I just don’t see the value of Twitter to big business. Why would those of us in corporate America care or see value in using Twitter?
- CPA

Good question.  We’ve talked before about measuring your return on the time you spend on Twitter, and it’s important to make sure you’re getting value.  A lot of the media attention about Twitter right now seems to be focusing on how an individual can easily connect with a large network.  In fact that was the rallying cry of Ashton Kutcher as he raced CNN to 1 million Twitter followers.  He won that race.  The corporate Goliath fell, and Twitter was the new slingshot.  It’s a compelling story, and not completely baseless.

Twitter had it’s first big break through in the realm of big business, though.  Computer manufacturer Dell created a big stir when they announced at the end of 2008 that they had earned $1 million in revenue through posting discount offers on their Twitter account.  While Twitter can certainly help small business owners who are looking to make personal connections, there’s no reason corporate America can’t leverage this social media platform.

1. ) Create a culture – Twitter is an opportunity to develop a loyal following.  Just creating a Twitter account and sending out headlines isn’t enough, though.  You need to give them something through Twitter that they can’t find anywhere else.  Maybe it’s special discount offers.  It could be links to resources that you only share through Twitter.  How about a channel to get a quick personal response when they’re afraid they’ll need to wade through red tape?  Which leads to…

2.) Give your organization a face - We could blame Hollywood.  There’s a perception among the general public that big businesses are often evil, soulless entities that are only interested in profit.  Individuals are good and corporations are bad.  So give them an individual to connect with.  Ever eat at a restaurant where the chef comes out and asks you how your meal is?  That’s the feeling you should be striving to recreate. 

3.) Brand monitoring – Even if you aren’t personally using Twitter, millions of other people are.  When someone talks about your business or your product, that’s going to be seen by a lot of people.  If the comments are critical, you need to know about it and respond.  When someone complains about you on Twitter, you need to be watching for mentions of your name and immediately jump into the conversation to help find a resolution.