Social Media for your Small Business: Twitter

Since launching SME advertising in South Africa, small businesses are encouraged to take advantage of Twitter and increase the impact of their marketing activities with the social network’s self-serve advertising products; giving small businesses similar reach as bigger brands, but at a fraction of the cost.

The modern, tech savvy customer wants to have an ongoing conversation with businesses and brands. A large percentage of these people will interact with your business if they see your ad on Twitter – all the more reason to promote your tweets!   Twitter is a valuable platform where you could engage with your customers, however, a large following is not necessarily indicative of the actual customer turnout. Hashtag…just saying!

Social media is run by the people, for the people and engagement is entirely dependent on them and this can be quite intimidating for companies starting out in the social world.  In addition to perfecting the art of #hashtagging, you have to determine a clear goal and a strategy if you want to reap the benefits of using Twitter for your small business. What are your main objectives? Do you want to generate general brand awareness, drive traffic to your website or perhaps drive downloads of a mobile app?

The most important thing to keep in mind when using social platforms, such as Twitter, for your business is saving face. Not everyone gets social media right and failures can have nasty consequences for your brand, especially if it is well-known! The key is to never sit on the side-lines; you should be active in building and protecting your brand’s reputation on Twitter.

If you are new to the social scene or you don't have the time to dedicate to your social media profiles, a company offering Social Media Management and digital public relations (digital PR) might be your best bet. With offices in Centurion and Cape Town, The Computer Guyz offer complete branding and social media solutions to help you create your brand and get noticed. 

Written by: Christine Kleyn

Copywriter at The Computer Guyz Cape Town and Centurion