Twitter.... what's the point?

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]

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]

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.

 

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]

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.

 

[evocart]

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]

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.

 

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]

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]

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.

 

[SillyJokes]

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.

Nightmare! So if I started twittering in ernest all I can look forward to is a stream of sales pitches?

 

[Kev Jaques]

The sales pitches are happening whether you like it or not, you only have to look at 80% of your timeline of tweets from the people you are following.

There is no escaping it unless you restrict it quite severely.

 

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

I take it you tweet and read Harry Potter then. It was merely an observation, don't take it so personal.

 

I take it you tweet and read Harry Potter then. It was merely an observation, don't take it so personal.

I wasn't taking it personally. I was merely stating that that is a huge audience to ignore.

(I don't follow Stephen Fry by the way but I have read Harry Potter! )

 

[paretowasright]

I wasn't taking it personally. I was merely stating that that is a huge audience to ignore.

(I don't follow Stephen Fry by the way but I have read Harry Potter! )

Are you upsetting people again on here Michelle?

 

Me?!!!!!

 

[SillyJokes]

My main problem is I dont' want to come over as a pushy sales pitch person myself or as my business, and I can't really see why anyone would want to follow me, except we already have a couple of hundred I think.

What I need is a blackberry so I can tweet in odd moments I have knocking about during the day (v. few at actual work).

Caroline

 

Yes I have. Chest infection and I just feel it is pointless. I need convincing. I feel as though I'm tweeting and no one is listening.

I can talk to myself at home without publishing it on the WWW.

Perhaps I'm just not doing it right?

 

[gessoandgold]

Help! I've heard about twitter ... have it on my (really really long) list of things I need to learn about.

Any assistance out there? I'd be grateful, it might come in very useful for me as I often need to gather viewpoints.

 

[Kev Jaques]

Michelle, have you tried searching for pool/snooker/games table related tweets using Twitters search engine? Invaluable for looking for prospective twitterers to follow.
Also check out http://wefollow.com/ you may find related people to follow.

 

[petera]

Ok, I'm going to explain a very simple Twitter strategy for you:

You place a 'follow us on Twitter' button on your site, supported with the text 'to learn about special offers, discounts and new product ranges'.

People who are on your site are there because they have an interest in your products/services. If you get a group of these people following you on Twitter they will hear about all of your offers, advice etc. and will become very familiar with your brand.

Promoting your products directly to this audience is a win-win

 

[Eagle]

A Twitter account can't hurt?

 

[mattsaw]

A Twitter account can't hurt?

Yes it can, ask Habitat

 

[gessoandgold]

I just went on the Twitter site for a small investigate ... please forget my request for help learning how ... I can't afford the aspirin I'd need if I even attempted that. It's like being in a really rubbish nightclub!

 

[Eagle]

Yes it can, ask Habitat

Go on...

 

[mattsaw]

Go on...

http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&sour...f&oq=habitat+twitter+spam&fp=408428c3d949fea1

I spotted it happening and couldn't quite believe that such a large organisation was making such a basic mistake.

It got conveniently blamed on an intern

 

[gessoandgold]

Hmmm, having gotten over the initial horror - a lot of adolescent gabble on there! - I learned how to work it. I see the potential. I'll definitely be using it as a marketing tool. It'll be real useful.

 

[Deleted member 61074]

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?

its up to you how you utilise it, several months ago i couldnt see the point but my peers use it and i realised i was missing out, ie via twitter i attended a couple of 1/2 day conferences and met interesting business contacts, via twitter other people i choose to follow point me at interesting webpages discussing things it is useful for me to know about and so it goes on. I also use twitter to find people in the same industry as me in my locality.

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

they are 2 different animals, i use twitter for business - the fact is it restrcted to 140 chars means its not to time consuming ( i block peeps who twiiter to often and i block those who tell me they are just about to make a cup of coffee) I considered facebook for my business but quickly dismissed it as i couldnt think of any content for it - that seems to be the crucial factor here, if you cant think of content then dont! Only twitter something interesting, you will be amazed as time goes on who easy it becomes.

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).

the whole point of twitter is you choose who to follow and choose who follows you. Think of it as a library or a bookshop, you dont feel you have to read every book do you, be selective.

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.

put a follow me on your site and invite people to follow you - now you have a target market of interested potential customers. Tell them about new products, special offers, events you are attending, postal delays etc etc.

Its a very good way for a small business to become personable esp if most of your business is via www

 

[manofinfluence1]

Since there are many who uses twitter, that would include your business competitors, its good to have a twitter account as well. It is how you manage your account that will determine whether using twitter can increase improve how your business is doing.

When yo use twitter, you have to make your profile look professional and personal. You need to have informative tweets. The people you follow are important. Most of the people you follow will follow you back when they see that your tweets are good. Some would even click on your referred link.

Now that google will include tweets on their search results, I believe it will be an edge to have a twitter account.

 

[debbidoo]

I adore Twitter

I use it mostly for socialising, I guess. I plonk in the occasional tweet about special offers I'm running, new products, things like that, but mostly I'm just chatting with people, including my clients, replying to things my followers are discussing, that sort of thing. Even though I'm a marketer and I probably started off by using it as a marketing tool, I barely see it as such these days, or if I do, it's on a subconscious level

Silly Jokes, you were asking "who would want to follow me?" - well y'know, I asked myself that question when I first started using it, and now I have nearly 500 followers (goodness knows why!) I do look through them quite regularly and block anyone who's clearly a spammer. I'm selective about who I follow back - if their posts are mostly about their business I tend not to follow back, but if they seem to engage with their followers (or people they follow) a lot, then I will follow them back.

It's not only about getting sales, or traffic, or whatever... you can find some great suppliers too. And some people are just really interesting or funny. Llike Stephen Fry

Twitter is a great community, when it's used properly. Block the spammers, follow people who interest you, share useful/interesting/funny links you've found, talk about a wide range of subjects (not just your business, because that's dull after a while) and engage in conversation with people and with brands. I think if you take that approach, rather than using it purely as a marketing tool, you'll enjoy it a lot more

If any of you are looking for people to follow who will follow you back, add me (@debbidoo) and mention UKBF, so I'll know who you are. Happy to follow you back and introduce you to my followers

 

[debbidoo]

WeCanDo.Biz has launched a fantastic new feature which helps you find all the latest Tweets mentioning your chosen keywords - but you have to be a member. It's a fantastic resource for businesses even without this new feature - but now it's even better, so it's really worth signing up if you haven't already.

Just gave this twitter feature a try and it's fab - you tick a few boxes to say which keywords you want to search on (keywords are part of your account already) - it returns a list of anyone tweeting those keywords, and has a "follow" button next to each person, so you can add them to your follow list in just one click.

Hats off to Ian for introducing this feature to WeCanDo.Biz - one of the best business networking sites in existence!

(This also says something about the usefulness of well targeted, well planned and well executed email marketing campaigns... this new feature came to my attention via the WeCanDo.Biz newsletter )

 

[davidwang9951]

I really to use the Twitter , unfortunatly, this website is closed by china goverment.

 

[footie_matt]

I'm not a fan of Twitter, just a personal view

 

[davidwang9951]

I hope to know how popular is Twitter used by people?

 

[polyspiral]

I know what you mean it seems all the networking sites are full of people selling there wares and out numbering the consumers.

And Im ashamed to say Im one of the former rather than the latter, I guess its so easy to promote your self in this way

 

[mattk]

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?

I agree absolutely 100% with everything you've said here. Twitter is the latest fad for business. I personally cannot see the point. Do you remember when every business had to have their own blog? Another fad. God only knows how much time business owners wasted writing pointless blog posts when they should have been spending the time actually running their business!

I think your analogy of Junk Mail is spot on.

If I was going to market my business on any of the social networking sites then it would definitely be Facebook.

 

[G. Lasagne]

WeCanDo.Biz has launched a fantastic new feature which helps you find all the latest Tweets mentioning your chosen keywords - but you have to be a member. It's a fantastic resource for businesses even without this new feature - but now it's even better, so it's really worth signing up if you haven't already.

Just gave this twitter feature a try and it's fab - you tick a few boxes to say which keywords you want to search on (keywords are part of your account already) - it returns a list of anyone tweeting those keywords, and has a "follow" button next to each person, so you can add them to your follow list in just one click.

Hats off to Ian for introducing this feature to WeCanDo.Biz - one of the best business networking sites in existence!

(This also says something about the usefulness of well targeted, well planned and well executed email marketing campaigns... this new feature came to my attention via the WeCanDo.Biz newsletter )

To be honest i never use wecando.biz but i am constantly hearing good things, i am a member but tend to spend my "online time" on this, think i will give it a try.

The twitter feature is excellent cant belive there hasnt been much talk of it, its got to be one of the best marketing tools out there, or am i missing something:|

 

[G. Lasagne]

Just had a quick look, where do is start?, its not like a forum format is it, so wheres the topics/discussions?

 

[wecandobiz]

Just had a quick look, where do is start?, its not like a forum format is it, so wheres the topics/discussions?

Thanks for your kind words about our Twitter Sales Tools feature.

There are no forums on our site, but we do have a "tweet" like capability to share information and discussion with oher members of our Groups. You can find your Groups by clicking here -- they include a Local Group, an Group for your specific industry and networking Groups.

As a special anyone posting a link to their WeCanDo.BIZ profile in this thread will get upgraded to Pro Networker with unrestricted access to Twitter Sales Leads for one week.

Your profile link will look like this: http://www.wecando.biz/profile.php?bid=20

IH

 

[Jeff FV]

My wife (who is the creative talent behind dots and spots) is an avid Tweeter and has built up a number of contacts/friends throuh Twitter.

Yesterday we went to the 'Top Drawer' Trade show and she met up with lots of her followers and those she follows for the first time. Great, both socially and for business - she certainly wouldn't have been able to build this network of friends/colleagues/advisors/mentors (all tend to be individual 'one man band' designers) so quickly without Twitter. Its a great tool.

The more I think about, the more I feel that the/a next big growth area with social networking will be to bring it from the virtual world into the physical world. Create your online 'Tribe' - people want to belong - then find a way to start bringing them together. Just a thought on a slow Monday afternoon!