Why Twitter is the best for businesses

Despite my failure in looking on Twitter for workout buddies, it has emerged as one of the best business tools of all the social media outlets (including for those in the fitness industry). I think it is the most versatile medium and the one that allows for the proper balance of personal versus business communicating. Twitter trumps other social media outlets in the business world because:

• It can be used both for fans of your company, but also in a more interesting way through prominent people in the company.
• It is helpful for human resources.
• It has the capacity for both external and internal communications.
• It is good for companies who want to listen rather than just participate.

One of the best features of twitter is that consumers can get a more personal feel for what your business or organization is all about by following prominent people within the company. This way they feel they are not just getting generic messages about products or initiatives, but are truly connecting with the people that make your organization what it is.
Additionally, it is helpful to human resources and the hiring process. If you are looking for a candidate that has already shown an interest in your organization, and who is social media savvy, you can post a job via a tweet. This way, you will reach only those candidates who have what you are looking for in a new employee.
Because twitter can both be public and private (protected tweets) it can serve for both internal and external communications. For internal communications, tweets can be protected and only accessed by employees. It is a good and immediate way to get information out to a large group of people very quickly.
Many companies are more listeners on twitter rather than tweeters. There are many different ways a company can keep track of what is being said about them, through various search tools or applications like TweetDeck. This is a good way to get an early warning of conversations that consumers are having, including product deficiencies, or even to find out what consumers are looking for from the company that they don’t already offer.
What really made me realize how important Twitter is becoming was the day of the earthquake. The first place we looked online to see what had happened was not a news website but Twitter, and we were immediately shown results that confirmed what we thought. I think it is the best emerging social media tool because it is such a great mix of news with personal, internal communications. I’m glad to have had the opportunity to learn about its benefits.