Should South African businesses still be using Twitter?
Two seconds – this is the miniscule amount of time marketers have to capture the attention of their audience in today’s society. We live in an age where time is no longer a luxury, but treated as a commodity, and Twitter is a platform that has made the most of this reality. Quite simply, Twitter addresses a common problem – the short attention span of the consumer.
The short and to-the-point delivery of Twitter messages is the ultimate solution to capturing today’s audience. However, in saying this, a lot depends on the needs and budget of your business and whether or not Twitter meets those needs.
Why use Twitter for business?
- 316 million monthly users – potential to reach a huge audience and many different demographics
- Reach a massive portion of your consumers, for free
- You have the option of growing your following, and subsequently, your business with Twitter via targeted advertising and promoted Tweets
- You also have the option of growing your business without paid advertising, if it’s not in your budget
- Delivers your message in the quickest and most succinct way possible
Twitter vs. Facebook
Facebook and Twitter deliver information in vastly different ways. Despite there being some audience and user cross-over, the two platforms serve very different marketing functions.
Facebook has a reach of approximately 1.65 billion users and news on this platform travels fast. Now with the advent of paid and targeted advertising, you can promote your business even further. But the competition is fierce on Facebook, and as a business, you may find that paid advertising has now become a necessity.
Twitter, on the other hand, is a social platform that still allows you to grow your audience without having to spend a cent. This is achieved via targeted audience posting, short and sharp messages and up-to-the-minute news – allowing you to connect with your audience in real-time, and great for those on a budget.
Twitter vs. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is unique from Twitter because it is designed specifically for businesses and professionals. It is therefore one of the more important platforms for business to business communication. LinkedIn though, is restrictive to the network you have established, and unlike Twitter, you cannot leverage the social network of contacts you may have – which is generally much larger than your business network.
Despite a larger user base than Twitter at 467 million users, LinkedIn can be restrictive to the way you market your products because of its business focus, as well as the reach of your demographic. However, LinkedIn is still a great platform to use if your business is on a tight budget and you wish to reach other like-minded professionals or industry partners.
The bottom line is that if your business is not making use of social media, it’s time to sign up. Twitter is by no means a ‘dying’ platform and is still one of the most user-friendly, versatile and pervasive social media tools you could use to market your business. It’s worth remembering that the use of Twitter does depend on your audience and the needs of your business. If you find that Twitter is just not working for you – there really is no harm in sticking to what does work for your business and concentrating on that!
