Feb 18, 2010

Reality pops the Twitter bubbleBy David NeffCrainsNewYork.com

Tax accountants aren’t usually known for their sparkling personalities, but don’t tell that to Nick Rizzi. The founder and chief executive of Brooklyn-based Smart Tax joined Twitter last year in order to inject some charm into his business.

“It makes people feel like we’re not just the faceless, nameless guys they see only once a year,” said Mr. Rizzi.

Mr. Rizzi is one of many small business owners with high hopes for Twitter—maybe unreasonably high.

The social networking site, which lets users post 140-character “tweets” about pretty much anything, is an appealing option for entrepreneurs. After all, it provides a free marketing option, as well as a simple and effective way to engage customers. But tweet-happy entrepreneurs should curb their expectations: Twitter has nearly 20 million users in the United States, and it fields a billion tweets a month worldwide. Trying to break through the clutter, with no guarantee of a payoff, can sometimes be more trouble than it’s worth.

Mr. Rizzi uses Twitter primarily to stay in touch with clients. As tax season approaches, he poses questions to people who follow his tweets—name the form an individual uses to file his or her taxes, for example—and gives $25 gift cards to anyone who sends a correct response. He also tweets tax-related reminders, announces news and spotlights employees at his 10 locations.

But Mr. Rizzi’s game plan has its limitations. He has only a few dozen followers, most of whom are friends or existing customers, and it’s not clear whether the amount of time he puts in to communicate with them in this way is worth it.

“Obviously, we’re not getting anybody from Duluth, Minn.,” he said.

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