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Twitter: Still Relevant for Business Marketing?

Social media and business – are they a match made in heaven or not worth the effort? While many companies have already recognized the benefits of embracing social platforms in their marketing mix, there remain others that still aren’t so sure.

That’s why we’ve launched a mini blog series where we’re taking a close look at various social media channels – to help you decide if social media should be part of your marketing plan and which platforms might best suit your needs.

Today’s post takes a look at Twitter, offering helpful statistics, its pros, and cons as a platform, and a few best practices to help you decide if it’s a platform your business should consider.

Other posts in this series cover  FacebookInstagramYouTube, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.

 

Twitter User Statistics

  • 336 million monthly active users worldwide (Source)
  • 42% of Twitter users are on the app daily (Source)
  • 24% of U.S. adults overall use Twitter (evenly split between men and women) (Source)
    • 40% of Americans ages 18-29
    • 27% of Americans ages 30-49
    • 19% of Americans ages 50-64
    • 9% of Americans over 65

If your business caters to retired Americans these stats would suggest that Twitter is not a high-value platform for you; but if your target demographic is younger Americans, Twitter could prove to be a marketing treasure trove. Twitter identifies 80% of its users as “affluent Millennials” – on the platform and able to spend.

Twitter Marketing Statistics

According to business.twitter.com:

  • 93% of users that follow a small or medium-sized business say they plan to purchase from a company they follow 
  • 69% of users have already purchased from an SMB due to something they saw on Twitter 
  • 77% of users feel positive about a brand when that brand responds to their tweets 
  • The top reason people use Twitter is to “discover something new and interesting” 
  • Over 90% of tweets are on a mobile device 
  • 53% of Twitter users are considered early adopters 

The most compelling stats here are two-fold – the high percentage of users that either has made or plan to make, a purchase from a company they follow. Plus, the positive sentiment gained through interaction. Businesses can nurture a relationship with their followers and offer information, assistance, and promotions that convert.

Twitter is an excellent platform for both information gathering and interacting with your customers. If your business would benefit from any of the following, you’ll want to give Twitter its due consideration despite the challenges noted under cons heading.

Twitter as a Business Platform – Pros 

Twitter is an excellent platform for:

  • Reaching out and interacting with influencers and journalists
  • Researching and tracking customer sentiment
  • Interacting with customers and answering their questions
  • Listening to and monitoring your competitors
  • Finding content your audience is interested in
  • Getting in touch with other businesses

Twitter as a Business Platform – Cons 

  • The volume of tweets is so high (8,000+ tweets per second) that each tweet has a very short lifetime and can quickly become buried
  • Limited character posting can make it hard to convey your brand message
  • Twitter usage has dropped for three straight years, as noted in a study by study by Edison Research, and it now stands as the 6th most used social media platform

 

10 Tips for Using Twitter

If you choose to expand your company’s online presence using Twitter, you’ll want to use the platform as effectively as possible. The following tips will get you started:

  1. Build an active profile using your company logo and business name.
  2. Post at least once a day – or, if you decide less often, keep it consistent.
  3. Test various times (currently, 12 pm, 5 pm, and 6 pm are considered ideal times in general) – discover through tracking your analytics what’s best for your company.
  4. Engage with your audience by following your followers, using @mentions and tagging people, retweeting and liking others posts, using interactive posts that ask questions or otherwise encourage engagement.
  5. Use images, video, and GIFs to drive more engagement.
  6. Keep posts short and sweet – no, you don’t have to use all 280 characters allowed.
  7. Use hashtags wisely and create your own branded hashtag.
  8. Post links to blog posts.
  9. Monitor your brand and company keywords through search.
  10. Consider this as your customer service tool.

Are you Ready for Your Mulligan? 

If you find it makes sense for your business to partner with a content marketing professional, our team at Mulligan Management Group will welcome the chance to sit down with you and discuss your needs. Visit our website www.mulliganmanagementgroup.com, email us at info@mulliganmanagement.com, or call De-de at 330-472-7673.

Mulligan Management Group  www.mulliganmanagementgroup.com  is a digital marketing agency located in Hudson, Ohio. Our team of professionals helps our clients build their internet presence and expand their authority online.

Our services range from website design and development to professional content creation, to social media strategies and implementation. We also offer to consult in all functional areas.

 

 

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