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The Death of Twitter. (and the Birth of Twitter for Business)

byHeather Schuck
January 5, 2010
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I wouldn’t encourage the naysayers to start chanting “the wicked witch is dead” just yet, but there has been a definite decline in Twitter users. According to the latest research from eMarketer, Twitter posted a decline in users from 23 million to 20 million. How is this possible you ask? Easy. The honeymoon is over and the novelty is starting to wear off for this social media darling. I think this is a normal correction, but it will require some smart thinking from Twitter’s founders to survive this dip. One savvy step in the right direction is their recent deal with Google (and Bing) which allows “tweets” to be included in real-time search listings.

Matt Cutts of Google posted this video to help explain the importance of their new Google Social Search…
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlpTjP6h6Ms[/youtube]


So what does this mean for small business?

If you haven’t jumped in on the social media bandwagon yet, now is the time.  Customers and clients are using their blogs, tweets, facebook status updates, and more to talk about your brand.  (Don’t believe me? Watch this.) With the birth of social search, these conversations will now be mainstream for all of Google to see.  In other words, your customers will directly effect your Google search rankings.

Will Twitter be more business friendly in 2010?

Absolutely. Their real-time search collaboration is a big step in the right direction and Twitter isn’t stopping there. It has also launched a “Contributors” function (invitation only for now) which allows companies to have several authors send tweets under the same company profile. It is rumored that this may be one of the many new features in a “business class” Twitter account. These accounts would be part of an anticipated paid model launch in 2010. Also highly anticipated is the new emphasis on GeoAPI which will allow tweets to be seen with geo-location information. (Click here to read more.)

So what should you do?

Take advantage of this new opportunity to leverage social media in your favor by developing a listening strategy (read my post here for a how to), ensuring that your current web collateral can easily be shared socially (use AddThis or ShareThis buttons), and abandon spamming your marketing messages via your social networks in favor of developing mutually beneficial online relationships with key influencers in your industry.

Share your thoughts below in the comments! Are you using Twitter for Business?

Need help with your social media campaign? Contact me directly here!

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Heather Schuck
Heather Schuck is a passionate entrepreneur who lives up to her "Lil' Firecracker" nickname. While she may joke about her "fun sized" 5'1″ petite frame or her nationally celebrated 4th of July birthday, she's serious about bootstrapping, inspiring mom entrepreneurs, and the power of content marketing. She is well known for using innovative and cost-effective strategies to secure high profile media placements including mentions on Oprah, The Today Show, Early Show, USA Today, and an appearance on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. She is an expert in utilizing celebrity product placements as a tool for catapulting sales. Celebrity fans include Demi Moore, Oprah, Britney Spears, Kate Hudson, Angela Bassett, Holly Robinson Peete, Tia Carerre, Lisa Rinna, and Brooke Burke to name a few. Heather Schuck‘s journey into entrepreneurship is a classic rags to riches tale of overcoming all odds. Despite her lack of fashion or business experience, Heather was able to turn her failed eBay hobby into a multi-million dollar company with distribution in national retailers such as Target, JCPenney, and Sears. As an early adopter and believer in the power of community, Heather Schuck has immersed herself in online outreach such as blogging, social media, and video broadcasts since 2003. Her strong identification with the mom audience and sincere appreciation for supporters led to the launch glamaLIFE.com in 2010. She is also the Host of the web series Fit and FearLESS Files that inspires women to overcome mom guilt and embrace their dreams. Recognized as a strong advocate for small business, Heather welcomes the opportunity to help fellow entrepreneurs replicate her successes. She has spent the last seven years as a bootstrap entrepreneur and has developed numerous best practices for working smarter-not harder. As a business coach, Heather can train you to utilize her tactics and strategies while providing heartfelt encouragement and support. Areas covered include business strategy, company branding, leveraging celebrity marketing, social media integration, influencer outreach, achieving marketing ROI, media outreach/PR, creating work/life balance, and optimizing your operations for maximum efficiency. If you are losing hope in your small business and need a seasoned expert with credibility and a proven track record of success, click here to hire her. Heather Schuck can be contacted at [email protected].
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