What’s free and helps you reach 271 million people each month? Twitter, the social media platform that lets you share quick bursts of information in 140 characters or less, offers businesses a powerful way to reach potential customers.
Twitter’s reach is astounding. Since its incorporation in 2007, the company has ground by leaps and bounds. Over 500 million tweets are sent daily. Twitter recently added images and video to the things users can tweet, making it a great tool to share many types of media.
Although some people find the short burst-type messages more annoying than helpful, for those who get the hang of Twitter, it can become a valuable tool to promote a business or network with new people.
5 Ideas to Use Twitter Effectively to Promote Your Business
If you’re confused by how to use Twitter as a business communications tool, these five ideas will help you get started. If you don’t already have a Twitter account, you can set one up at no charge. Connect with Web Design of Palm Beach as your first Twitter ‘friend’, and you’re well on your way to creating your own personal network of contacts on Twitter.
Once you’re ready to start using the social media site, these five ideas can help you use Twitter more effectively to promote your business.
1. Create a memorable profile page. Twitter, like many social media platforms, gives each user their own personal profile page. Don’t just slap any old thing on the page and call it a day. This is your personal handshake, your business card online, your means of introducing yourself to potential customers, clients or partners. Choose a good-quality headshot of yourself or use your company logo for your profile. Write an engaging, enticing profile that showcases not just what you do, but how you can help your target customers solve problems. Such profiles aren’t easy to do, and you may need to revise it a few times until you’re satisfied with it. Don’t forget to link to your website.
2. Find and connect with the influencers in your industry. It’s fine to “follow” anyone on Twitter – you don’t need to ask their permission. Find and follow the thought leaders in your industry. Encourage colleagues, employees and others to connect with you as well.
3. Tweet regularly. Don’t let your account gather dust. Send out at least one or two Tweets daily. If that feels overwhelming, tools like Hoot Suite and other programs let you schedule your communications in advance, so you can load 14 messages on a Monday to send out automatically on your behalf for the week. You’ll miss potential interactions using only scheduling tools, but a blend of scheduling tools and spontaneous interactions leads to more frequent and authentic communications on Twitter.
4. Share the love by retweeting. Retweeting means sharing someone else’s post with your own network of followers. It’s a thoughtful way to help others, and they may return the favor, thus introducing your own content to new audiences online.
5. Don’t make it all about sales. Hard selling is frowned up on Twitter. Aim for a ratio of 80% informative, interesting content, whether original, shared links, or shared retweets. The remaining posts can be promotional. Try offering discounts or other incentives to your Twitter fans so that you can track the results.
Twitter offers great potential for many companies to engage with their customers, introduce their products and services to new customers, and build their brand. If you’d like help setting up your Twitter account or integrating it into your website, call Web Design of Palm Beach. We can get your website up and running quickly, host it for you, and get you tweeting in no time at all. Call us at 561.262.5886.