One of my previous blogs talks about my views on the value of social media in business. I am a big supporter of social media, especially LinkedIn and Twitter, to actively communicate with people and to raise our company profile. I am interested in people’s perspective on social media as a valid and meaningful marketing vehicle/ tool. Opinions are still divided between the ‘way things were‘ and the ‘way things are going‘. I am in no doubt – social media is the future.

I’ve had numerous discussions recently with colleagues, business acquaintances and friends about Twitter particularly. It seems there is a ‘perception’ that Twitter is “another Facebook”…”just a way of following celebrities”…”its not a real business tool”. No doubt, many people do use Twitter for purely social use or to connect with celebrities in TV, sport, business etc. However, celebrities use Twitter to raise their profile and to communicate with people who are interested in them. The same applies with companies! I think the business world is quickly realising that Twitter offers multiple benefits, some of these are;

• You can send instant, concise and easy to read updates to ‘the world’ (or anyone that follows you at least!) about what your company is doing – therefore raising your company profile and your ‘search engine optimisation‘ exposure.
• You can publish or access links to images/ webcams, blogs, news stories, websites, new publications…anything really! This is useful information on market/ sector trends and company activity.
• You can see what any other people/ companies, that you choose, are doing at any point in time – including; clients (existing and targets), media, consultant partners, competitors, local and central Government, local/ national/ world business leaders, academic/ research bodies…the list in endless!

One person said to me recently that when researching a company before meeting them, it’s often more informative and relevant to look at their Twitter (and LinkedIn profile) than going to their website. This is probably true. In another conversation someone said to me “I don’t have time to mess around on Twitter at work” (maybe they don’t get it?) Another person I talked to just couldn’t seem to grasp the concept/ use. Then they went to a large business event and realised how many people (senior business leaders!) were tweeting while there – they suddenly appreciated the enormity and popularity of Twitter. I recently attended an Invest in Nottingham lunch event where they had a live Twitter feed on a large screen. This added an interesting dynamic and was another way of engaging people in the conversation. I was tweeting while there and got two immediate enquiries from it – one of which was about our International work.

Twitter is a limitless source of useful, easy to digest, information/ intelligence organised in a live timeline. We all work in increasingly busy schedules – I know mine is non-stop, both in terms of travel and meetings. Being able to ‘keep in touch’ on the move is critical to me.

My view remains consistent; Twitter is important, useful (in many ways!) and hugely relevant to business activity today.

Check us out @LewisandHickey (you will need a Twitter account!)