Twitter for Business – Selling Yourself 140 Characters at a Time
Twitter had a niche that people embraced. At first glance it may seem that the niche was going to be a limitation of the platform. You were only able to “tweet” out 140 characters at a time. Even SMS texting allowed 160 characters. What could you possibly say in 140? Once again, Twitter proved that the design was not a limitation but rather it was what set Twitter apart from other platforms. Facebook was much more involved. Things were bigger, posts were longer, and there are games and quizzes and “Which Harry Potter Character Are You?” Facebook was an investment of time and energy. With Twitter you were in, you sent your tweet, you read other tweets of 140 characters or less and you were out. Soon people were following hundreds of others and they hoped that they were followed by just as many. Even with so much to read, the messages were short so you were still in and out.
Twitter became a thing. Everyone had a Twitter account. Celebrities and Athletes were tweeting the same sort of things your buddies were posting. Singers, reality stars and the President of the United States were sending out their thoughts in 140 characters or less. Mixed in with the celebrities and the singers and the selfies and pictures of food, businesses started to get in on the action as well and the people started to follow and interact with their favorite brands just as they had with their favorite actors. Some did it well and some, well, not so well. With the experience of the successes and failures, Twitter experts, marketing professionals and business leaders shared what made them successful on Twitter. When using Twitter for business, here are some of the tips they came up with:
Have a complete Twitter Bio. You have to tell people who you are. If you send out some good information, they are going to have their interest piqued and they are going to look at your profile, you better have something there that tells them who you are and why you should be listened to.
Get Involved. Get involved on the platform. Not only in your area, but with your other interests. Interact with other experts in the field and put yourself on the same platform as the bigger players. Are you a sports fan? Follow your teams and your players. Get out there and have fun, but remember:
Keep it Professional. Some of the biggest blunders have happened on social media because people got carried away and tweeted out something that they instantly regretted. To borrow and tweak the axiom from the world of carpentry: read twice, click once.
Don’t Be Afraid to Retweet Others. This will link you with other leaders in your area. However, take a moment to see who or what you are retweeting, if you retweet from someone that is controversial, you may also be linked to that.
Favorite Tweets. While it may not be as known or as used as retweeting, favoriting a tweet is another way of getting someone’s attention
Follow Trends and Hashtags. If you have something to say about a trending topic, get in there and say it. Use the hashtags that are trending when relevant and even use other known hashtags. Staying timely and relevant and getting in the mix tagging your post appropriately is a quick way to new followers.
Use Images and Video. Get visual. Photos and videos give that additional boost and tend to drive additional traffic to the post.
Make Sure Twitter is integrated with other Marketing efforts. Twitter is one tool in the toolbox. Make sure that the messages you send out through Twitter are in line and relevant to your other marketing tools, in fact, use Twitter to drive people back to your larger marketing platforms
Promoted Tweets. You can also directly target your audience with the use of promoted tweets. If you decide to invest in promoted tweets, make sure you have clear message to send. The goal of a promoted tweet is to establish trust and credibility which is hard to gain and easy to lose.