COMMENTS
I'd add, though, that it's not just about your customer base being on twitter - it's about your industry peers. I've been able to connect with really great people in the blogging/social media marketing world via twitter which really helps in terms of (1) staying on top of the social media world and sharing interesting relevant info, and (2) connecting about potential media opportunities.
I admit I'm a twitter addict, but I was very skeptical at first. I've found it very beneficial to me in terms of connecting with prominent players in the social media world and also getting really valuable information (links, news, etc.).
Ellie: I agree, it can be a great way to connect to industry peers -- if you're in the marketing/PR industry. I'm a bit of a Twitter guy myself, but Lyndon's points are well-taken:
For typical business people, there are better places to spend time. I'd argue that you are atypical. :)
Here is another article from the HubSpot Blog about how to use Twitter for marketing and PR that people might enjoy.
http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/4034/How-to-Use-Twitter-for-Marketing-PR.aspx
And clearly from that article that I wrote, I have a slightly different opinion of Twitter. Look for a future blog post to continue the debate.
I think Ellie's point that other you can connect with other industry professionals through Twitter is definitely worth taking note of. I have used twitter as a tool to continue to build connections with people whom I can grow with.
Also through Twitter I've formed connections with people that I simply wouldn't have access to outside of the world of Twitter. It's difficult to hold a conversation with Lee Odden and Guy Kawasaki, but through Twitter I have been able to ask these gurus questions and gain valuable insight.
Again, Twitter, like most social networks and online applications are tools. If you don't use the tool properly, you won't see results. If you go in thinking about how you'd like to utilize the tool and learn how to utilize it for your benefit, then your time spent will relate to profit more equitably.
My point is, those who inhabit the "blogging/social media marketing world" are not normal. I don't mean that offensively as it's my world. But next time when you are in line at the Supermarket buying leafy vegetables, ask those around you if they twitter.
The reason this is important is that if your target demographic is not on Twitter, it's a waste of time you being on it.
As I said, hang out where your customers hang out. If that happens to be Twitter, then that's where you need to be.
I agree that Twitter is addictive but it's not just for geeks, much less "ubergeeks". I'm an academic rat, not a techno junkie, and I'm a Twitter convert. And I'm slowly bringing in others into the fold...they don't know what they're in for.
If Internet years are measured in months or days, Twitter has had a life time to make the leap to the mass majority. Pay attention now because what I have to say is worth interrupting what you are doing no matter how important. “I’m at Starbucks getting coffee”, “I’m getting on a plane”, “I’m riding my mountain bike”.
Twitter people, if you need the service for validation, turn off the device, go outside and try to interact without using or talking about technology. Time yourself and see how long it takes for you to go into withdraw.
short immediate response is this don't use twitter first, use Tweetscan to determine if there is dialouge around your issues. Don't be so narrow minded to only be focusing on buyers, Consider other individuals like bloggers, mainstream journalists, community leaders etc.
Then one general statement about Twitter. If you have no time to build relationships stay away, you'll make it easier to find the real value in the system.
Yes, twitter can connect you to industry peers, but it is usually a pretty shallow connection. I wouldn't put too much emphasis on the value of twitter relationships unless you work in the social media field.
Just because my "customer base" might not be using Twitter doesn't mean it doesn't have a business purpose.
What if many of my smartest competitors and colleagues use Twitter? What if the leading-edge industry analysts and reporters are on there? What if I use Twitter to monitor breaking news and stories from my local area and around the world?
When you suggest that building up a large following on Twitter might not be the best use of one's time, you're narrowly focusing on an assumption that adding value is a "numbers game" -- the larger the better, and if it ain't big, it ain't worth it.
That's simply not true.
And the "my peers are on Twitter" argument is true for far more than just the marketing and PR types, as you suggested in a comment above. Aside from that group and the obvious Web/startup crowd, I see huge groups of business-software developers, media/analyst types, politicians and the like, and more. Not to mention that every single person is a mother or father or driver or insurance buyer or TV watcher or book reader or...
I'm under no illusion that Twitter has "gone mainstream" and that it's the ultimate solution to any marketing challenge. But this post strikes me as ignorant and short-sighted. I've come to expect better from Hubspot. You all are generally smarter than this.
Thanks to everyone for your comments.
Clearly, the article has struck a bit of a chord with folks (including some HubSpot folks).
Candidly, I struggled to resist the temptation to edit this article (it was guest authored and I did not pick the "leaning" of the article, nor did I change it). I've always found Lyndon to be smart and opinionated -- and my opinion has not changed.
I almost put a disclaimer up top that the opinions expressed in the article don't necessarily reflect those of HubSpot -- but I find such disclaimers to be a vacuous.
If anyone is interested in writing a "rebuttal" article, feel free to reach out. Would love to collaborate on that too. I might even write one myself.
Until then, thanks for the rich discussion.
Look at the number of dormant and dead accounts. Customers who found no value. If John Q. Public can't figure it out, it flopped or it is just too hard. If you need Tweetscan to find value in Twitter. twitter failed in its mission.
Read "Don't Make Me Think", a book on interface design and apply it to Twitter.
a few businesses had some early success with myspace. This made every marketing hack in the country think that they have to jump on every SNS and social media app or site.
Any company that has a twitter account, in my estimation, is probably burning through their funding. Simply, it's off-task.
A personal note: I really need to stop using the word "ignorant" so haphazardly, especially when it's mostly just the case that the person I'm calling "ignorant" just has a different point of view than me.
Sorry.
But I still stand by most of what I wrote above!
the truth is that i have tried it and i don't find it useful at all. here in Greece is almost impossible that any of our customers use twitter so we don't use it anymore
This is mainly in response to istioselida's comments but it can be used by everyone. To find out if people in your country are using Twitter you can go to http://twittervision.com This is an interactive worldwide map that shows you what folks are twittering about and where they are located.
I agree, Twitter isn't for everyone as it is still in the "early" stages of its life as it definitely has its ups and downs. IMHO, it is a good tool for building relationships, devising short communication to someone you are just getting to know and learning a lot about people in your field.
As a PR pro, I can communicate and learn a lot about my clients like HubSpot, reporters and like-minded PR/Marketing folks, which in the long run helps me do a better job.
For now, for business use, I just subscribe to search result feeds from
www.summize.com for stuff I want to track (product names, company names, my own name, etc.), monitor that through RSS, and then move on.
Nice linkbaiting exercise. Glad your "expert" was able to help you with that. God knows how important traffic is these days.