Are you using Twitter to grow your business? You should be, here’s how!

Twitter has an estimated 300 million active users worldwide. This platform can be a powerful way to engage with prospective customers and encourage them to enter into your store! For businesses who have not used the social media site, however, it can be intimidating to get started. Here is what all businesses should know about using Twitter to grow a business.

Understanding the Twitter mentality

Twitter has been likened to a giant, worldwide conversation. Posts can only be made using 140 characters and the rate at which people tweet means that your posts are only going to be at the top of people’s feed for a short time. To successfully use Twitter, you need to learn how to leverage these characteristics of Twitter to your advantage.

• Tweet regularly throughout the day – although you do not want to overwhelm your followers feeds, you do want to send out a few posts each day
• Do not be afraid to reuse content – since your posts disappear quickly, you can reword and reuse some of your posts occasionally
• Use Twitter to enter the collective conversation, not to just broadcast about your brand- the majority of your posts should be educational for your followers and only some directly promotional
• Since people regularly retweet– or repost– other people’s posts, try to stay below the 140 maximum (around 120 characters is best) to make it easy for your posts to be retweeted as well

Getting started

Like other social media sites, establishing a profile on Twitter is a branding exercise. Twitter gives you the chance to customize a profile picture, the header, and even the background on your profile page, so take advantage of it. Here’s a link to my profile where I have a custom photo and background in place. Keep the images you use consistent with the rest of your branding efforts across the various social media platforms so that people recognize you.

You will also have a profile you will need to fill out, with information such as your location and company website. Make sure that you have every part filled out so that people who click on your page can learn as much about you as possible.

The most important part of your profile, however, is your bio. You only get 160 characters for your bio, so like your tweets it needs to be short and sweet. Focus on explaining to customers the value you offer. Use keywords to help people find your company and make yourself more visible in searches as well.

Getting followers

The best way to start gaining followers is to follow others. Many Twitter users will reciprocate when you follow them, but that is not a guarantee. Start by following professional contacts, customers, and anyone that regularly posts interesting information. As you follow people, actively engage with them. Retweet their content, ask them direct questions, and generally join in their conversation. The more you engage, the more followers you get. I have also experienced this firsthand, the less I engage, the more followers I LOSE!

You can also boost your Twitter followers by advertising your account. Include Follow buttons on your website, newsletters, emails, and other communication you regularly have with your customers.

Finally, the best way to gain followers is to produce high quality content. As you produce posts that people enjoy reading, you will attract attention. People will become more likely to retweet– or repost– your content. As people do this, your message will then become visible to that person’s network of followers. The more often you are retweeted, the wider your brand reach will go and the more followers you will gain.

Effective tweeting

Twitter can be a fantastic tool for getting your content in front of prospective customers  and driving traffic to your website. Twitter helps you leverage the power of inbound marketing, by providing answers to people who have questions and then building relationships with them. Much of the content you produce should be focused on educating your followers. Tweet intriguing descriptions and links to your latest blog posts or articles you found on other sites that you thought would be helpful. This is the type of information will let viewers know that you are here to provide industry answers and it will help begin to build the relationship of trust.

Of course, Twitter is not a formal business environment. That means it is ok to mix up the types of content you tweet. Images are fantastic for attracting attention in tweets, particularly since the amount of text is so limited. Posting occasional humorous images, such as memes, can be great for getting retweets and showing your brand personality to your customers.

Twitter posts are often searched by subject, with people using hashtags (#) to indicate a key subject. Try to incorporate a few hashtags into your posts. It will help make the posts more searchable so that people can find your account when they want answers about your industry.

Twitter can be an enormous effective tool for finding new customers when used correctly. Although jumping into the virtual conversation can feel intimidating for those who have not used the platform before, it does not have to be. Set up an effective profile and broadcast to the world why you have the answers they seek.

About The Author:

David Fletcher is a sales and marketing consultant that travels around the country speaking on some of todays hot topics such as inbound marketing, social media management, lead generation, and sales development. David owns Maven Sales Group with his wife Shannon with an office located here in Pasadena, MD.