Do you Tweet? Twitter is rapidly increasing in popularity. In fact, as of the third quarter of 2016, the microblogging service averaged 317 million monthly active users . As you can imagine, when properly used Twitter can be a powerful tool for reaching your target audience – whoever they are.
If you aren’t already using Twitter to help you promote your business, then it’s time you start. Adding this platform to your digital marketing plan will enable you to promote your business, products and services in a more informal and direct way than any other social networking platform.
Here are five ways to set yourself up for success on Twitter:
1. Consider your profile photo carefully
First impressions matter, especially online. Your photo (also known as an avatar) follows you everywhere on Twitter; therefore, ensuring that it is inviting and recognizable is important. You have two choices: use your corporate logo or a personal headshot. Unless multiple people will have responsibility for your account, a personal photo is highly recommended. Reserve your logo for use in your header image and the promotional images you’ll share.
2. Connections can be won or lost based on your bio
At a mere 160 characters, Twitter forces you to be strategic in telling your story concisely. That’s important because a bio is often the first decision point a reader will consider when deciding whether to connect with you. Investigate the bios of others in your industry or influencers you believe your clients and prospects resonate with on Twitter. What can you learn from the way they use their 160 characters?
3. Develop an engagement strategy
Following and interacting with your current clients and prospects is a bare minimum if you want to use Twitter for business. To really move the needle, you’ll want to develop a strategy for following people you don’t already know, but who fit within your client profile. One great way to start is by following those who follow you. By following you, they’ve already indicated an interest in your content. Other viable options include: industry leaders and influencers and their followers or using advanced search to find people talking about you, your brand or keywords of importance. A word of caution… automation may be appealing to you. Be thoughtful in its use. The most effective strategies are dependent on authentic, custom interactions.
4. Manage your followers with Twitter lists
At some point, it will become difficult to manage all conversations happening within your Twitter ecosystem. Public and private Twitter lists provide the perfect opportunity to eliminate the noise and focus on important people and businesses based on your needs. Consider segmenting your followers (and those you don’t follow) into groups such as clients, prospects, industry thought leaders, competition, topics of interest, etc.
5. Ditch the pitch
Given the number of active users each month, and how many of them overly rely on automation, coming across spam on Twitter is unavoidable. However, composing tweets that aren’t overly promotional is possible. For instance, instead of listing your products features and price, consider asking for feedback via a Twitter poll. Prospects still view the product and its features (from your image), but it’s been positioned without pressure. Participating in Twitter chats is another great way to demonstrate expertise and generate interest in your products and services.
Now is the perfect time to start connecting with clients and prospects on Twitter. If managed properly, it can be a goldmine for new business development.
