On Twitter Being a Marketing Tool

On Twitter Being a Marketing Tool

Guest Writer, Rashi Bindra

The social media space continues to evolve and emerge with many platforms which we feel we need to have. We spend more time integrating these platforms in our marketing mix and less time in understanding which tool works best for our brand, product or even ourselves.

This is the case with the beloved Twitter. Twitter isn’t a platform that is “dying” or obsolete or irrelevant. On the contrary it actually is a very useful and prominent tool in the social media mix. It is just not many people know how to use it, do not take the time to understand it and benefit from it.

The first element to grasp and understand is what is social media?  It is not just visuals, reshares/retweets/regrams and posting. That is just fluff. The cover of the textbook. Social media is really about relationships and measuring those relationships through data.

Twitter is not Facebook and Snapchat. Twitter is an information hub. It is a not a marketing platform to have for the sake of having because your competitor has it but it is a tool. A tool that when understood serves information, conversation and marketing research. It is a very important marketing tool,  infact it is alot more important that some of the existing ones because it is an inbound tool for research and an outbound tool for developing strategies

Before the digital world came to play  we collected data through surveys, follow up calls on service, feedback etc to listen to clients/people. And this is the beautiful thing about Twitter. You can listen to what people are talking about. And not just on a local scale but truly on a global scale.

People meet and converse with each other to share experiences and smart marketers pick up those trends and develop strategies. For instance the popular Twitter debate series “Fashion Unfold” started 6 years ago. In 140 characters it was a chat about fashion and the industry that insiders do not want to converse about. 6 years later, it has evolved, been awarded for the best use of Twitter and every month without fail new users join in the chat. And post debate? The folders still connect, engage and build relationships. This is a community all built through a chat.

Most events, television dramas, sports and entertainments turn to twitter to engage with the world. Everyone is talking, discussing and being part of that culture. This is not something Facebook, Instagram or even Snapchat can achieve. The reason being that Twitter is not a sales pitch. It is a reflection of you in 140 characters. It is like an Ad. you either grab the attention or you don’t. Hashtags on Twitter are strategies and actually helps cultivate your voice on the platform.

At the end of the day, to use Twitter you have to understand it and love it, if not it is a waste of your time. It is a marketing tool, but not necessarily a “social” tool and that is completely okay.

ABOUT RASHI BINDRA

Founder of Pearls & Sequence. Fashion Enthusiast, feminist and a pescetarian with adventurous pallets. Rashi has a background in business and fashion and adding expertise in social media strategies. She spends her time in between Montreal and Toronto working on projects that entail all of the above and coffee is her best friend!

Follow Rashi on her personal or business Twitter accounts!

Originally posted as part of Community Voices series for Social Media Week in Toronto 2016.