How Much Does Twitter Matter?

The July 3-9, 2009 St. Louis Business Journal's The Pulse section asked: "Have the protests in Iran changed your attitude toward Twitter?" The result was that 51% had better things to do, 29% still don't get what the fuss is about and 18% love being connected through Twitter.

I'll be honest. I was an initial skeptic of Twitter, and I recommend its use conservatively with clients. Why? Twitter is a Web site driver. I prefer to think of it as a news feed or connector. In general, I don't find Twitter a relevant forum for general, personal conversation, but it is a great forum to connect new visitors to a blog or Web site, to post updates or to find other industry-related blogs or Web sites pertinent to your business, personal or non-profit objectives.

In general, I don't find Twitter an effective tool for businesses providing a very local niche service. If you are a senior living community in Southern Illinois, it doesn't really help to have someone in Thailand connecting to your Web site and more than likely the visitor from Indiana is also not a viable prospect. Twitter does a great job of expanding a Web site's reach and visitors, but a business Web site also needs those hits to be relevant. A community-based business needs a community-focused social media marketing plan.

However, a marketing company, for instance, can provide a service to companies across the nation and sometimes beyond. In this case, it makes sense to promote a Web site and company news on Twitter, which provides an increased chance of attracting new customers from a wide range of new locations that would otherwise be very expensive to reach.

For larger companies, Twitter can also be a nice instant-message tool. Why not use regular instant messaging? Twitter allows you to have a public transcript when attempting to solve customer service issues; it gives enhanced meaning to Live Chat. Further, this style of customer-service conversation gives a company the opportunity to transform negative commentary into positive branding.

In short, Twitter is best rated for what it is -- a connector. And, a connector is only as good as the connection it makes. So, what sort of connections does your company need? Answer this question, and you will have a fair assessment of how much Twitter matters to your business.