To Tweet Or Not To Tweet

To Tweet or not to Tweet. That is the question put to us on a regular basis by our business owner clients. Should Twitter be a part of their marketing strategy, they ask. Like everything in life there isn't a yes or no answer! The place to start is your target market. Where and who is your ideal client? According to a recent Toronto Star article the Solutions Research Group has identified the Canadian Twitter demographics to be:

• 42% are aged 18 to 34
• 28% are 35 to 49
• 17% are 50 and older
• 13% are 12 to 17

So if your target market is consumers in the 12 to 17 age group then you may think twice. Not to say some businesses are not using Twitter well by announcing upcoming events or the introduction of new products. The Toronto Star article (September 26th Business Section) cites evidence that Twitter does have a growing following of businesses. And it quotes Keith Macarthur, Roger's head of social media, who can see Twitter becoming a great tool for their customer relations.

The problem as I see it is that the business Tweets are crowded out by the hundreds of innocuous messages like "I have just eaten the best ham sandwich ever" or "On the way to work I saw the coolest shoes". Furthermore we have to wait for the qualified "followers" to find us and want to follow us. I always prefer more proactive marketing strategies myself. As Adrian Davis, President of Whetstone, wrote in a recent blog "these (social media) are focused on quantity of connections rather than quality".

We have a model we use when working with our clients: "While you are doing one thing, you can't be doing another thing." This is particularly true for small business owners who do not have armies of people to delegate work to. So if you are focused on getting Twitter up and running as an effective marketing tool you are not doing some other maybe proven marketing activity. Not to say you shouldn't try but keep in mind that Twitter is yet to prove itself as an effective marketing tool.

Social media is here to stay. And it's fun. But is Twitter the right marketing tool for business? Is Twitter worth the investment of our scarce resources - time and money? Will Twitter enhance the very core of quality marketing - relationship building? I don't think so. But it is time for some serious debate on the benefits of the social media for businesses. To start the debate I bring your attention to two excellent articles on the subject.

This one was written by David Baker, founder of ReCourses - David's article
And this comes from Adrian Davis, President of Whetstone Inc - Adrian's article

So think about it. Will Twitter and all the other social media become the future marketing miracles for us business owners or will they fade into the sunset. No, they are not going to fade away! I'm just not sure what form they will take. And I'm not sure if they will become an integral part of our marketing tool box.

Join the debate. Leave a comment or email me at nick@yourplanningpartners.com.

The Perfect Business

We at Your Planning Partners believe every Canadian business owner should have the opportunity to build the Perfect Business. But what is a Perfect Business?

The Perfect Business supports the life style you and your family want. This covers everything from personal income through to life balance. It means the business is not consuming every minute of your life. It means your family and/or friends are not complaining about your constant absences or starting to exclude you from family events. It means you are receiving an income commensurate with your role and responsibilities.

The Perfect Business is one you enjoy passionately. You love the nurturing, the leading, the guiding that successful businesses need. You get great delight in seeing your people grow professionally. You get excited every time a new customer comes on board. You are proud of your business.

The Perfect Business has value so one day, when you are ready, it can be sold. Yes it might be far away over the horizon but the reality is there. One day you will not be around to run the business and you cannot take it with you. Or, more likely, one day you will be wanting to do something else; retire or start another business or take up stamp collecting. Whatever it may be you will still need an income. Your business is your retirement income.

So in short the Perfect Business:

1. Supports the lifestyle you and your family want
2. You enjoy passionately
3. Has value so can be sold

What are your thoughts about the Perfect Business? Leave a comment to this post or email me at nick@yourplanningpartners.com. Have a good week building your Perfect Business!