Does your business tweet?

[StudioMarlowe]

I *just* started a twitter account for my business and I was wondering if anyone else has one that they use for promotional purposes as well? How do you like it? Do you think it provides an extra boost at all? How often do you tweet? And what's your twitter handle so we can all follow you?? Mine is @studiomarlowe (original, I know)
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[snoopy]

@akemidesigns

I tweet, but not much because I tend to forget. But I use that more than my biz fb fan page (which is practically non-existent these days).
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[gemma]

I tweet a lot (about 5-12 tweets per day, sometimes more if I am also uploading photos of new work to flickr and blogging on that day as well - I'll post links to photos, item listings, and blog posts).

It definitely helps! I will post a link and then go check out stats for it, and I'll see an immediate impact (usually 15-50 views on a page within about 3 minutes). It tapers off after that, but I often get several 'hearts' on my Etsy items or comments on blog posts or photos in that time.

I try to post not business related stuff only. I post links to my tumblr, links to other handmade things I like - just things I find enjoyable. And I like that. I genuinely LIKE using Twitter. I don't think I could keep up with it if I didn't. I'd say about 75% of what I tweet is personal/non-business, and 25% is. I think people just zone out if you only post about your business.

My twitter: @brookepedia

[greenie]

I have started using my personal twitter for business stuff as well - username elephantstitch. I changed my name from my personal name to one that reflects my new etsy shop and I've been trying to thrown in business-related tweets every so often, but still keeping it personal. I also recently connected it to my wordpress blog so that when I post from now on, it will tweet from that too.
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[mk.carroll]

@mk_carroll

I use Diane Gilleland's Social Media for Your Crafty Business ebook as a guide. Short version: build relationships (personal and professional), and don't just post links to what you sell over and over again (I have un-followed people who do this).

For the day-to-day, I tweet about things I'm doing that support local businesses (like tweeting a photo of the vegan spelt muffin I got at the local vegan cafe), and little things I'm doing, like realizing I need to scrub out the tea mug I use at work when it's making my tea taste like the miso soup I had last week. As I scale back on the personal info on my blog, Twitter is where more of my daily life and personal views get expressed, although I do filter and edit myself. That's my choice; I perceive other people getting more loyal followers when they get more personal, but I prefer to maintain more personal privacy.

[edited to fix link]
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[StudioMarlowe]

[Jzane]

We do not tweet but I wish we did. There is a corporate account but not a local one just for our location. Since we are corporate though, I'm sure there are hoops to jump through, the first one being m boss, and he's such a technological dinosaur I don't think he would go for it.

I find businesses Tweeting to be helpful though, and I check my lists for specials going on that night or special news. A lot of businesses posted their closing updates when all the ice hit- really helpful.
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[Shade]

I do it sporadically (I'm @deepsh*ade, minus the asterisk). Any time I post an item link, I get that short, instant burst of views, but those are all from bots, and then not much else happens after that. My stats rarely show any visits coming from Twitter. I think the problem though is that I can't figure out how to get people following me because they actually like my jewelry; the majority of my followers now are other shop owners who wanted me to follow them back. And even then, I feel like Twitter moves so ridiculously fast that it's a one in a thousand chance that your tweets are going to be seen by people who would be interested before they become buried under the avalanche. So yeah, I don't use it much. It's just too much work for too little result (in my personal experience anyway).
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[Indie Craftstravaganzaa]

I find a scheduling svc helps me a lot. I use www.twaitter.com
(awful name) but it works well for me. I can schedule my tweets and even make certain ones recurring. I am almost up to 1000 followers now.

twitter.com/athenscraft
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http://www.athensindiecraftstravaganzaa.com/

[lizawithazee]

I sure do!

I have a vintage clothing business on etsy.

I tweet every new item listed. In addition to that, my methods on a "perfect day" are:

4 old listings in the morning
4 in the afternoon
4 in the evening

any new blog posts
any interesting articles relevant to the vintage world

links to OTHER vintage etsy things not from my shop that I think are great

Photos taken with my phone's camera (I use Twitpic for iPhone) are cool too.

That may sound like a lot but over the course of a day it's less than one per hour.

I also firmly believe in not having a "buy my stuff" vibe on your twitter feed. It's more engaging, especially as a small business owner, to have the world see the person behind the shop.
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the medium is the message

[Abij]

I do tweet sporadically, I keep forgetting about it then having a few days where I tweet then forget again. I found if i did it religiously it did help views and sales in my shops. However it's also really time consuming as to get the best out of it you have to develop proper chatty relationships with people as like the others said people who post up promotional stuff all the time tend to get ignored more i think (i certainly don't follow them or click on their links!) so I've not worked out myself if it's worth the time.
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Blog: http://birdcagecreative.blogspot.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BirdcageCreative
Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/BirdcageCreative
folksy: http://www.birdcagecreative.folksy.com

[Mr Knittykat]

I know it's not for a crafty enterprise per se, but I do the tweets for the podcast I co-host. I'll tweet when a new show is available, I'll ask for suggestions on topics or try to get people to respond to the show via email. This seems to work fairly well.

And on Fridays, since the show is about movies, I'll post a haiku about the week's new releases to theatres.

As an example, here's the haiku from April 8th;

Little girl kicks butt
Drunkard stands to lose millions
Unfunny pot quest

Oh, and we're twitter.com/harveybobshow
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