Tweet for Success

When Twitter first came on the scene I must say that I was a little skeptical. Even after using it myself I still wasn’t convinced that it was a useful marketing tool. I mean how much can you really say in 140 characters?

It wasn’t until I started using Twitter for a local charity did I see its potential for small businesses. After posting just a few tweets my audience started to grow and almost every day, whether I post a tweet or not, I usually gain at least one new follower. I also noticed that once I changed my name to include “Palm Beach” many local businesses started to follow me. This is when I started to wonder if Twitter could actually be effective for small businesses? Since most of these businesses have minimal marketing budgets, Twitter allows them to reach an audience that is interested in their product or service with as much frequency as they would like at no cost. Plus, since word of mouth tends to be one of the best forms of advertising for small businesses, Twitter is ideal. It allows users to broadcast messages and also encourages users to “retweet” or spread the news to friends in their network. Tweets can be sent through the web and also through a cell phone making it very convenient for small business owners.

The NY Times even published an article on the subject last month; it mentioned a success story about Curtis Kimball, a crème brûlée cart operator in San Francisco. Mr. Kimball started a Twitter account, which he deems has been pretty essential to his success. He has more than 5,400 Twitter followers who wait for him to post the current location of his cart along with a list of flavors available that day. The demand has been so great for his desserts that he has quit his day job as a carpenter! The article mentions several other success stories as well including small town businesses that grew outside of their local market, those in rural areas that have learned business tips from other Twitter users, and more.

Now if we could just find a way to get Mr. Kimball to bring his crème brûlée cart here!