Yesterday I was invited to give a presentation about Social Media, specifically Twitter, to a group of wedding professionals. It was a really interesting day as Geoff Ramm, one of the North East’s best marketing gurus was also giving a presentation. [His was certainly cooler than mine…]

I guess the key questions and issues to answer were “Why do we need to have a twitter account?”….. “I never have any time for twitter”…. “I don’t like everyone knowing my business, I like to keep my life private”. All these points are valid and to a certain extent true – but as with everything in life, the use of twitter can be personalised to suit your own style and personality. However, what you need to bear in mind when using twitter as part of your marketing strategy are five basic points about twitter:

1. It’s a 24 hour GLOBAL network

2. It’s a FREE service available to everyone who can access the internet

3. It’s INSTANT and gives you real time news and trends

4. It’s PUBLIC so you have direct contact with your customers

5. It can be PERSONALISED to suit your own interests and privacy issues

To me, those five things are a no-brainer. Why would you not want to take advantage of such a martketing tool!

Twitter needs to be another element of your marketing strategy and is equally important as all the other social networking sites available to us today. The way we market ourselves has changed so much in the past twenty years. I remember using my first mobile phone in 1994, which was as big and as heavy as a brick [literally] and I was mortified when it rang whilst I was on the bus because everyone stared at me – I was the odd one out! I tell my children this story and they just laugh – they can’t imagine being without theirs.

We need information now, we are not prepared to wait. We need things that excite us and that are different. Being on twitter enables us to communicate directly with likeminded people, with our customers and with the trends that are happening NOW. Twitter allows us to let our personality shine, lets our customers understand our brand and what our company stands for.

Why be on Twitter?

My question is always “If you have a business, why would you not want to be on twitter?”

I tweet. I’m proud to be #MorpethsNumberOneTweeter

Tweet me @EmmaBuntingUK

 

Emma X

www.emma-bunting.co.uk