Small and medium business owners often ask us how they can benefit from using twitter. To visualise the impact twitter can have on businesses, we’ve created an infographic and summarised this official twitter guide for you. Also the outcome of this twitter survey proves that efforts on twitter can lead to great business success.

Small Business Twitter Benefits Guide

Engage your Business Twitter Target Audience

No matter if you are already active on twitter or not, people are already tweeting about you. Now it’s on you to decide whether you want to take part in the conversation, or let an opportunity pass by. Your benefits of joining twitter are:

a) Followers drive sales and recommendations

People are more likely to purchase from a small or medium sized enterprises after they interact with them on twitter (72%).

b) Followers feel an emotional connection to small and medium sized companies

63% of people who follow SME say they follow businesses to show their support and 85% say that they feel more connected to a business when following them.

c) Followers want to be in the know and offer feedback

73% of people who follow SME want to get updates on future products and 61 % want to interact with businesses, share ideas and get feedback.

d) Twitter helps you reach more customers

Twitter can help you find new customers and extend the reach of your messages. Also, it will help you build better and more lasting relationships.

But before you jump right in, you should know what people expect from you. Here’s what your followers want want to hear from you:

The Small Business Advantage on Twitter

Your business advantage consists of 3 magic words:

1. Mobile

2. Location

3. Realtime!

More than half of all twitter users access the social network from a mobile device and counting. This growing trend is a real opportunity for an SME, as you can monitor tweets and respond in a timely and helpful way. For example, if a user complains about the long wait at your competing restaurant around the corner, you can tweet back and offer them a table at your own place.

Respond, React & Retweet Business Issues

Your followers are some of your most interested customers and you should treat them accordingly. You benefit from the interaction as least as much as they do. The recipe to outstanding twitter customer service is to:

a) reply when somebody tweets about you

b) favourite and/or retweet positive messages

c) thank people for mentioning you

d) react to negative feedback immediately, and

e) surprise customers who did not tweet to you directly with a mention.

These actions will help you build strong relationships with your followers, turning them into loyal customers.

4. Connect with like-minded businesses on Twitter

Connecting with businesses you admire speaks volumes about your company. It shows the twittersphere that you’re not only there to advertise your own business, but to truly network with peers and like-minded tweeters. It is also a good way to stay informed about the happenings in your industry and to establish yourself as a thought leader in the business.

5. Measure and Increase your Tweet Impact

To evaluate if you are successful consider the following indicators:

a) How many people are favoriting and retweeting your tweets?

b) How many people follow you?

c) How much traffic is coming from twitter to your website?

d) Create twitter-only promotions and see if people make use of them.

e) Ask your existing customers if they follow you on twitter. If yes, do they enjoy it?

Measuring and monitoring your twitter presence is essential and will help you develop more effective ways to engage your target group and eventually grow your business.

Tip! Twitter Ads – Promoted Tweets & Promoted Accounts – are now available for SMEs in the UK & Ireland.