Twitter.... what's the point?

Michelle_HLD · #1 16th November 2009, 10:44

I just wanted to get some views on Twitter really.

We have a Twitter page and we post usually 3 times a day but honestly, what is the point in Twitter for a consumer? It's full of businesses and self absorbed celebrities telling you they're getting their nails done or picking their nose. Why any normal person would care about this tripe is beyond me. It is the internet equivalent of Junk Mail.

Is there anyone else who thinks one day these investors and what not are going to wake up and realise that Twitter is pointless and not worth a penny?

I think people only Tweet because it's the latest Web 2.0 fad. Facebook has everything Twitter has and more.

Any views?

GRDCredit · #2 16th November 2009, 10:48

If you do not want to read about Stephen Fry picking his nose etc then don't follow him!

I have picked up business from Twitter by having some relevant searches set up on Tweetdeck. For example one such search found a tweet 'I hate credit control!' I am now doing the credit control for that business

An Oasis · #3 16th November 2009, 10:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michelle_HLD

Any views?

Your either in the love/hate camp with social media, bores the arse off me but if it works for others that cool.

Michelle_HLD · #4 16th November 2009, 10:55

I don't follow him. But seriously who cares about this? It's clearly people who think it's really "hip" to know what Stephen Fry is doing.... probably the same adults who got duped into buying Harry Potter because it's trendy. (but thats a different rant).

I see that you have got some business through it but still, I am struggling to see how viable it is from an ecommerce businesses point of view.

mattsaw · #5 16th November 2009, 11:00

Quote:

If you do not want to read about Stephen Fry picking his nose etc then don't follow him!

Exactly this. What you read on Twitter is only as good as the people you follow, if you're reading a bunch of crap then it's up to you to clean up who you're following.

As a business it's up to you to make your postings as useful as possible to attract the kind of people who may buy your products and services.

Lots of companies do it very badly, though some are making some great money from it. Others use it as a customer service channel, others use it to promote their site to media contacts. There's no such thing as a best way to use Twitter, each comapny is different and has to find the best way to use the service for themeselves.

Interlogy (UK) · #6 16th November 2009, 11:04

I really hate these social netowking sites, find them so dull and boring. I never know what to write but at the end of the day it brings in a few sales then I'd be happy.

fisicx · #7 16th November 2009, 11:12

As other have suggested it's how you use it that matters.

In your case Michelle you could use it to inform about pool tournaments, new types of baise, snooker hints and tips and so on. Create useful tweets and you will get targetted follows. If you prove to be someone worth following then business does follow.

Zöe · #8 16th November 2009, 11:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michelle_HLD

I don't follow him. But seriously who cares about this? It's clearly people who think it's really "hip" to know what Stephen Fry is doing.... probably the same adults who got duped into buying Harry Potter because it's trendy. (but thats a different rant).

I see that you have got some business through it but still, I am struggling to see how viable it is from an ecommerce businesses point of view.

Who cares about this? Well Stephen Fry has over 1 million followers for a start and I think JK Rowling sold quite a few of those books.

I think you can get from twitter what you put into it. You just have to find the right audience and the right way of engaging with that audience

Kev Jaques · #9 16th November 2009, 11:21

I think one of the main points is it is ideal for another string to the bow in your dealings with putting across your personality, values, points of view, customer care etc... People buy from people.
Pretty much for the same reasons why blogs can help businesses by having content prospective clients can read and get more of an idea of who they are buying from.

At the end of the day if you had 2 firms selling the same product at pretty much the same price and one didn't use blogging or social media and therefore not looked to improve its communications to show people they can be trusted etc.. then you are probably going to choose the one that can show this.

It also makes it more accessible to tweet/speak with people in businesses that are higher up the chain of command as it removes those barriers to a certain degree. No longer do you have to go through that chain of command but can speak direct to the top people (if they are tweeting), of course it's still not an excuse to spam would be prospects but can open doors.

SillyJokes · #10 16th November 2009, 11:27

I am also not sure about Twitter for eCommerce. One thing you can do Michelle is have a look at your competitors' twitters, or the twitters of other successful stores to see how they are using it.

One of my competitors was using it to let people know about shipping in the run up to Halloween with the Post strikes and I could see that they were getting quite a response, even though they don't have many more followers than we do.