Business owners following the tweeter

“With any new topic or hot item, a lot of companies rush to it because they think it’s trendy.”

Brian Breslin

Social media strategy consultant

McClatchy Newspapers

MIAMI — Leo Benjamin’s social media-marketing strategy is about as thin as his clients’ hair.

He’s the owner of a hair restoration clinic in Fort Lauderdale and has sent about 60 messages on his Twitter accounts, AdriansHair and Medtress, since March 5. He writes about sales and how he likes helping his clients at Adrian’s Hair Center — always ending with a link to his homepage. But his posts tend to fall flat and don’t gain much — if any — response.

“This week alone, I haven’t posted a thing on either one,” Benjamin, 48, said. “Whether I get a lot of business from it, I don’t know.”

Benjamin admits he’s new to social networking and learning as he goes, but he’s among many business owners who are diving into Twitter and Facebook because they are cheap marketing tools at a time when cash is tight. More than 1,000 people are following his accounts, and those who stumble upon his messages are reminded that he’s a resource for hair-loss remedies.

For some businesses, Twitter and Facebook accounts have been extremely effective and profitable marketing tools. But companies without a social-media game plan are finding it tough to get results. To be effective, they need to hire someone who knows the ins and outs of social networks to make worthwhile connections with customers.

In the past few months, Twitter has taken the media by storm. It’s hard to get through a news program or talk show without a Twitter message flying on the screen, so more companies are flocking to the 140-character message tool to reach customers.

Twitter now ranks as the third-most-visited social networking Web site, behind Facebook and MySpace. Twitter had 9.3 million unique U.S. visitors in March, according to comScore Media Metrix. Twitter is growing rapidly: March numbers increased 131 percent from February.

And the customers are asking for it: 42 percent of online adults are interested in at least one type of social application from brands they like, according to the April Forrester report “The Social Tools Consumers Want From Their Favorite Brands.” And 37 percent of adults who use social networks want to connect with their favorite companies on networks like Facebook and MySpace.

“With any new topic or hot item, a lot of companies rush to it because they think it’s trendy,” said Brian Breslin, a social media strategy consultant and CEO of infinimedia in Coconut Grove. ‘Or their boss sees it in the Wall Street Journal and thinks, ‘Oh, we need an iPhone app.’ But they don’t really know why.”

Breslin and other consultants preach that businesses need to have a social network strategy before just jumping blindly into a network. He sees many mistakes being made by companies that don’t engage properly with the network’s users.

“If you get on there, you need to be willing and ready to respond to people. There are many tools out there to help you do it, but it’s really not that hard. You can just look for mentions of your company and start responding to those people,” Breslin said.

For example, a Facebook Fan Page or Twitter account is more than just another way to send out press releases. Companies can use them to respond to customer service issues and to troubleshoot, which is what Comcast does on its Twitter account ComcastCares.

Businesses can survey consumers and fans through Twitter and Facebook just by asking for feedback. And, in some cases, there is money to be made. Dell reported that its Twitter account DellOutlet, which started in January 2008 and alerts followers of sales and coupons, generated more than $1 million in revenue for that year. Forrester Research reports that several travel and retail groups, such as Toys “R” Us and JetBlue, are generating sales by posting coupon codes on Twitter.

Toyota of South Florida in Doral joined Facebook and Twitter (Toyota—SouthFlA) in March. Inside the dealership are computer kiosks with large signs that read “Follow us on Twitter” and “Friend us on Facebook.” But the dealership took it a step further than just putting out news releases: Facebook fans can get a coupon for a year’s worth of free car washes.

“No one is going to make a decision to buy a Toyota based on what we tweet, but you’re creating conversations and keeping the fan base loyal,” said Alec Rosen, president of Miami marketing firm AJR & Partners, which manages the dealership’s social media presence.

Creating a page on a social media site might be free, but there is the cost of finding someone to spend time managing the accounts.