

Brian Fraley writes in Constructionequipmentguide.com that Twitter has stumped much of the construction industry and the microblogging service has been underutilized in marketing.
He may have a point, but equally, I didn’t see any of the empirical or even anecdotal information that would convince me that Twitter should be anything more than a limited engagement tool, unless you are already connected with a relevant community and can use it to maintain/expand your connection velocity.
Nevertheless, he establishes some ground rules: ?Establish a strong profile, engage with your audience, and post frequently enough to maintain your presence.
He also, wisely, points out that you should apply Twitter to nudge people to your website, where of course you will have more space than 140 characters to tell your story.
Twitter is a complex tool with many intricacies. This article has highlighted some of the most critical elements to begin using this marketing tool. It?s no different from any other tool you use. Continue utilizing it and eventually you will become a master craftsperson. More importantly, you will never have to ask the question, ?What Is It??
In practice, I’ve been using Twitter sparingly. Automated software turns the blog posts into a twitter feed (with a URL shorterner so people can link back directly to the blog). Since this requires no effort, and results in relevant and unique content, it is an effective system for drawing some traffic to the site. ?(As a bonus, some of my more enlightening posts are retweeted by Twitter users, so the message extends even further, again without additional effort on my part.)
As well, we’ve been repositioning relevant articles from different publications with the help of our social media manager.
Does any of this activity generate useful business, though? ?I’m not overly confident it does. As Fraley writes:
So how do you know if Twitter is a worthwhile investment for your firm? The reality is that your doors will remain open even if you ignore Twitter.
Personally, if I had limited time for marketing/planning, I would spend my time on other activities, like engaging and communicating with your clients (and, yes, that means you might be able to win some?reputational?credit by sharing positive feeds from your clients through your Twitter account.).
