So you haven’t started using Twitter. Why? What’s stopping you?
If you like to be on the outskirts of trends, understand you’re making a pretty serious mistake in the realm of business and successful networking. Twitter has become the go-to tool for business exposure of the last couple years, and new ways to make the social network work for marketing purposes are being invented all the time. Combine these with already tried and true methods and you’ve got a guaranteed way to find success in online marketing.
If you’re already convinced but need a beginner’s guide to using the site, look no further. This will walk you through the seven first steps you need to follow to get Twitter marketing to work for you. Here are some Twitter best practices.
Fill out your profile.
This is actually an extremely important step and necessary to follow if you want to succeed in your marketing goals. Go to your profile and fill it in completely. This includes adding a photo, a name, location info, a header, a website and also filling out your blurb. All your information should be present.
But why is this so necessary? When consumers visit your profile, they want to see that you are a legitimate person and that you can be researched and looked into. Internet-goers are a suspicious sort, and showing off an egg profile picture doesn’t instill faith in you in their eyes.
Start connecting.
One way to start looking for people to connect with is to see who is following you. If you haven’t gotten that far yet, start looking into hashtags and topics on Twitter that interest you. See if you can find anyone you can connect with and follow them or start up a conversation using a mention, aka using the @ sign and their username. Twitter is successful only when you utilize it to its full potential, and this means networking with people who can be meaningful to you in some way.
Not every tweet has to be about business, business, business either. Simply saying hello or giving words of encouragement can help you connect with others.
Planning your tweets.
There are multiple ways of setting up your posting, including using eClincher’s own scheduled content posting features, but first thing is first: you need to establish the best times to tweet. It’s good to post often, but when should you be doing this posting? This isn’t something that’s across the board, either. The best timeslots for tweeting are something you have to decide for yourself based on your reasons for Tweeting in the first place.
Tools like TakeOff can help you determine your ideal tweeting time, or trying out some tweets and using the eClincher analytics features to see when your tweets are most viewed and accessed can also work.
Make your content count.
Personal Twitters are for silly and asinine thoughts you have about day to day life. Your business Twitter, however, is for valuable and quality content. Some companies have gotten away with blurring this line, but it’s something that only works once in a blue moon.
What does work? Your content’s quality is something that is decided by your brand and image, as well as your purpose. Your tweets should ultimately give people a reason to follow you: they want to see more of you. Choose topics based on the demographics you’re trying to target and your business’ purpose and go from there.
Utilzing Twitter Chats.
Twitter chats are another way you can connect with fellow tweeters that sync up with your interests and niche. You can either create or participate in a chat geared towards certain topics and that take place on certain days. These chat sessions are conducted by individuals who are looking to meet people just like you are, so don’t be shy and join the conversation.
Remember, though: contribute value to your chats, regardless of whether you’re hosting or being hosted.
Automation isn’t always an answer.
The average consumer is hyperaware of when they’re being targeted for a marketing ploy and they certainly don’t like it when that happens to be the case. This is why automating messages to try and lure them in doesn’t work anymore…unless you do it wisely. If you have to make things automated, make your message look as personal as possible. Ask a question of your audience to get the engagement ball rolling.
Link your twitter everywhere.
Finally, if you have a chance to show off your Twitter, do so! People are eager to follow one another on Twitter, so don’t waste the opportunity to link your profile on content you post, other social media profiles and your website. You’ll definitely get more followers the more you put yourself out there.
