Engaging in back-and-forth dialogue and spreading the word about what others are saying are critically important parts of the Twitter ethos. But research in the 2010 Global Social Media Check-up study by consulting firm Burson-Marsteller indicates that too many companies are doing much more talking than listening.
The study found that although 82% of corporate Twitter accounts tweet company news, only 38% actually respond to people’s tweets, and just 32% retweeting the posts of others.
So what’s the best way for merchants to go about tweeting? Here are my 12 steps for avoiding pitfalls and building a successful Twitter program:
1) Reserve a good, relevant user name. With no more than 15 characters to play with and, oh, about 106 million users earlier to the party, your most urgent task is to come up with a short, memorable, recognizable, intuitive Twitter handle, one that is as close to @YourBusiness as you can get.
2) Display a human face for your business. I generally think the handle of your business Twitter account should be the name of your company, although others prefer names such as @Jill_atCompany to humanize the account and allow several people to tweet for a single company, an ideal approach for large firms.
See full article at: Twelve Tips for Successful Tweeting.
Related articles by Zemanta
- “Twitter Didn’t Work For Us!” Well, that’s because… (engagedlearning.net)
- Branding your Tweets : Improve your presence on Twitter (kiaso.wordpress.com)
