Becoming a popular, widely-used tool takes time and a lot of public speculation. Looking back through history, some of the greatest inventions and innovations initially deemed useless have left significant impact on society. Things like cell phones, Velcro, and the Internet. These inventions all faced initial public apprehension and criticism but have since proven to significantly improve society and its processes.
Twitter falls into this category of being extremely beneficial but facing public apprehension and criticism. With over 40 million users since its 2006 birth, Twitter is one of the fastest growing forms of communication to date. The services rapid growth has provided many potential benefits to business as well as personal use. However, apprehension about using the service is excluding many from the benefits of having a Twitter account.
Branding / Marketing
Twitter has the potential to be an extension of your brand. Through participation in Twitter conversations, your business has the opportunity to create a positive image in the customers’ minds. Involvement generates awareness, which in turn, will bring your brand to the forefront of customers’ minds when they are in the marketplace making decisions. Not only can Twitter build awareness, it also adds a personal level to your company and its brand. Take a look at this list of companies who utilize Twitter to present a personal side of their business. Most tweets are not specifically about selling a product or service, but rather focused on the idea and image behind the specific product and service. Take for example, Starbucks’ Twitter feed which does not attempt to push the Venti Latte but rather captures the aura of Starbucks’ brand and identity. Creating this identity makes your Twitter page interesting thus making your business interesting.
Communication
Furthermore, Twitter provides an extremely low-cost method of being directly involved with consumers’ communication. First, Twitter can be used to target the users of your product. After locating these users, you can become involved in their conversations through answering questions, providing insights or just providing general information about your business. Take Kogi BBQ, a mobile Korean BBQ Taco Truck based out of Los Angeles, CA., as a an example of an information provider. Kogi uses Twitter to inform customers of the locations of its various BBQ trucks. Visit their Twitter page and you will see various tweets about each individual truck’s location and special lunch deals. With 46,926 followers, Kogi has found an inexpensive way to keep its customers informed and interested in their service through Twitter.
Creating Beneficial Relationships
Creating a brand and successful communication on Twitter can lead to the building of a successful business relationship. Having the successful business relationship involves a combination of sharing information and handling customer’s inquiries and complaints. Local cable provider, Comcast, has excelled at using Twitter as a hub for customer service. Senior Director of Comcast’s National Customer Service, Frank Eliason, uses his Twitter account to field customer complaints, comments and service issues. By using Twitter, Eliason has made providing cable, a very impersonal service, personal through Twitter. Check out Comcast’s Twitter page to see Elison in action, handling questions and creating goodwill for Comcast’s customers.
These three examples scratch the surface of how Twitter can be utilized. With a growing base of users, Twitter’s potential for business grows daily. Becoming involved with the service now will generate more opportunities for your business in the future. Take the leap and get involved with the new wave of communication at http://www.twitter.com. Now is the perfect time to sign up and follow VQC Designs because we are giving away a brand new Acer Netbook! Visit VQC Designs’ Twitter-Hunt page for more details.
Don your best tweed jacket and tobacco pipe and call up your friend Watson for VQC’s upcoming contest, The Twitter-Hunt. A twitter-exclusive scavenger hunt existing solely within the Twitter-verse of VQC Designs twitter feed. Finding VQC’s questions and providing the correct answers could score you a sweet, sexy and very mobile Acer – Aspire One Netbook!
We will be showcasing the tiny netbook’s large capabilities on November 12th at the 2009 Harrisburg Chamber Business Expo being held at the PA Farm Show Complex. Here you will get a chance to hang out with VQC Designs and see first-hand the beauty, size and power of the netbook. Also, by attending the Expo and visiting our booth, #440, you’ll be giving yourself a better chance to own the netbook for yourself. All you need to attend is a business card and you will be granted free admission into the Expo.
For the twitter-hunt you can view the complete details page at vqcdesigns.com/netbook. For now, here is a quick run-down of how things will unfold. In the next week, questions will be tweeted from our twitter account: twitter.com/vqcdesigns. Each question will be numbered and have the hash tag #VQC. The hash-tag is imperative for us to keep track of who is chatting. Therefore, no hash tag, no netbook.
Once a question is posted, you will retweet the question to become eligible for that specific question. Once you have “re-tweeted” the question, you may send us your answer through direct-message on Twitter to @vqcdesigns. Be sure to note the question number in your answer so we’re able to correctly identify which answers correspond with what questions. Each question you answer correctly provides you with another chance in the drawing to win the netbook. Due to our hectic work schedule and the desire to not make this too easy, we will be tweeting questions at random, so you better check often so as to not miss a question.
So how does attending the Harrisburg Expo pay off? Well aside from spending time with the guys and gals from VQC designs, you’ll also have a leg-up on the competition of the twitter-hunt. A few of our questions will be strictly derived from the happenings of the Farm Show complex on November 12th. It could be anything from how much is the popcorn at the vendor stand to what color shoes is the guy wearing at the booth next to VQC’s. Therefore, attending and answering questions correctly will undoubtedly increase your chances in comparison to those who decide to stay home. Good times and chances at free stuff, come on, how could you NOT show up, it’s elementary my dear, Watson.
