Twitter

The media is full of stories about Twitter and how its the new and greatest way for small businesses to market themselves, but exactly how can you use it?
Basically Twitter is just another way to communicate with people
You chose to follow people or businesses who you think are interesting and invite people to follow you if you think that they might be interested in what you are up to.
Many people use it to manage to their social lives in the same way that they use Facebook but many also use it to keep themselves updated on people, places and issues which interest them
Some statistics on Twitter are as follows

Twitters largest age group is 35-44 years of age accounting for 25.9% of all users

63% of users are male 

 UK Twitter traffic has already trebled in 2009 

 There are an estimated 8 million Twitter users worldwide. 53% Earn over £40,000 p/a

63% Have at attained a college education or higher

So to return to the question of how is this useful to small business and how as a gift shop, or even as a soft toy wholesaler you can use Twitter then we think it has several uses
1. Its a quick and easy way to update people as to what you are up to. You can only use 140 characters so you do not have to spend loads of time composing essays but just a quick message which can include a link back to your website
2. If you have something of interest on your website then you can highlight it on your tweet and get traffic back to your website
3. As a new form of social media Twitter has been adopted first by journalists, bloggers and PR. If you want to get your story noticed Twitter is a good place to start!
4. Twitter is a great way to form a community around your business which leads to loyal and interested customers. Its not just that you tweet and then move on. Hopefully people will respond and question so you get a conversation going
5. Twitter is a 2 way thing. Its not just who is following you, its who you follow. If you follow the right person you will get useful information and advice in your field of interest way before everyone else
One thing is clear. If you want to use it just to push product or service promotions you will fail. I have heard one person describe tweeting money off deals as equivalent to walking up to someone at a party and giving them the hard sell You can see us on www.twitter.com, Just look for knittedtoys
How do you get started? I am definitely not an expert but I found the following articles useful

www.news.cnet.com/newbies-guide-to-twitter

www.michaelhyatt.com/2008/05/the-beginners-guide-to-twitter.html

And I found the following twitter tools fascinating

Who is twittering in your area www.twittermap.com
Follow areas of interest www.monitter.com

And yes, we have just started on Twitter http://twitter.com/knittedtoys

Follow us as we get ready for trade shows, develop our ranges and get our fair trade ranges tested and approved in time for autumn