Do not argue with friends and acquaintances on Facebook. Especially do not argue with family on Facebook. The medium is made for you to peruse pictures of your friend’s vacations and either “Yasssss, girl” their fashion choices in the comments or judge them silently. It is not intended for a debate on the war in Ukraine with your friend from third grade. If you must argue on social media, the app for you is Twitter.
So writes the columnist Karol Markowicz in a recent article on what the pandemic taught her about life. And, as if to highlight her point on the inherent contentiousness of the app, the recent news that Tesla and Space X founder Elon Musk would attempt to purchase Twitter for a whopping $44 billion was met with…even more 280-characters-or-less heated arguments and insult hurling.
A small business might reasonably look at this atmosphere and wonder, “What good could possibly come from driving headlong into that tornado of animosity?”
The truth is, however, Twitter can still be a powerful instrument for good—and profit!—in your marketing toolbox.
Here are three reasons why…
1. It is, perhaps paradoxically, easier to stand out for the right reasons.
If a large part of marketing success is differentiation and nurturing positive associations, few places currently offer a better opportunity than Twitter.
The key is to not conform to the current trends of Twitter, but to come as you are and/or aspire to be.
“It is better to light one small candle,” Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “than to curse the darkness.”
Think of your account as that candle: Purposefully serve as a beacon of light amidst all that darkness and churn—you’ll help potential customers and clients set a new course in the direction of your warm and peaceful product cove.
2. Like it or not, Twitter remains highly influential
Think you can ignore Twitter and that little blue bird will simply fly away?
Think again.
Twitter is the ninth most visited website in the world—a number which includes a quarter of American adults and is expected to hit 314 million users this year.
These users make more money than the average American—“forty-one percent of Twitter users report household incomes above $75,000,” USA Today reports, “while 32% of the U.S. population overall make that much in a year”—sixteen percent of users 16-64 research brands on the app, greater than half are more likely to purchase new products, and a larger number spend time looking at ads on Twitter than other social media apps.
We don’t have to love the general vibe to recognize this is a powerful platform that should be utilized rather than shunned.
3. Build a sales funnel—with Twitter at the top
This is not a new idea—simply search “Twitter” “monetize” “funnel” either via Google or Twitter itself—but it is an underutilized one.
Which means you are still on the right side of the strategy curve.
As noted, there are many proponents of this approach with slightly varied bullet points.
Few, however, have put it as succinctly as writer/SaaS company owner JK Molina, who, in a recent thread, described the “ideal Twitter business model” as “actually very simple.”
First, “write threads about things that are actually useful”—i.e., engage correctly and effectively.
Next, “funnel people into your email list.” (Remember, in business, email remains the “King of Communication.”)
Finally, monetize that list with a product or service.
This works because it accepts both Twitter and your business for what each separately are—and then creates synergy between the two in service of both.
By bypassing the argument morass Markowicz mapped out you can deliver real value, build real appreciation, and reap real profits—quickly.
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