Are You a Twitter Tease or Looking for Love?
This video is about fifteen minutes long, but only the first few minutes are really worth your time. It’s interesting that the moderator points out in the first minute or so a major problem in the publishing industry: they talk to each other, about each other and don’t relate/make themselves matter to anyone else, and then the issue is pretty much dropped in favor of how Twitter can help readers talk about books. This is a shame because it illustrates the trap that many small businesses (and authors are small business owners too) fall into: failing to engage with customers in a meaningful way. This ignorance, or complacency, is such a prevalent problem that an ongoing conversation is essential. Here is yet another installment in this series.
Consumers: how do you see them? Do they exist for your pleasure or you for theirs? This may seem like an odd line of thought, but run with it. Consumers can exist without you because they likely have other choices, but your business won’t exist without them, period. A sobering thought, but no less true. Like it or not, your customers are far more important to you than you will ever be to them so you need to keep them interested, and that often means turning to Twitter.
Why would you have a Twitter account? Is it because everyone else does and you don’t want to be left behind or because you truly want to develop a relationship with your customers? It’s important to figure this out if for no other reason than to not waste your time. Twitter is a marketing tool and yet few businesses understand what that means or how to effectively utilize it. Social media gives you 1) the power to personalize your business and 2) the permission from consumers to talk to them. Every time a consumer comes into contact with you, whether it’s visiting your website, contacting customer service, etc. they get an experience and use it to form an opinion about your business. Take a look at the following:
Hey, we’re going to be at this trade show. Come see us.
Hey, it’s our fifteenth anniversary and we won an award.
Hey, you’d better order this product soon before it sells out.
If you’re like the average consumer, your response to tweets like these would be, “Hey, who the hell cares?” This isn’t engagement: this is talking to hear yourself speak. It’s like being on a date with the boring guy who won’t shut up. Focus, people! Who is your Twitter account for, you or your customers? If you’re serious about having the love of your customers then get your head out of your butt and earn it.
Let’s go back to basics. People buy products and services because they want something that will make their lives better, easier or more entertaining. It’s always about the psychology, which is another thing businesses have trouble understanding. Clothing stores aren’t in the covering bodies with cloth business; they’re in the self esteem business. Take-out counters aren’t in the food supply business; they’re all about convenience. Knowing the true nature of your business and playing to the stories that people tell themselves is what will help you stand out from the competition. This is how you focus on the customer.
Let’s go back to the previous tweets and see if we can’t spice them up a bit:
This S/Su 10-6 Jewelry Show, Bangor, ME: Lim. Ed. Platinum Series Pendants/Cocktail Rings. Available this show only! Raffling one set 12 p.m. both days.
2009 Winner Most Charitable Company. Celebrating by donating 10% of proceeds from all online orders in the next 24 hours! Order big and do good!
Today’s Special: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cones. Chocolate base, marshmallow, caramel, pecans and chocolate bits all smushed together. Come get a scoop before it’s gone!
These tweets are no longer passive: they’re engaging people with a relevant message and encouraging them to take action. For the people interested in the kinds of stories these tweets are telling, this is gold. The fact that you’re making this effort speaks to your authenticity and being consistent in this way over time will develop loyalty. You can’t be generic anymore if you want success and that means investing in the experience you give your customers. Twitter is a great way to broadcast that experience, but it’s up to you to make sure that message is worthy of being spread.