Why Twitter? Maybe for the News

Everyone talks about how to use social media, and if you follow their ten steps, you’ll succeed. The one category that is using Twitter the right way is our local journalists. That is why you, the local small business owner, should be involved in Twitter. No matter the size, you cannot find a market that is not represented by local print and TV reporters who follow their community businesses. Three times last month, a reporter visited our client for a story. They were day-specific stories that had a positive effect on the industry our client is in. Think about it—how efficient for the reporter. Tweet a business with a question and ask if they can come for an interview. It’s a positive story, so your reply is YES, I’m available all morning. We who use Twitter regularly know how efficient that scenario is. All three, by the way, were the lead story that day. So, what’s a positive lead story in your local news worth? Is it worth playing on Twitter? All the businesses have competitors; most don’t play on Twitter. It takes a social media guru to surmise that if you play where they play and you make yourself readily available how they like and want to communicate with you, you will have a substantial competitive advantage. So, if you haven’t been convinced by valid reasons to tweet because of your category or time, maybe the thought of having your local reporters paying attention to you is one you might tweet about.