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Twitter has often been derided as a platform for business, since the days when it was the preserve of a few early adopters and tech bloggers. Slowly but surely though, Twitter has become a platform for the masses, and now millions of people find the time to express themselves in 140 characters on a regular basis.

Twitter's popularity of late means that it is a very viable tool for reaching out to your customers - but Twitter's means of direct interaction with individuals in public means you won't be able to adopt standard marketing tactics.

Prime focus is engagement, not advertisement

Twitter is not an advertising platform. Any attempts at conventional advertising will fall flat. To use Twitter effectively you must remember you are directly interacting with people as individuals.

People don't like advertising

A certain degree of self-promotion for business is expected on Twitter, but flat-out and repeated advertising links will get tired quickly. Remember your followers are all opt-in, so a flurry of links might very well see your followers abandon you.

The prevalence of spam advertising on the internet has left most very sensitive to blunter forms of marketing, so advertising shouldn't be your key goal with Twitter as otherwise you'll drive potential followers away.

Engagement is a more natural way to get attention

So what is engagement? Simply put, it's using the means available to you to effectively communicate with a group of people. It doesn't matter if the group you engage with is large or small, engagement is simply making sure as many people within that group feel connected to you.

With Twitter, the two way communication means that engagement is easier than through traditional means; Your audience can respond publicly to your tweets, and you can open a dialogue via the same channel.

Twitter is a very open and free means of communication, and if used correctly can very quickly engender a connection with potential customers. Even those who don't partake in any communication will see that you're open to direct questions and comment - and if you come across well you'll be held in higher esteem.

Engagement comes from interesting tweets

Twitter isn't all about responding to other tweets, of course; Every conversation has an origin point, and to effectively use Twitter you will need to kick-start your own conversations. If you can start something particularly interesting, you'll garner more responses.

Interesting comes in many forms

Precisely what defines an 'interesting' tweet is difficult to pin down - it could be a snippet of news, some product information relevant to discussion, or a link to a blog post or video. How interesting these things are will depend on what your followers are interested in. One thing is clear, your followers have at least one common interest: you.

Tweets you post should have your core appeal and demographic in mind; If you're in the business of selling widgets, you should probably expect your followers to be interested in widget-related content.

Engagement is a two-way street

Of course, once you've started a conversation it's important to read your follower's responses and reply where prudent. A tweet is just a starting point for engagement.

Interaction should be your aim with your tweets

This tweeting to-and-fro, then, is a form of direct interaction with your followers - and is something which you absolutely should be doing. Interaction is an essential part of building relationships (and followers) on Twitter.

Answer your follower's questions...

The simplest way to interact with your followers is to answer any questions they may have. While Twitter might not be the best avenue for customer service enquiries, it's good enough for most queries, and can be used to refer people to the relevant departments if necessary (Twitter, being a public forum, is not the best place for customers to divulge their personal information!).

Customers will appreciate a tweet in response to their question, even if you don't have a solid answer for them - sometimes it's just good to know that someone is listening. Remember, those questions you are currently unable to answer (such as future product release dates or specific details) might make good initiative tweets once you have more information.

...And pose them questions of your own

You don't have to take a passive approach to interaction, of course - you can pose the questions yourself. Tapping into your followers' opinions on relevant topics is a great way to kick-start a discussion - and to obtain useful information on what your customers think.

Any data you might collect from Twitter might not be as methodical as a survey, but you can quite often get a frank and honest appraisal on some topic that conventional means of information gathering might not have picked up on.

Personality is important. Be helpful, humble and human

The general way in which you conduct yourself on Twitter will have implications on the perceived 'personality' of your business. Of course, you want to avoid any negative traits - don't be insulting, dismissive or rude to anyone as anything you tweet will be public (and cannot ever be truly deleted!). You should strive to be pleasant and friendly where possible, to make your business seem as approachable as possible.

Twitter gives your business a voice

The personality you portray via your tweets will extend to more than just the individual posting them; It will colour people's interpretation of the business. Helpfulness is a good trait to have, as it will encourage people to seek assistance where needed, and encourage an open dialogue. Humbleness will help you resist advertising your business too aggressively: you must remember you will have competitors, and to pretend otherwise is foolish. Be prepared to accept your business' shortcomings with good humour, but show willingness to make amends where applicable.

A sense of humanity is also essential; You are not just a business on Twitter, but the manifestation of the business as a personality. In order to interact with individuals you need to take on an individual personality - cold, clinical efficiency will come across as off-putting.

Be open and honest, not closed and defensive

Traditional business communication is very conservative - the inner sanctum of internal operations was seldom broken, and PR extended only to the occasional press release. Twitter (along with blogs, Facebook, and the rest of the social media sites) forms a need for a newer, more open line of communication - one where day-to-day operations are somewhat laid bare through blogs and Twitter updates.

You can spare the gritty dramas of your business, but presenting the good side as openly as possible will help build an approachable Twitter persona. True honesty and openness in your postings (when coupled with a helpful and can-do attitude) will do wonders for customer relations, and for your reputation.

The ultimate aim is to leverage interaction and engagement to build loyalty

If you use Twitter effectively and build a good Twitter personality for your business, getting followers and engagement with your customers will come naturally. Twitter provides a two-way channel for customer's concerns to reach you, and for you to reach out and communicate with your both potential and existing customers.

Using Twitter effectively can build a solid reputation

If you are consistently approachable, friendly, and helpful in a public space such as Twitter you'll quickly cement a reputation as being a good business for customer service. While such a good reputation can be easily tarnished by a few bad experiences, if you work to keep these under control and provide an open outreach for any gripes you will be able to better manage any negativity.

A widespread good reputation isn't something that transpires overnight - it requires a solid customer service team and a long-term commitment to building loyalty in arenas such as Twitter - but no doubt it will make life easier for your business.

Good reputation leads to easier marketing

A good reputation is hard to earn and harder to keep, but will provide good long-term dividends if you can provide a consistent service. Using Twitter to build a solid loyal base of customers is a great start, and those who tweet are quite often to be more vocal than the average customer - keeping those on Twitter happy might very well mean you get glowing reviews on blogs, Facebook and forums.

Twitter isn't a panacea, nor is it guaranteed success in building your business. It is, however, a useful tool for communicating directly with your customers - and a means to demonstrating to the world that you're committed to good customer relations. Twitter won't reward without investment - you need to maintain relationships build with Twitter, and expend effort in keeping up-to-date with messages and tweets, but if done right will be a huge benefit to your business.

Next article : Appealing to the Masses Online

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