Have you been fooled by these Twitter myths?

PLEASE BE AWARE: This is an old article, and while we think there are still nuggets of good advice included here, it may be out of date. Things move very quickly in the world of Digital Marketing, Lead Generation and Conversion Rate Optimisation - so please see our latest news for the most recent advice on how to get more out of your website and online marketing.

Twitter Myths

 If you think a tweet is the noise that a bird makes, nowadays you are sadly mistaken. A tweet is now 140 characters of micro-blogging, which is used by millions of people around the world to discuss current events, share industry news and promote company events.

1. 1. Social Media is Free

Although the initial set up is free, don’t be fooled into thinking that it’s easy sailing throughout.  Unfortunately in this day and age, nothing comes for free, social media takes time to develop. You need to understand the objectives that you wish to achieve, the target audience you want to attract, build a community, engage and measure your impact. Make sure that your content is excellent and interesting and communicate the message effectively before you event open your Twitter page so that it is readily available for followers.

1. 2. 2000 Twitter followers should be your business goal

The number of followers is not the only important factor, a recent survey discovered that each fan on Facebook is worth $3.06 to a business so it is essential that your followers are the right followers creating the best value for your site.

1. 3. Content for social media is easy to find

You would think that finding information to fill 140 characters would be easy, get a sentence in about some topical news in your industry and you’re done! As usual, that is certainly not the case, it is much more difficult than anticipated to effectively micro-blog. There is a definite science to discovering content that will please your target audience and once this is defined, appropriate content can be successfully provided to your eager audience.

1. 4. Twitter is too difficult and time consuming

This is an excuse used by many who don’t fully understand what Twitter is about. Opposed to the mindless tweets all day long about what a person has had for dinner or what they’ve seen out of the window, Twitter is more often than not used by businesses and brands to advertise sales, events contests and industry news. There are numerous ways in which you can tweet, no longer are you even limited to your laptop or PC, you can now use your phone to tweet your 140 and upload images.

1. 5. 140 characters? I can’t possibly conduct marketing in 140 characters!

It is surprising how much goes into 140 characters, this limit can often make your status’s succinct and easy to read. It is extremely effective to summarise a blog and link to it, in your 140 characters. Ernest Hemmingway once wrote an entire short story in 33 characters, so don’t feel you can’t meet the limits!

1. 6. I can’t make any money from Twitter

Obviously you can’t directly sell on Twitter, but substantial planning and persistent communication can be a fantastic lead-generation tool. Knowing your audience and persuasive writing can get your followers interested in your products and services. Feedback from clients on your page, will lead you to understand improvements desired by your clients and eventually will increase sales.

1. 7. Twitter is for kids, I’ve got a real business to run

Don’t believe this for a minute! Although social networking is popular with the youths of today, surveys have been taken and the majority of those using Twitter on a regular basis are adults using Twitter to network and get information to help them with their work.

1. 8. It’s only good for seeing what celebrities are doing

Well you can follow the lives of Lilly Allen or Russell Brand, but it is also an extremely useful tool for spying on your competitors. Like never before, you can have a unique insight into the workings of your competitors and what their customers are saying about their business. This gives you a unique opportunity to address their discrepancies and be the better company.

1. 9. I can set up an automatic twitter feed that tweets out similar tweets, then I’m done!

Numerous tweets with similar wording is never a good idea. The lack of variety in your messages can lead people to believe that there isn’t a human behind them, merely a machine churning out spam-like tweets.

With these myths busted, could your business benefit from a Twitter account? Why not have a go, and let us know how you get on in the comment boxes below!