Today, the New York Times published an article about mom-and-pop business owners using social media to boost business. For small businesses with no ad-budget, twitter seems to be the perfect solution. (For tips on how to use Twitter, check out this blog post).
“Small businesses typically get more than half of their customers through word of mouth, and Twitter is the digital manifestation of that. Twitter users broadcast messages of up to 140 characters in length, and the culture of the service encourages people to spread news to friends in their own network,” said the article.
Twitter is not only for e-commerce businesses and companies with a website. It can be used to make the corner shop known to people three cities away, or tourists coming to your town. The Times tells the story of Chris Mann, the owner of a spa in Cincinnati who uses twitter to advertise discounted massages and manicures every Tuesday.
Using Twitter to advertise discounted service appointments is a great way to fill perishable appointments. Here are a few tips for making your business tweets more effective.
- Build a Twitter following by urging existing customers to join your twitter feed for discounted services
- Gain new Twitter followers by following other local businesses twitters
- Offer your appointments online. In your tweet for a discounted service, share a link to an online appointment book. This will allow potential customers to book their appointment immediately and allow you the luxury of less phone time.