7 Reasons Why Every Business Should Be On Twitter

It is hard to find a big business that does not regularly maintain a corporate Twitter account. Even small businesses are catching on and the ones that have not, should. Twitter is an invaluable resource and should be incorporated into a well rounded search engine optimization strategy. Not only is it a place where you can directly connect with your customers, but it a place to build a business's reputation and sales among other things. Here are seven reasons why every business, both big and small, should be on Twitter.

1. Customer Service- We have all had those dreaded occurrences where reaching a business representative to take care of a problem has been overshadowed by automated phone recordings and long menus with a number to push except for the reason you are calling. A business can respond directly through an at-reply to a customer following their Twitter account. Not only will the problem be addressed, it will be answered almost immediately because of real time search. The best customer service you can offer your customers is direct and immediate responses to questions or concerns.

2. Lead Generation Marketing- Twitter is a place where you can promote and advertise your business for free and generate quality leads. A consumer may find your live tweets through searches and be directed to your website directly from Twitter. It allows you to market in real time. Sharing information and becoming an authority figure on Twitter can allow you to convert connections/followers on Twitter into leads. Having a background with your contact information and website URL is a must.

3. Public Relations- If you have ever been in a crunch or have experienced bad press, the best way to start the repair is to address the negative press promptly and not to ignore it. Addressing a customer's concern on Twitter will allow other customers to see that you are handling the problem in real time. Businesses can use Twitter to engage a CEO directly with customers, monitor discussions, keep in touch with other media, promote news, and give live updates of news or other announcements.

4. Marketing- Twitter is a place where you can promote your business excessively without being too obnoxious. You can promote blog posts, announcements, products, and much more. It is a great place for personal branding, promotion, and link building. You can announce business growth, job opportunities, and exciting news and announcements. You can search and reach out to users who are interested in what your business does.

5. Crowd Sourcing- You can gain a lot of insight by using Twitter Search. You can find out in mass what people are saying about a certain phrase and/or product. You can take your search a step further by using a smiley face or a sad face to determine the attitude of the conversation. Crowd sourcing on Twitter will offer quick results that will give you direct, real time responses that will show a lot of insight on what customers are thinking and saying. The results are at your fingertips within seconds and are free to evaluate.

6. Sales- Twitter can be used to direct tweets into sales. You can give updates to specials, sales, and/or new products. Some restaurants are even starting to accept orders via Twitter. How great is it that you can tweet what you want to eat or drink and then have your menu choice ready to pick up upon arrival? A lot of businesses run contests on Twitter that give away a free product or subscription. During the duration of a contest and the added exposure, most business will see an increase in sales and traffic.

7. Real Time Updates- Viral marketing is one of the greatest benefits resulting from real time updates and searches. You can send out one Tweet and have a viral effect from a contest or announcement because of Twitter's real time feature. A business can search and respond to their customers in real time rather than the 1-2 day delay of receiving and answering an e-mail or phone call and then providing a response. Twitter is one of the fastest platforms to share and promote content.