5 Reasons To Avoid Twitter, And Why You Should Not

By Seomul Evans in Web 2.0

If you are not familiar with Twitter then you are probably not up to speed on social networking. But if you have not decided to create a Twitter account, you are definitely not alone. Many internet marketers are wary of using Twitter for a number of reasons. Here are the top 5.

1. Useless Information.

It is true that many Twitter users update their Twitters with completely useless information. Do you really need to know that someone just finished their second cup of coffee or is leaving the office early for a pedicure? The good news is that if you find that you do not particularly enjoy a person’s tweets, you do not have to continue following them. But do not eliminate this option altogether. One of the most important aspects of Web 2.0 is engaging people in all aspects of their lives, even the mundane stuff. Share yourself, welcome the opportunity to let others share themselves with you, and you will go a long way toward building a loyal customer base. People are much more willing to do business with you if they think you have a vested interest in their needs and thoughts.

2. It is a Waste of My Time.

This is probably the most valid reason of all. But the truth is that many marketers generate traffic and leads when potential customers find them through Twitter. When the content you share is relevant and high-quality, you can drive visitors to your website to learn more. Twitter is simply another tool for online marketing, so do not write it off until you have given it a shot to see what it can do for you. Do some of your own research to discover the multitude of business uses for Twitter and you might just be convinced that It is not a total waste of time after all.

3. It is Time-Consuming.

Like any online endeavor, you can blow a lot of valuable time following your streams and entering your own tweets. But you can salvage some of your time by using RSS feeds to follow relevant conversations. Visit http://search.twitter.com and click on the link to Feed for this query. You can then follow the conversations that are most important and relevant to you and your business. If that is not optimal for you, simply discipline yourself to check only once or twice per day.

4. Twitter Does not Cater to My Customers.

Before you decide that your customers are not on Twitter, look for yourself. Go to http://Search.Twitter.com. Search for the name of your company, the name of your product, and keywords relevant to your business. If you are afraid that your market may be too niche-y for Twitter, remember that your job as a marketer is to find people where they are. If there are a few folks on Twitter within your niche, put yourself there as well.

5. It Could Lead to Bad Press.

Whether you are on Twitter or not, people are still talking about you, and you need to know about it. Even if there is poor feedback on Twitter, you need the opportunity to let folks know that you are aware and that you are going to do something about whatever it is that has disappointed them. If you respond quickly to the concerns of your detractors, you will go a long way towards putting out potentially damaging fires. Thoughtful responses make a huge difference in customer attitudes. Remember that if a critical mass of bloggers pick up on negative press and write about it themselves, things can get out of hand very quickly. On the other hand, you can make a great name for yourself if you address customer concerns promptly and tactfully.

There you have it. No more excuses for avoiding Twitter. Even if you think It is the most ridiculous tool ever invented, you still need to check it out for yourself. Give it some time and see what it can do for you. Explore different applications of this valuable tool and let it help you grow your business.

Source:

http://bloggeronline.net/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=30

 

I must admit that I did not see the value from an SEO standpoint right away. I think that as the internet evolves we will figure out how to tweak these applications for our use. Twitter is a great example of how a core service is beginning to morph outside of itself with the plethora of applications available.

 

Twitter isn't made for marketing. The amount of spammers on twitter trying to advertise their crappy websites is getting stupid.

 

you guys, mantavn was actually touting for twitter~~ do not "mis-under-estimate" him~

Twitter is not useless. It's very useful instead. you may well exclude the spammers from your following list, it's not inconvenient at all.

and for marketers, be careful of becoming a spammer~~you should communicate instead of dumping crappy links~~people want to communicate~~this is a world of communications - you must communicate with others before you can market or make a sale

 

Twitter is not something you should over look if you are serious about networking

 

I agree with some of these ideas, but i think Twitter is good for networking with people and getting traffic.

 

Great points and great write up

I did not realize that twitter was a tool for everyone and not only for web professionals

 

i have lost traffic from Twitter

 

Good reasoning. I am still to hook up to Twitter. Shall try it now...

 

Twitter is kind of a fag in my opinion. I think it will stay around for awhile but it is already seeing decreases in popularity as they cannot control all of the spamming on it and many celebrities are getting off of it since it is leading to bad press.

 

I've never thought that letting people who could be interested in your product or service to be a bad thing. The problem is, that people go on there and just get as many people following them as possible. Those people don't care what you say. You have to find people interested in your topics to find it successful.

I've signed up for a few things that I saw people advertising on there. Mostly internet marketing related stuff because thats pretty much the only type of people I follow.

 

If you're selling a product or service, Twitter is bad for you. People will eat you alive if you even think about pimping your products and mass adding everybody. Big no no.

It is good if you want to announce updates to your blog or website (obviously not a product website). If you have a big enough following, it builds up your reputation as well. You can't just post links, add people, and wait though. You have to actually act like a person on there...talk to people, add your own personal tidbits. It's a fun way to market yourself.

 

I like twitter. Its a great place to tell everyone I have made a new blog post or even give my two cents about American Idol or Hells Kitchen

 

You are right about Twitter being a potential time waster if it isn't used correctly. I recently wrote a post called Don't Waste Time With Twitter that addresses this.

I am a big fan of Twitter but it definitely isn't perfect and you do have to watch out for these things.

 

how could you lose traffic from twitter...

 

That is my article! You should give credit to me... the author! that makes me mad!

 

For me the Twitter gives too little and takes too much time.

 

sorry to hear, I looked over the post again and wrote up a few pointers/replies of my own

1. I agree there is a lot of junk on Twitter, but you can filter all that out very easily
2. There are tons of aps to help minimize the time you spend on twitter
3. Refer to point #2
4. You may not be looking for the right people; I’ve picked up several great clients from twitter
5. How so? It allows you to defend yourself on the fly, you can see what people are saying right now and set the story straight, it’s the best thing for good PR.

 

I still see a good chance at twitter