Let the Tweet Begin...

So today we did it.  We launched a Twitter page at our company.  In my industry, which is fairly conservative, this is a pretty big step.  In a world that is predetermined and needs to have a great deal of well thought out strategy attached, this move to the Twitterverse is enormous.

The arguments not to Twitter are many.  What if we get too many people following us that are really just Twitter spammers?  How do we control that? How do we get followers?  How often should we Tweet and most importantly, what do we Tweet?

Well, in all honesty, sometimes you need to jump in and find the answers to those questions as you go.  However, having some sort of a plan is better than no plan at all.  So let's tackle the basics of your Twitter strategy.

1. Who are you trying to reach with your Tweets?  Is it customers? Employees? 
   
2. What are you going to Tweet about?  There are many options here, but you need to have some sort of focus.  The kitchen sink approach is not the best way to go.  
3. Who is going to be point to manage the @replies that must be sent and that are received?
4. Who will manage the content?  We decided on a team approach, one point person with a team feeding ideas for Tweets.
5. Should your user name represent all your brands or do you want to pick a focus area to start with?  Your user name can be key and should be discussed, particularly if your company has more than one brand. 

Then, get going!  Pull that trigger, land the plane, place your company's euphemism here.  The key is to start.  Answer some of the basic strategic questions above and don't go in blind.  Be adaptable, as Twitter is a fluid medium.  Most importantly, don't wait until you have all the answers to every possible what if.  You can't possibly.  If you try to wait and create a fully cooked strategy, the opportunity will be lost.  Now is the time to get on board, dive in, again, insert your company euphemism here.  So what are you waiting for?  Go launch your Twitter page!