Twitter just announced yesterday the release of a new feature: local trends. It just went live in seven countries and 15 US cities. Although it's still in the primary rollout, I can't help but wonder how this is going to affect businesses; both positively and negatively. Before local trending topics were introduced, only big companies such as Apple, Dell and the likes of it would become a trending topic on Twitter. With the introduction of local trending topics, local businesses now have a shot at getting listed on it; given their small percentage of customers and fans on Twitter.
With local trends, Twitter users can now set their local area and the most talked about topic will appear on their Twitter homepage. Despite the promising future, this can be both a boon and a bane for businesses for the following reasons:
Boon
1. Increased Exposure
Since local trend is based on the area that the user has chosen, any user who chose the area will get to see your business name if it's trending. No matter how small your customer or fan base is, if it gets listed under trending topic, everyone would be able to see it. Naturally, people are curious and they tend to check out what the trending topic is about which leads to increased exposure for your business. After checking out the trending topic, users will then click on your business Twitter profile which usually contains your website link. If they would like to find out more about your business, that website link will be clicked and who knows whether they'll call or email your business.
2. Positive Customer Feedback
Becoming a local trend is so much easier compared to being listed under worldwide trends. Given this easiness, businesses then can monitor what their customers are talking about them. If there are any complications, it could be solved quickly. The ability to do some quick damage control can turn an upset customer to a loyal one. Even though it's a taxing process to constantly monitor the stream of tweets, it'll definitely be a rewarding one in the long run.
Bane
1. Negative Customer Feedback
Every business will definitely have at least one distraught customer. No one can make every single customer happy all the time and we know it. With Twitter, these unhappy customers now have a medium to voice out their opinions on your business. Similar to the above point that it can be a boon at the same time; if not dealt properly it may turn disastrous for your business. One bad tweet can be retweeted hundreds of times and become a nightmare for you. Hence, it is vital to monitor the tweets relating to your brand.
2. Making a Mountain Out of a Molehill
Say you have a particular item on sale and it runs out. Usually people will still go to your store and explore what you have to offer despite the discounted item running out of stock but if someone tweets that you are no longer selling the mentioned item, what happens next? Most probably it could lead to potential customers refraining from going to your store since the discounted items are already out of stock. This goes back to the above point on the power of retweeting. A minor problem could potentially become a fiasco.
Do you have any other advantages and disadvantages of local trends for businesses? Do share with us by dropping us your comments.
Link to original post - http://omgzam.com/social-media/are-local-trends-a-boon-or-a-bane-for-businesses