Twitter is fast emerging as a major social marketing tool adding millions of users worldwide each passing year. As social media has become central to over the web marketing initiatives of organizations, people are weighing in the factors in favor of and the ones that work against the use of twitter as a social marketing tool.
Twitter as a Marketing Friend:
1. Helps in Quick Promotion Through Favorable Feedback from Users:
Favorable feedback from one user has a cascading effect as users share it with their followers and then others share it with their followers if they approve of the same. It is often observed that the followers of one person happen to fall in the same marketing segment for an organization. This amounts to a targeted marketing campaign in the niche market segment. The product reaches the right audience. This is exactly what marketing campaigns are meant to do.
2. Allows for Real Time Issue Rectification:
People facing problems with products can immediately report the matter to the customer service platform made available by the organization over twitter. This decreases the time spent on rectification of an issue, thereby sparing the customer the hassle of having to wait for long and also giving the assurance to the customer and potential buyers that the organization values it customers.
3. Makes Quick Dissemination of Information Possible:
Information on products and services can quickly be shared with people. As followers on twitter invariably happen to be the ones who are interested in the product, the message quickly reaches the audience it is meant for.
4. Builds an Open Platform for Interaction:
Twitter offers a platform where anyone can seek specific answers on doubts relating to a product. As the organizations are able to attend to the issues that concern the potential buyers, the platform helps in converting interest in product to sales and revenues.
Twitter as a Marketing Foe:
1. Calls for Immediate Action:
Consumers may get impatient and may demand immediate action from the organization. A one day turnaround time may also not be acceptable on a platform like twitter. This may become troublesome for an organization to attend to.
2. Negative Feedback can Spread Like a Wildfire:
If negative feedback is not attended to immediately, it may as well become extremely difficult to control it. This causes an irreparable harm to a product’s image and reputation.
3. Smallest of Issues Get Blown out of Proportion:
An issue that starts from the level of one person reporting the matter through a tweet spawns a series of tweets from consumers who have similar stories to tell. This forces the organization into damage control wherein it may not have all the answers.
Every social networking platform comes with its own share of pros and cons. It is for the marketer to maximize the benefits and to minimize the problems associated with it. This is because each platform makes available a set of people one can market the product to. If an audience is there, it is for the marketer to decide on how to go about the product promotion task so as to make it popular among people. The same holds true for twitter. The influence it carries is undeniable and the marketers ought to make the most of the platform.
About The Author
I would argue that this is true for large consumer brands however those working with smaller obscure brands will generally end up with a small core following of brand advocates and a larger number of individuals who are just looking for a reciprocal follow.