To tweet or not to tweet

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The age old question in today’s digital world is ”to tweet or not to tweet”?

Social media is definitely all the rage. You might be a sceptic of it and really hope that it goes away, however the reality is, it isn’t going anywhere; it is here to stay. If you are not doing social media, it is only a matter of time before you will need to get your head around it and start embracing it for your business. It won’t be long before your competitors are using social media, if they aren’t already, and then you will really be left behind.

We have the ‘social media’ conversation all the time with our clients. To be honest, Manning & Co., for a marketing company, were late adopters of some social media platforms such as Twitter. I personally, was a sceptic of Twitter, until I was forced to sign-up when I presented a webinar on Strategic Marketing through the Australian Business Women’s Network. Since, then I have never looked back. When I started using Twitter, I realised how you can interact with Twitter in a number of different ways to get the most out of it personally and professionally.

Despite what Social Media scpetics like to believe, social media is not just about letting people know that you are going down the road for a coffee or about to go to dinner with friends! Social media is primarily about engaging – giving something to your networks such as useful tips, information, useful websites etc. Genuine engagement through social media is what will drive your business forward.

You really need to get active with some key social media platforms to see the value that it can deliver your business. Social media platofrms have a multitude of different applications. For example, Twitter, can be used for not just following your favourite celebrity, but you can follow various news sites, industry associations and councils, companies that may be your clients etc. During last year’s Federal Election, I received more up-to-date information via Twitter on the poll results rather than any other news site. Following you client organisations, is another practical way to use twitter – find out what they are doing, what research reports they have released, what services they promote etc.

So where do I start?????

Here are our top tips for introducing a social media strategy for your business:
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  • Start with the key social media platforms – Twitter, Linked In, Face Book and You Tube. Master these and then, you can expand on this. There are 466 social media platforms out there!
  • Sign-up and make your profiles for your business now, even if you don’t use them straight away. As more businesses and people get involved with social media, it will be harder to find appropriate account names that are related to your business name (just is the case now with domain names). There is no harm in setting up a profile on any of these platforms that we have mentioned; it is free and very easy to do.
  • Before you start actively using various social media platforms for your business, explore and see where you can get value from these applications for your business.
  • Remember social media is not about ‘pushing’ your product or service. People see through this very quickly. Social media is about engagement, sharing and dialogue with your networks. Sure every once and a while announce that you have a 50% off everything sale starting tomorrow; however don’t make social media just about advertising for your business.

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Getting back to the age old question, “to tweet or to not to tweet”, there is still a strong perception that twitter is for celebrities and individuals rather than for businesses. Why would I want to use Twitter for my business? We tell our clients, to get on Twitter and become familiar with it so you can see how you can apply its use for your business. You really need to start ‘tweeting’ to see the value it can bring your business.

I challenge you – start tweeting; join the social media band wagon and see results in your business in the future.

Gemma Manning