Pros and Cons of Using Twitter for Internet Marketing

Have you heard that Twitter is a great internet marketing tool?  If so, you may wondering if marketing your website, blog, products, or service through Twitter is a good idea.  In most cases, it is, but you should first familiarize yourself with the pros and cons.

The Pros

It is free.  It is free to join Twitter.  All you need is a mobile phone or an internet connection.  To get started, visit Twitter.com and register for a free account.  Select a username, password, and provide your email address. Unlike many other internet marketing ventures, Twitter requires no investment; therefore, there is no risk.

It is easy to network.  Before marketing your business on Twitter, you need to develop a list of contacts.  You start by following other members.  You can get started by searching for users based on email address, name, and location.  You can also use Search.Twitter.com to review Tweets and find those with similar interests as yours.  Many also post on online message boards looking to exchange Twitter contact information.

There are over 2 million members.  As previously stated, you need to develop a list of contacts to market your website, blog, product, or service.  Since Twitter has over 2 million members, this will be very easy.  To improve your income potential, aim for your targeted market.  Do you sell pet products?  If so, your target market is pet owners.  Look for members with pictures of pets or Tweets that are pet related.

You can Twitter on any subject.  Twitter is a social networking website.  For that reason, many posts are social in nature.  It is common to find daily updates.  A person may say they are going shopping, heading to the airport, and so forth.  However, since you can Twitter on any subject, it can be used to market a product, service, blog, or website.

Twitter has a lot of potential.  As previously stated, you can market a website, blog, product or service on Twitter.  In terms of internet marketing, this gives you a lot of potential.  You can increase website or blog traffic, generate sales, as well as interest.  When you have an interesting product or service for sale, those who receive your updates or replies may forward the information onto their contacts.

The Cons

It can be distracting.  Yes, your main goal is to use Twitter for internet marketing, but you may find yourself easily distracted.  You may use Twitter to market your website or blog, but many others do not.  You will find a wide range of messages on Twitter, including daily updates.  It is neat to get movie recommendations from other Twitter members, but this is a distraction.

It can be addicting.  Not only can Twitter be a distraction, but it can also be addicting.  The more interesting conversations you have, the more you may want to message.  During work hours, use Twitter for work purposes only.  If you wish to use Twitter for personal use, create two separate accounts.

You can sound too spammy.  If you do not proceed with caution, your Twitter messages will sound like advertisements.  Yes, that is what they are, but do to go overboard.  Twitter is about connecting with other internet users, not soliciting sales online.  For that reason, use the roundabout approach.  Instead of staying “visit my website,” or “buy the products I have for sale,” provide a link and ask for feedback.  This will still generate traffic and interest, but your followers will not feel pressured or used for the sole purpose of advertising.

As you can see, there are a number of pros and cons to using Twitter as an internet marketing tool.  As for whether or not you should, why not give it a try?  As previously stated, Twitter is free and it is easy to get started.  For that reason, you have nothing lose.  Get started today and see what Twitter can do for your online business.

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