Last week, we explored how SMEs can take advantage of Facebook for their B2B marketing work. But with Twitter rapidly becoming a ubiquitous communication channel for everything from multi-nationals to individuals, where do SMEs fit in, and how can it improve B2B marketing and communication? In the second of a series of guides, Farhad Divecha, director of AccuraCast - a leading SEO, PPC, social and mobile marketing business - offers some practical advice.

Q: Is Twitter a useful tool for B2B marketing?

A: In a word, yes. However, unlike Facebook and Google+, Twitter does not offer many quick wins. To run a Twitter campaign well, you need to put time into developing relationships. It also takes good social skills, and the ability to communicate well in their 140 character limit.

Q: What is its role - should I expect it to generate sales opportunities or is it just a means of keeping in contact with potential customers?

A: Just like Facebook, Twitter is not a hard-sell platform. In fact, Twitter is not even a showcase / shop front like Facebook can be. However, it allows businesses to interact with their audience on a very personal level, really only a step away from being as personal as a phonecall.

Twitter can generate sales in the long run, if done correctly. However, these sales will be more often than not as a result of long-term exposure and referrals rather than direct sales pitches.

Q: What kind of subjects and content should I be posting to my Twitter page?

A: That varies from company to company and for the tone/objectives of the Twitter account. Many businesses have multiple Twitter accounts – some formal, some casual. They do this to cater for the needs of different groups. For example:

• An IT support company might have one Twitter account providing free advice and a second ‘closed’ account (not open to anyone and everyone) to provide direct customer support.
• A recruitment company might use their Twitter account to target both potential employers and keep tabs on good candidates to headhunt.
• A graphic design studio might have accounts for each designer to show off and share his / her artwork.

Q: What’s the minimum commitment?  How often should I be posting new content to my Twitter page?

A: This depends on the industry you are working in and size of your audience, but a general rule of thumb is that you should aim to tweet once a week as a bare minimum, otherwise you are unlikely to generate any interaction. But there really is no maximum level of activity, just bear in mind that if you have some followers who only follow a handful of accounts, they could get irritated if the only updates they ever get are yours. Try and strike a reasonable balance.

It’s important to check your Twitter feeds regularly, and you can setup automated alerts to help keep tabs on who has been in touch, or whether there are conversations going on that you’d like to be involved in. But ensure that you respond immediately to any replies or support requests.

Q: How do I keep control - what if I get bad feedback?

A: As said above, monitor it regularly – use tools such as co-tweet to share access and have someone monitoring the account all through the business day.

Any bad feedback should also be responded to.  Here’s how:

Acknowledge the feedback, apologise if appropriate and provide a recourse – e.g. “contact our support and quote this reference to get expedited resolution”

Speedy responses can help stem a problem and prevent it from snowballing

If the problem has a potentially serious nature, requesting the user to private message you in order to deal with the problem one-on-one can be a good way to keep any difficulties away from public twitter streams

Q: To what extent do businesses run campaigns themselves?  Is it important to get professional advice?

A: This is very dependent on the resources available to you ‘in-house’. If Twitter is being used as an alternative support channel, full business buy-in and support is a must.

If it’s being used as a marketing medium, an agency can manage the day-to-day running so long as they have a point of contact in the business to answer any technical, PR or more involved questions. But the best combination is businesses having dedicated resources that can work hand in hand with professional agencies, allowing agency to manage the daily activity with support and direction from the business.

Q: How do I monitor whether it is working for me or not?

A: The best way is to monitor who is following you, and whether this meets the objectives of your campaign or not. Also, keeps tabs on the ‘lists’ you’re added to by people and, of course, the engagement taking place – replies, retweets and times your posts have been ‘favourited’. Don’t forget to monitor traffic referrals from Twitter on your website stats as well.

Author Farhad Divecha is director of AccuraCast - a leading SEO, PPC, social and mobile marketing business. For more information, visitwww.accuracast.com, or via Twitter using @accuracast or@accuracastUK.