Below is a discussion response I wrote for my business class. It was a focused on marketing in a technological setting. I decided to divide this into a couple (more digestible) parts. Part two comes out tomorrow.

The Twitterfesto

I could probably write a book on how Twitter can help a business. For my site, I’m working on building an audience and community. Twitter has recently been a big part of that effort. One of the big benefits of being a comic creator online is the ability to respond directly to your fans. If they like your work and you as an individual, you’ll have a more committed reader. Since joining Twitter I’ve managed to increase my readership. Twitter, for those who don’t know, is a social marketing tool for small, medium, and big businesses, as well as individuals looking to connect with family and friends easily. When you discover someone’s Twitter page, you have the ability to “follow” him or her. By doing so, you’re able to keep track of any update they make. Since you’re limited to 140 characters or less, it is very similar to sending a text message to anyone that wants to follow you. I’ve used this to help my site on several levels.

In order to market my comic, I’ve tried joining podcasts that have a focus on webcomics. With the help of Twitter, I’m able to instantly know when one is being recorded and join in. Listeners to the live call, and those hearing it on their way to work, are able to further connect with me as a creator, by learning more about me through my conversation on the particular show. Twitter has also allowed me to line up a couple of interviews I wouldn’t have gotten about my comic otherwise, on podcasts.

Along with that, I’m also able to update my fans of certain updates to my site, comic, or blog. When I have an update that others deem relevant, they resend the tweet to their followers. This is called a RT or retweet. If I update about 3 times a day (considering my comic’s level of popularity), I can expect an extra 20-40 unique visitors in the process. 

(continued tomorrow)

-C.