Twitter: An essential business tool for speed of information delivery?
05/08/09 10:50 AM Filed in: Twitter
Information: we went from an era of too little information to too much information. How are marketers supposed to keep track of everything that is being said about their products and market online and in the press? More importantly how can marketers listen to consumers to get a jump on new trends and needs for a competitive advantage?
I have been using Twitter for quite awhile now and I have to say that between my followers and friends I am able to stay on top of news as it breaks. This means that I can get the story while it is still a story and comment on its impact to marketers and clients before the main streak business press has a chance to write about it. There are some trends that are going to take shape as Twitter becomes more powerful;
1- Microblogging may become more powerful that blogging: Who has time to read all the BLOGS that we want to read? Bloggers can save time by summarizing their stories on Twitter and providing links. This saves the time of going to the BLOG and sorting through information that we feel is relevant to us.
2. Less personal, more business: Yes there will be some people who continue to tell people they just woke up and are grabbing a cup of coffee but the real value of Twitter is going to be as an informational exchange platform for businesses and individuals.
3. Integrated search>latest information=new portal: Forget Yahoo !, MSN and AOL..the new portal is going to become sites like Twitter and Facebook. I believe Twitter has an advantage as a business portal because of its functionality but time will tell.
4. Will business block Twitter? I can't tell you how many marketing people complain to me that they cannot access any social media sites because their IT department has these sites blocked. Smart companies will allow people to access social media sites and will start developing processes on how and when to use social media as a representative of the company.
5. Law is behind technology but a big case will bring it forward fast: Casebook law on the use of technology is lacking but some big cases are all that is needed to set a precedent and legal guidelines. This morning, for example, there was a story about holocaust denial sites on Facebook as some people try and get them bounced from the site. Future legal cases will involve privacy issues on social media sites and libel, especially if someone posts an untrue story that damages a brand (i.e. Dominoes Pizza)
Information has always been an extremely valuable asset. We are now moving from depth of information to depth & speed of information delivery.