Twitter For Business – How Many Twitter Accounts Is Enough?

Last week I attended the Affiliate Convention here in Denver. It was the first year they’ve held it here in Denver, and for a first event, with attendance approaching 1,000, it was very well received.

The hot topic in every training class I attended was social networking. “How many of you have a Twitter account?” was the first thing mentioned in every class. follow online conversations

In one class, the questions became even more controversial, and started a lot of discussion.

Should you run more than one Twitter account? And if so, should Twitter accounts be all about you, or can they also be designed as a promotion tool?

Ultimately the purpose of social media is to build relationships, and let people develop a comfort factor with you and your products/services before they become customers. When you use Twitter as your own personal name – @LoriOsterberg for instance – than you can talk about a variety of things, and let people see your personality through the multitude of posts you create.

While many people in the class felt social accounts, especially Twitter, should remain at the personal level, more and more I’m seeing businesses build great accounts up for the sole purpose of communicating with clients and building up more profits for their business.

What makes Twitter such a fantastic marketing tool is the ability to quickly set up an account, and turn it into anything you desire.

I’ve followed @ProBlogger for months now, and love the information he provides. Today he announced he is opening up @ProBloggerDeals which will be filled with promotional offers that bloggers may find interest in. It will be primarily for sales, and he’s upfront about the purpose of this account.

No matter which way you choose to use your social accounts, the best way to handle any form of marketing these days is to be transparent with your offers and the way you are managing your account.

1. Use your real name, or a real function of your business. If you are using a pseudo name, have a reason for using it and make sure your audience understands your reasoning.

2. Be honest and straight forward in the way you use your account. If you’re going to promote your products and services, let people know how frequently you will be posting, and the overall goals for your account.

3. Start with the end in mind. What is your goal for this site? What do you wish to accomplish? You can find a market for anything as long as you tell people what to expect and deliver exactly what you promise.

The key to social networking is to deliver on your promise. Build the relationship doing exactly what you state you’ll do, and you’ll easily find a flock of followers willing to hear your information.

Comments

One Response to “Twitter For Business – How Many Twitter Accounts Is Enough?”

Deb Carr on September 7th, 2009 5:56 pm

I think this idea is GREAT! I am trying to build a business as a writer, and have some other interests on Twitter (entertainment fan clubs, knitting, etc) that constantly get in the way of the professionals I follow (such as @LoriOsterberg). This will help me separate my business and personal interests!I can also keep the personal tweets out of the Professional image that I am trying to build!

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