Article by Terry Green
Almost one in five small businesses are now tweeting regularly, according to research released recently by O2, the mobile phone provider. (“Small Businesses are Catching Twitter Bug,” Richard Tyler, The Telegraph, 16 March 2009) Although the larger, multinational firms were the first to jump on the Twitter bandwagon, increasing numbers of small to medium sized businesses are catching up. In many ways Twitter is an even more useful tool for the mom-and-pop operators than for the big businesses with deep financial pockets and large advertising budgets. Twitter is free, simple and easy to use and is the newest, most useful tool for small businesses looking to increase sales and profits.
Cost savings
Small businesses that use Twitter save on marketing and recruitment costs. A substantial amount has been saved by firms who use Twitter instead of traditional marketing methods, an impressive cost reduction from the small business perspective. (“UK Small Businesses Flock to Twitter,” News Desk, smallbizpod.co.uk, 17 March 2009) Small businesses often have little, if any, advertising budget. Having a Twitter account is much cheaper than maintaining a web page or an email distribution list. For smaller enterprises, the immediate intimacy of tweets suit their business philosophy and approach better than impersonal, sweeping advertising campaigns.
Spread the word
A Cr