Twitter for Professionals: Everything You Need to Know
– By #Robert Sharp & Associates
When you think of building an online business presence for your business on Twitter, companies like Wendy’s and Taco Bell easily come to mind, having made headlines for their friendly banter and engagement with popular topics, trends, and conversations to reach a broader audience. While these clever efforts from major box-chains have proven fruitful, there has long existed a disconnect between the power of Twitter to generate conversion value for businesses. Well… until now. Enter Twitter’s latest offering for businesses to capture, convince and convert: Twitter for Professionals.
With a lack of business-oriented features and growth opportunities, businesses have long opted to divert their time and energy away from Twitter, focusing on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Here, businesses have better control over the reach of their messaging, as well as benefit from non-chronological algorithms that favor content performing well organically. In addition, businesses reap the benefits of being able to share essential information pertaining to their business such as store hours, location, and more.
“Statistically, 66.8% of the US population is on Facebook, while only 22% are on Twitter. Before now, your ability to make an impact with your business on Twitter was limited to 240 characters mixed with a chronological timeline that lessens the chances of your messaging being seen. With more people to reach and better opportunities for your messaging to be seen, Facebook has been the preferred social media platform of our clients for years. With Twitter’s new bold approach to helping businesses turn followers into customers, we’re extremely eager to see how consumer buying adapts.” – Kandi Cornford, Digital Marketing Lead
Over time, with the advent of business-centric features, Facebook and Instagram have emerged as superpowers in providing shopping experiences and real-time updates about products, services, sales, store hours and more, while LinkedIn has maintained its status as the leader in professional networking. However, with the debut of Twitter for Professionals, we may see a new superpower entering the mix for businesses looking to not only reach their target audience, but sell their products and goods, and assert their brand identity.
Announced earlier this fall, Twitter for Professionals offers an immense variety of opportunities for business to stand out with unique features including professional profiles, product and service storefronts, as well as a surprising newsletter feature. Here are the features we’re most excited about - and the services that may benefit your business’ social media branding strategy.
Source: Twitter
Professional Profiles:
Establishing itself as a professional platform within Twitter, Twitter for Professionals offers businesses the ability to stand out with new business profiles, which can easily be converted from pre-existing brand accounts. Like Facebook for Business, Twitter for Professionals offers businesses the ability to add a business category to their profile, as well as helpful information such as your address, hours, and call-to-action buttons linking to your site. With these features, users will be able to clearly differentiate your account from other normal Twitter accounts, as well as find relevant information pertaining to your business!
Source: Twitter
Professional Profile Modules: About, Shop, & Newsletter
While Twitter’s ‘About Module’ for profiles debuted earlier this year, the announcement of shopping and newsletter modules to Twitter profiles has our hearts fluttering for joy. Here’s a quick breakdown of each module:
About
Twitter’s ‘About Module’ serves as a basis to provide factual information about your business ranging from your location to your store hours, contact information and more. While this addition to the platform is quite simple, businesses may see ongoing value from maintaining their Twitter account - especially when reaching their target audience members who aren’t on Facebook.
Shop
Much like you can buy products from a business’ Facebook page if they have an online storefront, businesses will now be able to sell their products on Twitter too. Offering a seamless, in-app shopping experience for Twitter users, the Shop module not only adds great value for businesses, but offers a simplified means to shop popular, showcased products from brands consumers love. As Twitter’s shopping technology evolves, it’ll be interesting to see the inevitable shift of buying behavior from other sources to the platform.
Newsletter
Working hand-in-hand with Revue, an online newsletter platform recently acquired by Twitter, businesses will be able to feed their latest and greatest newsletters directly to their Twitter profile. What’s more, not only will users have the ability to read these newsletters, but they’ll be able to opt-in to newsletter updates directly in Twitter.
Long Story, Short, Twitter is on track to provide real-time value to businesses of all sizes with Twitter for Professionals, making the platform a more viable marketing solution. While many of the features of Twitter for Professionals are slowly rolling out, the digital marketing professionals at Robert Sharp & Associates can’t help but wonder how Twitter’s efforts to make their platform cater to the needs of businesses will influence the future of digital marketing strategies for years to come.
To learn more about the power of establishing a solid online presence, make sure to check out some of RSA’s recent articles like: How to Go From Bland to Brand, Making a Kickass Splash with a Small Marketing Agency, and more.
Interested in establishing an online presence for your business? Let RSA’s team of digital marketing and web development professionals help you out. Give us a call today at 605-341-5226 to see how we can help you take your business from bland to brand.
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