Should MPS Providers Tweet?
Corey Smith is posting a three-part blog series on how Twitter can be used in an MPS business over at MPS Insights. It's a great introduction to the benefits of tweeting – here's a glimpse of what Corey has to say:
Five ways your dealership can benefit from Twitter
- Customer Service in the Twitterverse - Having a dedicated twitter account for your dealership opens a line of instant communication between you and your clients. Over Twitter, you can provide basic tech support, answer sales questions and respond to feedback about your company and its products and services.
- Fix Problems Before they Become Complaints - Oftentimes customers will vent complaints and frustrations over Twitter for others to identify with or provide assistance and insight. If these complaints involve or mention your company, it can be very damaging to your image. When using Twitter effectively for your business, you can intercept your customers' complaints and turn their negative experience into a positive one.
- Obtain a Constant Stream of Targeted Sales Leads - In the same way you find customer complaints over Twitter, you can also uncover general product complaints from consumers. Responding to frustrated consumers and providing solutions will position your dealership as the hero. By creating a keyword search over twitter you can have access to a feed of complaints about office equipment and begin providing solutions and introducing yourself to prospective customers who have already shown interest.
- Build Credibility - Remember that Twitter is a platform for you to distribute information to a targeted and interested audience. Use it as your opportunity to show off your knowledge in your industry. Keeping it short and simple, you can use facts, quotes, photos, videos and links to show your audience that you are a wealth of knowledge that can help them with anything they need in your area of expertise. Since the message must be short, make it sweet – the more interesting it is, the better chance you have of people retaining it and passing it on to others. The more intelligent, informative and relevant messages you generate, the more credibility you will gain in the mind of your consumers.
- Push Traffic to your Website - Twitter is also a great way to get more people to your website. Every addition to your website should be announced on Twitter with a link. This can include blog posts, press releases and new products. Likewise, it never hurts to remind people of what they can find on your website as well. Another way twitter can help generate traffic to your website is by imbedding your twitter feed into your website. Every time you send a tweet, it will post to your website. This increases your rankings in search engines by allowing for constant information being added to your website. Additionally, each of your tweets will show up in search engine results and increase your online presence as well.
Doc sometimes thinks social media is overblown as a business tool, but Corey makes a good case for why you should consider Twitter in your marketing mix. You can find the first part here.