To Tweet or Not To Tweet

A recent survey shows that more than half of the respondents don’t use Twitter at all. Two out
of three of those who do have a Twitter account only tweet occasionally, if at
all. And only four percent tweet several times per day.

“I can’t see the point of Twitter” was one of the comments to the
survey, “it takes time and I have better ways to keep in touch with my friends
and more important things to do.”

“Comments like this show a common misunderstanding of Twitter and social
media generally” explains communication strategist Helen Rennie-Smith. “A lot
of people still have the conception that social media are communication tools
for private use only.”

They seem unaware of the fact that social media are extremely powerful
tools for corporate communications and thought leadership. They are also cost
efficient compared to traditional marketing and advertising. The trick, of
course, is to figure out how to best use social media to suit each company’s
purposes.

Helen Rennie-Smith agrees that social media activities can take a lot of
time, if we let them, but she also reminds us that we ourselves are actually in
charge. She encourages business owners to open a Twitter account, start
following interesting people who are relevant to their business and gradually start
tweeting themselves.

“But don’t let it absorb your working day” she adds, “make sure you are
in charge of your social media presence and not the other way round!”