Tweeting to Local Businesses

When you use Twitter, you can reach people on a global level. You can interact with business associates in Australia and Brazil. It’s great to have global capabilities but what about interacting with the local business owner on Main Street?

As important as it is to have global capabilities when it comes to tweeting for business, it is just as important, if not more important, to connect through Twitter with local business associates. There are many ways that you can tweet for business with your local business associates. Some of the most useful tips are:

• Twitter search: If you type in the name of your city into Twitter, you can call up a list of Twitter users in your area. Twitter’s advanced search feature will find people within a 15-mile radius.
   
• Twellow: Twellow is Twitter plus Yellow Pages. Twellow is a listing of Twitter users. You can access your area by clicking on “Twellowhood,” and then finding your location on the map (or typing in your city and state).
   
• Simple Twitter search: You can do a simple Twitter search for people in your area using the hashtag (#). Just type #your city (full name) or abbreviation into the Twitter search box.
   
• Nearby tweets and GeoFollow: These offer continual listings of your local Twitter followers and their tweets. GeoFollow allows you to follow more than one person at a time.
   
• Trending topics: On your Twitter page (on the right side), click on the closest city to your city and watch for interesting topics to follow.
   
• Tweetup: A tweetup is a face-to-face meeting of Twitter followers. The meeting is arranged through Twitter. If you want to know how to arrange a tweetup, you should use an event site that has a section for tweetups.
   
• Apps: There are numerous apps out there and more and more are being invented every day. They are specifically designed to help people to find other people in their area (TwitterLocal, Twinkle, and many more).
   
• Localtweeps: Localtweeps began as a localizing site that used hashtags. It allows you to register and it lets other people follow you or access your website. It also gives you the option of searching by zip code.
   
• Twitaholic: The top Twitter users are listed on Twitaholic, as well as the top Twitter users in your town. All you need to do is type in your Twitter ID under “your Twitaholic ranking.” After it comes back to you, you click on the name of your city next to your statistics.
   
• The list of followers and those you follow: If you search everyone who follows you and everyone whom you follow, you will find a great number of local business people who think the same way that you do and want to interact with you through social media channels, Twitter being one of them.

Many local businesses these days have formed online groups and it is very easy to promote those groups through Twitter. Another great way to connect with local business owners is by offering promotions for your business and asking those business owners to give you feedback. Most important are the interactions that will occur between you and your business associates. Your content and your interactions will play a very large part in converting the people with whom you share relationships into customers. You will see that those relationships go a very long way in business on both sides.

Conclusion

It is a great idea for you to take advantage of Twitter and its ability to help you to connect with local business people. The more you interact with people and offer them informative and useful information, the stronger your relationships with them will become. You will be building relationships that have foundations of mutual trust and professional respect. So, start tweeting with the business owner down the street!

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