A couple of weeks ago I wrote a blog “Do You Tweet – Or is Twitter a Passing Fad?” Well I got a few responses, but I have also talked to a number of people about what they think of Twitter.
A key point of the blog a couple of weeks ago is that 84% of those using Twitter are over 25 years of age. Of course, this is business people, professionals and the buying public. My conversations have confirmed the whole idea of tweeting, “I am heading to the mall to buy some socks,” has faded. It was a novelty, but no one cares. The idea that no one wants commercials invading their lives has been confirmed. That’s why we have TIVO to skip commercials and satellite radio to avoid them altogether; however, it is not 100% true.
We, as a 21st century consumer, want to select the ‘commercials’ we receive; technology allows us to do that. We have turned commercials into information. As I said, I don’t tweet, not yet anyway; however, I do rely heavily on the internet to find sales, specials, promotions, etc, on what I am looking for. I just don’t want it coming to me until I am ready to receive it. Some companies offer emails to promote what you are looking for; such as, Buy.com, Slickdeals.net, and Dell will send you emails on their specials. Now these are available all the time, either email or web page, and sales typically last for a few days. But still, Twitter brings something different.
Prime example; Kogi Korean taco truck, L.A.’s latest culinary obsession. They send Tweets to let everyone know where they are going to be. Taco trucks are nothing new, but you don’t always know where they are going to be and the truck has to rely on others not having other plans. Kogi tweets where they are going to be and their customers have flocked to their location. It’s a commercial, it’s information, it’s letting people know something they need to know right now. By the time you look for it, it will be gone. Maybe this is what will keep Twitter around. We will see as it continues to transform into its most valuable use. If it is truly valuable, it will hang around; if not, it will die. Society will decide.
In the meantime, get on the bandwagon. Forget the social media aspect of Twitter. The real question is; how can twitter improve your business?
—Marty Hudson