We were in the middle of our weekly meeting, conducting the customary brainstorming exercises and, as usual, discussing ideas and topics; how good they are and which directions we can take them and so on. Beirut and Fadi seemed to have 2 completely different opinions regarding Twitter and its usefulness for businesses vs. its disadvantages. We decided to write this “duet” article and in turn listen to our readers opinions.

1,2,3…. Debate!

Let the debate begin!

Fadi’s Opinion – Pro Twitter for Enterprise

While Twitter, like any other available tool at work – be it telephone, email, or even internet access – can be abused if not used the right way, it can also provide many benefits and open new opportunities to any businesses. Don’t blame the tool, blame people who abuse it.

There are many ways where Twitter can benefit your business. The following are my favorite top 5:

1. Motivation: The more motivated your employees are, the more productive they can be. People have several motivating factors. I, myself, totally support the opinion that says socializing is the primary motivating factor. Wrap the social aspect of Twitter in your business constraints and you will have a winning formula for motivated employees.
2. Marketing: Twitter is a great tool to interact with your customers and market your services and products. Dell earned $3 Million from Twitter when they started posting exclusive coupons and offers about new products on their Twitter account (@DellOutlet).  Coffe Groundz, a Houston independent coffee shop, gained much success by giving their customers the option to order via Twitter (@coffeegroundz)! That was a precedence – a very successful one.
   

   Dell Free Coupons Tweets

3. Listening: One of the most important characteristic of a successful business is to be able to figure out what its customers need and improve its offering of products/services accordingly. Twitter provides a great way for a business to listen to related people’s conversations. Tasti D-Lite, a popular New York dessert franchise, was there to listen to people working at the Empire State Building who twittered about their craving for ice cream delivery (@tastidlite) – it opened a new business opportunity to them.