No matter the nature of your business, a primary objective for going social should be to genuinely connect with engaged individuals. Enter the Twitter chat, a scheduled forum where a group of people meet online to talk about a common interest.
Twitter chats can be organized by a company, organization or individual looking to network and spread ideas using a specific hashtag. So, what value can this bring to your business or cause? Here are four ways that Twitter chats can boost brand engagement and add value to your company.
It puts your brand in front of a receptive audience.
In a world of social clutter and spam, one of the greatest challenges for brands is getting their messages to stand out. Instead of scrolling past the thousands of 140 character rants occupying their feeds, members of a Twitter chat have chosen to actively tune in to the conversation. Essentially speaking, the audience is all ears.
It’s a platform to talk about more than your products and services.
Twitter chats are the perfect opportunity to offer up knowledge and expertise without the need for a tired sales pitch. By putting brands on a level playing field with other users, they can authentically connect with their audience at a time where they are most receptive.
Take advantage of this opportunity by trading ideas and learning what people are talking about. If one user is interested enough to bring up a question or topic within a one-hour Twitter chat, chances are that someone else would find that same information valuable. Don’t be afraid to offer some free advice and expand on the subject in a future blog post. At least you know you’ll have one reader excited to hear and share what you have to say.
Tweets are in real time.
With sites like Hootsuite taking over a large chunk of social messages, there can be significant gaps in the amount of time between a potential customer’s question and a brand’s answer. By establishing a place in a real-time forum, brands can use a Twitter chat to essentially say “we’re here, and we’re listening.” After all, isn’t that what being social is all about?
Twitter chat connections build a network of people that believe in you and your brand.
Keep engaging with the connections you made during a Twitter chat long after that hour-long segment is over. Consider these contacts as friends and allies for your business by supporting their everyday conversations and inviting them to join in yours.
In a perfect world, every single follower on Twitter would be a potential lead. However, most of us know that’s not the case. But when people start recognizing a company as a thought leader in their field, there is likely to be a certain level of trust established. It is this confidence and familiarity that will send users to a specific company when the need arises. After all, people like doing business with other people, not faceless organization.
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