There isn’t a whole lot out there on Twittering for businesses who are selling to consumers, whether they’re boutiques, restaurants or Fortune 500 companies. The way B2C outlet owners should utilize Twitter varies with their services, but there are some general guidelines most can follow to generate business from the explosive social network, which grew almost 1700 percent from February 2008 to February 2009.
1. Know your audience.
Twittering from the hip is like thrashing in a swimming pool when you really want to swim—especially if you want to move beyond networking to driving sales. Start with who you know—the consumers, that is.
Use the search tool to look for people in your area who are tweeting about phrases or services that speak to your offerings, and follow them in hopes that they’ll follow you. Having a targeted audience makes it more likely that your enticing tweets will send them scurrying to your store.
2. Turn your offline customers into online ones.
When you’re collecting e-mail addresses for your Web or blog updates, collect Twitter handles, too (and Facebook URLs, while you’re at it). Or have an in-store Twitter handle party for a weekend where you collect all the identities you can. This can help turn biweekly customers into people that visit you every few days.
3. Don’t just spew into the Twittersphere. Sell.
Random thoughts often make their way onto Twitter, and that’s fine. But the majority of your tweets should drive followers directly to your store. If you are a restaurant with 500 followers in your area, and you start tweeting your lunch specials at 9:30 — 10:30 a.m., you can bet on getting direct business from that.
4. Search for—and plug into—trends.
Twitter is, above all else, an information goldmine—If you know how to filter it. Simply hitting the search button shows you several “trending topics” people are talking about. Want to make a kitchy, timely event that’ll draw customers and possibly magazine editors? Theme it according to the trends—“AIG Bonus Return Bust”; “SXSW in Indianapolis Music Festival,” etc. (Not sure if the latter would be legal, but you get the idea.)
5. Combine and conquer.
Have a couple of competitors in the same area that are on Twitter? Get together with them to offer your collective guests Twitter-specific coupons. Send the tweets out several times a day with the handles of all participants (@your store name @participant store No. 1 @participant store No. 2, etc.) and a TinyUrl to the printable coupon. All the links will show up prominently, and you’ll probably get your competitors’ clients to discover your own Twitter presence.
6. Use plugins.
There are literally hundreds of plugins that help you filter and extend Twitter’s results and capabilities. The Web Pitch has a great list of the “Top 100 Twitter Tools.” Try TwtQpon to create savvy looking coupons on Twitter; track click-through rates with Twittertise. There are also tons of plugins on this list and beyond that help organize and prioritize your tweets.
7. Follow the right people.
Your followers should be your potential customers. You should be following them, of course. But keep tabs on your competitions’ traction, too. And if you know the Twitter handles of some local editors and station producers, you might engage them and land some free press.
8. Be consistent.
This is the hardest part. Once you start tweeting, you have to do it regularly. If you start sending out promotions and specials, make it at the same time of day every weekday, or on the one day of the week you want the special to run. Driving business through Twitter takes time and dedication.
Of course, if you’re too busy, you can always let us do it.
