Marketing for Small Businesses » Twitter

Twitter – Not for business??

Just quickly, and to dispel a few myths, Twitter is not for kids and IS for business.

I recently read an article in NZ Marketing magazine by a well-known New Zealand marketing professional that said “Understand the market of your clients. If their target market is middle-aged decision-makers, these people simple are not going to be on Facebook, Twitter or even Linked-In for business.”

Personally, I have made a great many business connections through Twitter. I connect with business professionals on a daily basis and feel privileged to be able to ask for their knowledge, expertise and advice – which they often freely give.

Many of these people own their own business. In my mind, that makes the majority of these people the key decision makers.

I also connect with many middle-aged business professionals through Facebook and Linked-In. As far as I can tell, Linked-In’s ONLY function is to connect business people. Facebook certainly has its place for business but admittedly is a lot more social-focused than Twitter and Linked-In.

However, Facebook experienced a 276% growth in the 35-54 year old bracket in the second half of 2008.

In summary, I really feel that Twitter and Linked-In are primarily used for business, and primarily by the 25 to 54 group. If your target market consits of business people aged 25 to 54 and you want to connect with them online, Twitter is the way to go.