When it comes to Twitter and hashtags (#), many Alaskan Businesses (or Alaskan users) feel like it is the ‘last frontier’ of social media channels; it is an unknown and often avoided. This doesn’t mean there’s not a Twitter market for Alaskans, or that residents of Alaska aren’t tweeting, it simply showcases that Alaska is late to the game and that there are opportunities for many Alaskan business to utilize and leverage Twitter. Let’s think about that.
Take a look at some of the major companies that utilize Twitter: Starbucks, WholeFoods, Sony, etc. They established their online presence in an environment that was also competing for the same goal. What if they began utilizing their online presence before the competition began? That’s the opportunity Alaskans have. Many Alaskan businesses aren’t utilizing their social media accounts, especially Twitter — so the ones that do use it have a head-start in being an authority within their community.
You can always point the finger to the lower 48/international and claim 101 reasons as to why they were able to do such or take hold of the opportunity to also utilize Twitter and grow your base just as the mentioned companies. It’s all about seeking opportunity, not obstacles.
But the question is, do Alaskans actually use Twitter and is there even a market for the network in Alaska?
Some of the top Twitter users based in Alaska are: @SarahPalinUSA (w/ 1.17M followers), @CaptJohnathan (w/ 162K followers), & @Goldrush_Parker (w/ 143K followers). It can be said that many of these users have Twitter followers who are outside of Alaska.
Bingo. We need not go any further.
That’s exactly it. That’s what Inbound Marketing is all about. Residents in Alaska aren’t the only ones who may be interested in your business, and they shouldn’t be the only ones you’re interested in reaching — but others as well, outside of Alaska (lower 48 or international). The mentioned Alaskan Twitter users are already a proof of concept that people are interested in Alaska, what it has to offer, and want to know more about it. Be that business.
On August 27th, we held the Alaska Inbound Summit and tested the performance of Twitter at our event to see if people would actually engage with the network. Our Twitter hashtag (#AlaskaInbound) became the #1 trending topic in Anchorage within a matter of hours during our event. Twitter works and for many businesses it is becoming a viable market. The question is, are you going to cease the opportunity now or watch the reaps of another business that decides to utilize it?
To understand more about how Twitter & Hashtags can work for business, we’ve created this article with you in mind:
