COMMENTS
Even if you think, twitter is irrelevant the facts speak for themselves. This type of activity can't be ignored even by old line executives. Either particpate or prepare to be disintermediated.
Half of executives under 40 may be using Twitter, however, 90% of the tweets are coming from 10% of the users. In other words, there might be all sorts of folks with some use, but the fact remains Twitter hasn't caught on like many folks are portraying.
My wife uses Twitter and is probably the most avid user in our area. If there is anyone at a Tweetup, it's my wife. Twitter remains a fun thing for a few folks with the occasional advantage of garnering some business.
So if I want to feel young again, or young and "cool" I should Twitter till my fingers bleed?
All jokes aside, market leaders who know their buyer personas that are 40 and under will value this post.
Great job,
Mark Allen Roberts
You get out of Twitter what you choose to - it largely depends on the users you follow and the information you put out there. Much like real life - you experience what you pay attention to.
Not a huge surprise of the percentage of this age group using Twitter. Twitter has become an amazing tool for connections in both personal and business life.
Your article says "platforms like Twitter" and "similar applications." Yet only Twitter is mentioned. What other platforms "like Twitter" or "similar applications" are people using for microblogging?
@Larry: Although talking about micro-blogging applications in general, the Forbes study focused on Twitter. The reason for that might have been Twitter's status as the most popular and widely used application. But there are other platforms out there like Pownce, Tumblr and MySay.
I think the point is to highlight recent trends in micro-blogging and real-time content creation.
I get most of my traffic from twitter, so there is a great value in that. What one should be concerned about is if that traffic translates into cash flow. If you want to turn your traffic into cash, you must go where your target audience goes..and you must be able to find out if this target audience is willing, or more likely to pay for your product or service. So in that case, twitter may not be a great place to go to for some people. You will find online friends and people to talk to, discuss current events, and so forth..but, you have to distinguish between those who are serious potential clients, and those who are not. Even if you find someone on twitter with similarities to what you offer, that does not mean business for you. In business, you have to know fairly quickly who is ready to purchase what you offer.
Getting to know your friends on twitter is a way to differentiate between the potentials and those who are not, but it will take awhile. A better option is to maybe purchase or get free advertising for online, or regular, magazines that target your audience..magazines that have a great reputation for their content and promoting products that your audience really want. You have get the audience that is ready to purchase something ,or already persuaded to be in the market to purchasing something....not spend so much time trying to turn people into customers.
On twitter, you are in many cases trying to turn people into customers. That takes too much time from you that you need to track down the "ready" people, or those who are passionate for a product or service and ready to buy. If a person purchases a magazine, then they are "more ready" to be in the market for something to purchase, and there are certain online magazines/websites that attract the audience that are more likely to purchase something (i.e., fashion, health products, cars, etc...).
Christi
Global Crest
Christi, thank you for this great comment. I don't think Twitter is a space where you can "turn people into customers." More than anything, it is a networking tool that helps you reach people who are interested in your product. That is why followers use hashtags to start conversations around the same subject.
True, traffic is not cash. But Web 2.0, in general, has made the equation traffic-profits more complicated. What marketers should be focused on now is engagement and providing value.
From my experience, I see Twitter as a good way to connect with people and as a back up marketing tool for cultivating relationships that can lead to purchases. For getting customers sooner, one has to know where to get their niche audience, and the audience that is more likely to buy. So many small businesses fail, and many Web 2.0-style businesses are having a harder time getting funding from venture capitalists too due of this factor as well, because the business model was not solid and sufficient enough to bringing in a cash flow on a timely basis. That business model includes marketing and how to get the customers. A business owner really has to be critical about what marketing tool to use, when to use it, and how long to use it. Twitter is great for building an undercurrent of followers, or people to talk with you about relatable subject matter, which may bring them to try your product. In the meantime, for a business to start seeing a cash flow for survival, they will have to be very targeted in what marketing tool to us, how, when, and how long....it is much better in this case to go to a specific source, whether online or offline that already has the niche customer base who are also more likely to purchase the product/service...... ( i.e, online or print fashion publications..often fashion publications attract people who love to buy fashionable clothing/love to go shopping..if you sell clothes that are similar to what customers of this publication want, then obtaining free or cheaper advertising in this publications may be a good tool to get sales quicker).
Engagement and value are always going to be essential for the product/service to sell well.one can't do without the other. The engagement part really comes down to "who" you engage. With the internet, everyone is on there, so that can be a great thing, but then again a negative thing. Engaging your niche audience (if this is to help your business) is the #1 thing to build your brand. There are quite a few people who want to feel "special" by the product they buy, and want more exclusivity, where not everyone is engaged, but a certain niche audience. This can be seen in how people network online and even in person...like a grown up version of a clique sometimes. For social or very passive/leisurely marketing purposes, engaging everyone is ideal because you never know who you will meet, and if that person will become a great client.
16 days ago I launched a new blog relating to my area of expertise: low-risk/high-return marketing strategy. The only place I mentioned this was on twitter, where I have posted a few links to some of my blog pieces. I've really done nothing else. It has resulted in over 12,000 hits and hundreds of visitors a day.
One of my clients, a highly regarded magazine, have 150,000 pages on their website and an active community of users. They only have a smallish following on twitter, yet it is already one of the biggest traffic builders to their site. They report that every time they provide a link to a new article, say, they immediately get a mass of hits on their site.
It works, and how!
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