Why Twitter? Why Facebook?

 

Many people ask themselves this question every day; what is the point in Twitter/Facebook? What benefits could it bring to my company?

 Simple.

 The point of Twitter and Facebook is to interact with your customers, to build a trusting relationship with them. If you think about it, if you’ve been interacting and building rapport with a customer for the past month, and he’s looking for a company like yours to purchase from, then it is more likely that he will purchase from you, not your competitors. The reason for this is that he trusts you, he sees you not as a company but as an individual. This is very important.

 

Another reason companies are using Facebook and Twitter is that a lot of people are already on the social networking sites, people that obviously you know nothing about. The idea is, if you reach enough people, they will suggest to their friends that they have a look at your page, and you end up having a lot of people looking at your page.

 This still isn’t enough though; what are you meant to do with the hundreds, thousands or maybe tens of thousands of visitors on your page? You re-direct them. You include a link to your website, making sure that it is easily noticeable, and then reference it on your page. For example, say something like ‘Check out our website for more info’. Alternatively, you can provide information about your company on the social networking page, such as what you do, who you have already helped, etc.

  I believe that re-directing them to your website is more effective; you can have more information on it, and it looks a lot more professional, rather than having a Twitter or Facebook logo in the background. I do not market my companies products on Twitter or Facebook, I use them as  ‘Traffic Directors’; people come onto my page, have a read, see the link in the top right hand corner, and if they like what they have already read, they visit the website. Simple!

  In my opinion, Twitter is better and easier to use, simply because of the amount of business people already on there. You can market your product, you can interact with your customers or prospects, and share information and advice.

 They both have some great features included as well. There are multiple Twitter Directories, where you can find people to follow, or list yourself. The greatest thing about Facebook is that it is so much larger than Twitter. Facebook has more than 300 million active users, whilst Twitter has 6 million. Whilst you may think ‘Right I’m using Facebook, not Twitter because more people use Facebook’, think about the features and growth of both. In fact, Twitter is growing a lot faster than Facebook, and is adding a lot more useful applications as well. See what one you prefer, which one receives the most traffic, and use that. Maybe try both?

 It’s as much about personal preference as it is what helps your company grow. If you prefer Twitter, use Twitter, and vice-versa, because whichever one you are more comfortable with, the more useful it will be to you.

 Hopefully this post has been helpful, and has answered some of the questions you may have had. What are your thoughts about the world of social networking?