Newsflash
Earlier this month, an agreement was apparently reached between Google and Twitter to make Tweets more visible on Google. It is believed, that in the first half of 2015, tweets will begin to be seen Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs).It is believed, that in the first half of 2015, tweets will begin to be seen Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs).
This is not the first time Google has shown real-time tweets. From October 2009 until July 2011 a similar agreement existed.
The benefits to both companies are obvious. Increased visibility of Tweets in the SERPs will increase Twitter’s ability to reach a larger audience, while Google will benefit from providing real-time results in the form of Tweets to it’s
How will this effect your business?
What does this mean to companies trying to drive more business online though their websites? In a nutshell it underlines the importance of having a Twitter presence with regularly updated, engaging content. If you don’t and your competitors do, they will likely command more of the real estates in the SERPs, pushing your company down the page and reducing your visibility.
If you have no Twitter account?
Quite Simply the first step is to get one! It is an easy process to sign up to Twitter. You can choose a Twitter handle (username) that relates to your business and personalise the way your twitter page looks with images. You can also provide a biography detailing who you are and what you are about. You can choose to have a personal Twitter page and/or a business Twitter page. If it is your business you want to concentrate on, consider the latter first.
Once you have set up your page, you need to consider three key things:
- Who are you going to follow?
- What content are you going to post?
- How are you going to engage with people that interact with you?
These decisions should align with your business goals. What are you trying to achieve with the addition of a Twitter account? You are likely looking to increase your online visibility (particularly as we have noted Tweets are gaining greater footing in Google).
Do you have the in house resources to effectively use Twitter? Many a Twitter account sits there, set up with next to zero tweets and zero followers. This is not the way to use Twitter! It looks very bad to have a Twitter presence but not then engage with people through it. The same can be said for other social media channels as well.
Love it of hate it Social Media is here to stay and the agreement reached between these two online power-houses only underlines this. As of December 2014, Twitter has over 284 Million active users, can you afford to not to ignore them?
Need some help with Twitter? You can find out more here about SWOT Digital’s Social Media Service
Author: Paulo
