Mobile devices such as smart phone (iPhone, Samsung), netbook and Ipad are widely popularized in modern society due to the speedy development of the internet. Communication and media companies, such as Fido and Bell, have provided reasonable internet coverage in most Canadian cities.

The forms of entertainment in the younger generation have shifted onto another medium. New entertainment activities such as online electronic game are popular among young people. In addition, many traditional activities have shifted onto electronic platforms; people can read books and play board game without real books and real cards. People are now more dependent on their cellphones and the access to internet.

In this information age, traditional marketing means have lost their original dominance. For example, advertisements on magazines and billboards are not as effective as they were 10 years ago because of the current tendencies of reading electronic book on cellphones and shopping online. In contrast, the development of the virtual society has brought about a variety of new opportunities. Social media marketing is a good example, and Twitter is one of the most successful. There are 695,750,000 registered users and 342 million active users. Enormous number of people post contents and creating hashtags every minute. Meanwhile, Twitter users trend to be younger  and are also familiar with using different kinds of social media platforms. Therefore, knowing how to take advantages of Twitter can be extremely advantageous to a business’s success.

 

How to use twitter skillfully?

1. Attention to the popular hashtags at any moment.

Popular hashtags is a quick to identify social media trends and being able to participate in these conversations will help company to appear more fashionable and increases its exposure rate.

2. Follow the up-to-date local business.

Knowing other businesses in your area will help you establish relationships with them and develop the new opportunities. This can also lead to collaborations in local events that can attract more customers.

3. Maintain communication with your customers

Be approachable to your customers. No questions are too silly to answer. Use this platform to communicate with your customers, understand your customers, and also increase exposure rate.

4. Retain contests.

Contests are a great way to help increase the number of sales. Announcing these contests online can help increase the amount of customers and the company’s visibility. For instance, if you are running a bakery, you could hold a contest about people’s favourite flavour and variety of breads. The result and advices could help develop new menu items.

Like any circle, social media has its own rules. Tools like Twitter can help promote your brand but it is also vital to remember a few rules before posting or starting a new social media campaign.

The five key points you should pay attention to before posting:

1. Internet does not forget

The internet stores everything, nothing will be forgotten. Topics from 10 years ago can suddenly be revived. Every thread and conversation will be saved so always remember this before posting anything.

2. Don’t meddle with politics

Politic is a sensitive topic for most people. Extra care should be given to ensure that nothing posted can be interpreted as a political statement.

3. Pick a suitable username and correct hashtags

Choose a suitable username is very important. One should do some research on existing similar names and whether if there are any negative history to them. Also picking the right hashtag is important as your message might be grouped into a completely different group than what you have intended.

4. Separate work and play

Always have a separate work account or even a separate work phone. Nothing is worse than posting a personal comment using the company account.

5. Double check before posting

Grammar and spelling are not the first thing people think about when posting but it is very important when it comes to a company’s image. Misspelling can lead to severe repercussions. For example, Mitt Romney’s “With Mitt” campaign in 2012 had a rocky start because America was misspelled as “Amercia.”

Questions for thought:
1. Do you think if these 5 points distracts the reader from the message?
2. Do you think that it is crucial to have separate work and personal phones?

References

Cook, R. (2014, May 2). 4 Quick and Easy Hospitality Marketing Strategies for Twitter. Retrieved from https://www.simplycast.com/blog/4-quick-and-easy-hospitality-marketing-strategies-for-twitter/

Sen, U. (n.d.). 50 Ways Social Media Can Destroy Your Business. Retrieved from https://blog.kissmetrics.com/social-media-can-destroy/

Statista. (2016). Distribution of Twitter users in the United States as of December 2015. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/192703/age-distribution-of-users-on-twitter-in-the-united-states/