Twitter is about conversation not broadcast

Twitter provides a great opportunity for businesses to have a conversation with potential and existing customers and to do that you need to listen. For example, find and answer questions, obtain feedback, get ideas for new products and services and understand your customers. It’s about conversation not broadcast.

Indeed, Twitter defines itself as a service where people can find information rather than publish it: “Find out what’s happening, right now, with the people and organizations you care about.”

Of course we all want to promote our services but nothing turns off followers more than overdoing self-promotion. Much better to balance promotional tweets by listening and having conversations with your potential and existing customers.

The tweet below is one of a number from @wwwdesigncom promoting their own services in a short space of time last week.

We’ll get your business top of G00gle. Visit lease-websites.co.uk #Bath #Bristol #Glosbiz #RT::

— w3design (@wwwdesigncom) December 9, 2012

The message is addressed to their followers and the public and yet it is only relevant to a single business; only one website can be at the top of Google Search results. There’s also a lack of conversation on this account with @ messages appearing rarely in their tweets. Perhaps, not the best way to use Twitter to promote the benefits of their services.

If you’d like to learn more about using Twitter, from 2013 I’m offering both Twitter for Business and Advanced Twitter for Business workshops - go here for schedule, information and booking.

This entry was posted in Good And Bad Social Media and tagged bad use example, twitter by Jonathan Pollinger+. Bookmark the permalink.