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Twitter forecasts that by December 09 it will have over 50 million users. Google took 10 years to have 50 million people a day using its search engine and Facebook took 19 months.
Why people adopt tools like Twitter in such a fast and passionate way?

Many reasons there but one main reason is that tools like Twitter allow people to have a mass 2 way communication and this is very powerful for people and for businesses.
It is the one to many and many to one era.
Instant feedback is another powerful reason.
We can also say that many people look for leaders to help them live a better life and Twitter allows them to listen and meet other people.

The possibility to meet people is another big reason. Kind of the same reason you would go to a party. To have fun, meet people and learn more about them.
Here is where most businesses fail not only when using Twitter but other social media tools.
They meet someone and the next second they are either trying to sell you something or offering something for fre@.
People are not interested at this moment in getting things from you, they just want to know you better and maybe start a new relationship.

Do you invite friends to a barbecue and right when they get there you try to sell them Tupperware?
Same common sense goes here.
Sales will happen later when they get to know you better and the trust level is higher.
All you really have to do is let people know you better. At least a little better than they know your competition.
Did you know that 63% of people on Twitter follow people that have a nice smile?

Do you approach a guy with a sad face at a barbecue?
One frequent question we get is: But what do I do there on Twitter?
Perry Belcher, a heavy Twitter user says that 30% of the time, you should tweet about things that would make people’s life better, 10% you would compliment people. (that is something we all need more of), 20% try to make people laugh and 40% of the time you would provide good content. When you provide content you can add some soft sales calls.
I believe that is a good mix.
You should try Twitter. Twitter can be a great marketing tool in your business.

We all feel comfortable doing the things we are used to do but you need to remember that in this new economy, just trying to do more of what you have been doing thinking that will do the trick is not an option. It is like running faster on the same path trying to get to a destination when the destination is in a different place.

Did you know?
•Successful companies in social media act more like party planners, aggregators, and content providers than traditional advertiser
•More than 1.5 million pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photos, etc.) are shared on Facebook…daily.
Hulu has grown from 63 million total streams in April 2008 to 373 million in April 2009
• 78% of consumers trust peer recommendations
• Only 14% trust advertisements
•Because of the speed in which social media enables communication, word of mouth now becomes world of mouth

The 3 stages of consumer engagement.

Imagine a world when you could start a business and have people engaged with your company, talking about you to others and not buying anywhere else.
Wouldn’t that be great?
Unfortunatelly that is not usually what happens.
Most companies need to go through three basic stages before they can say they have people really engaged with their brand.

Stage 1- Listen to your market

We cannot engage people if we don’t listen to what they are saying, their wants and needs. We need to understand to which topics they react to, what they expect from us and how they want us to approach them.
Remember, the way we do business has changed a lot in the last few years and the way people buy has also changed.
Today, more than ever, it is very easy to listen to your target market. It is one reason why you should use social media tools.
You can listen and get more information about your target market than you ever dreamt possible.Twitter comes to mind as one of the best tools to listen what your target market is saying.

Stage 2
Build an audience.

We all want and need an audience.This is the moment in your business where you want to create awareness, you want attention. Attention is not easy to get today. People have a lot of options to where to look and I dare to say that the search for attention is the new gold rush.
When you build an audience, you have people that want to get together to listen to you.
This can be done with events, teleseminars, videos etc.
When you do this right, you get people participating with you on an ongoing basis.
The level of trust will increase which in today’s economy is a crucial point for your business.
At this stage is where consumer engagement really happens and it is where word-of-mouth really starts.

Stage 3- Build Your Tribe

Seth Godin was the first to tell us we need to build a tribe, a community that you lead.
The first thing you need in order to build your tribe is to have a cause, a reason why people would follow you, where they feel they can contribute and feel affinity with one another and empowered.
Yes, you can build a tribe around companies and products.
Your position here is different because you help the community with the ideas and concepts and showing where to go, but you don’t lecture.
This is as far as you could think from a one way conversation and it is an important part of this new economy. Social media tought us that our voice matters and that as consumer we have a say and we can be part. Business owners need to embrace this mindset.

On the first 2 stages, you have a lot of control and it is up to you to do it well.
The third stage will follow if you do the first 2 right and if your cause, purpose is really clear to your audience.

When you watch this video, you will see how Pizza Hut combined consumer engagement with sales. This app they have developed has all.

We always talk about the importance of listening to your customer, have good follow-up strategies, keep a relationship and a conversation going with customers.

So sometimes, people get the wrong impression that this is the same as saying the customer is always right and that they have all final decisions. From how your business processes should be, to when they should pay you. Believe me, to understand this relationship is not only good for business, it is part of marketing too.

Have in mind that you as the business owner decide how to run your business, not the customer.
I found this blog post at Duct Tape marketing that I think explains this right:

“There is absolutely nothing wrong, in fact there’s everything right, with building a culture of making the customer thrilled at every turn, but you can’t adopt the mentality without two things firmly in place first.

1) You must absolutely set up every communication with the goal of attracting the ideal customer – ideal is a customer that values what you have to offer, values how you offer it, and determines that value is a mutual exchange of such – very much like any healthy relationship. Bad relationships come from misunderstanding yourself and what you really have to offer and the same might be said for attracting customers for the wrong reasons.

2) You must build an experience that does indeed thrill at every turn – from lead generation to getting paid.

With those two qualifications in place you can allow the customer to always be right, because you’ve designed a culture of mutual benefit and your “we won’t rest until its right” policy will serve both of you long term. Small businesses simply can’t afford to attract the wrong kind of life robbing customer and expect to make them thrilled, it’s a nearly impossible task and will be accomplished likely to the detriment of your ideal customers.”

So, repeat after me, the right customer is always right – with that mindset the accountability shifts from the customer to you.