it for news, with 75% of Twitter users stating that they follow individual journalists, writers and commentators to add perspective. The study also showed that this pans out across fields of interest, so if your business is vocal, intuitive and constantly on the ball regarding news and other points of interest, your business account can quickly become regarded as a go-to page for specific topics and view points. 

5.) Twitter is fun, easy to use, and brilliant for Tweeting on the move. 

Whilst often a Facebook post can feel like a laborious task which requires you to really think about what you are writing, a Tweet can be as informal as you like. Sending out short tweets relatively often allows your followers to keep up-to-date with what your company is doing in a way which feels more personal, instant and less forced. The fast-pace of Twitter is a great way to show interaction without wasting time or getting distracted. By simply liking and retweeting other tweets, you are showing people that you are there and interested, without having to correspond directly. 

Although Twitter only allows for a short amount of words, it is a great way to share website and blog content by embedding a blog post, website page or Facebook page into your tweet. This way a person has the choice of reading the post in full by clicking on it, rather than having the full post presented to them. you can also link your Facebook, Instagram or Blog site to your Twitter so that posts are automatically formed, making it even easier to use!

Remember: Twitter is often seen as being rather addictive, and only a handful of tweets a day is really necessary. Why not try it out for yourself and see what all the fuss is about?