Here are tips on how to effectively use Twitter for your small
business:
1. Understand what Twitter is all about. The key to long-term success on
Twitter is to view this microblogging platform as a community. While it is a
great way to get exposure and even increase traffic to your web site, your
success on this platform depends on how you engage your community, dialogue
with them and how you make full use of this social networking platform.
2. Set your goals. Determine what you want to accomplish in Twitter and
how you want to use it for your business. Some possible uses of Twitter
include:
- To showcase your knowledge and expertise.
- To reach out and connect
with other people with similar interests.
- To communicate with existing
customers.
- To generate traffic and backlinks to your site.
- To give a
“human face” to your business
- To post your random thoughts and display
your wit and brilliance.
3. Keep on target. Focus on what you want to accomplish. If you want to
demonstrate that you are an expert on eBay selling, be consistent and post
only tips on how to use eBay. Steer clear of random thoughts and be true to
your mission.
4. Plan what you are going to tweet. Decide what you will say on Twitter.
Study what other users in your niche are saying, and how you can make your
tweets more interesting, informative and engaging. Some ideas on what to
tweet:
- Articles or blog posts that you have written
- Articles, news items or blog posts that may be of interest to your followers
- Tips
- Quotes
- New
information about your business and product, including press releases,
announcement of events and product features
- Offers and discounts
- Customer service responses
- Post a question to your followers
- Comments on
what other folks have posted, starting a dialogue with other users
5. Carefully choose your Twitter ID. Look at your Twitter ID as part of
your brand. You can use your name, name of your business, or a keyword-rich
username
6. Be searchable on Twitter. Make sure that people can find you when they
search on Twitter for people with common interests, goals and professions.
Study how the users that show in the first page do it – look at the
username, as well as the keywords they use for their name and description.
7. Give value. Like any business, success depends on how well you create
value. Establish yourself as an authority in your field. If you must post an
article or news item that 100 other Twitter users have already posted, tweet
the main learning from the article, not just the title.
8. Increase the visibility of your tweets. Even if you have only 100
followers, you can potentially expand the reach of your tweets. Write highly
informative tweets (even if that means writing great content on your blog
first that you can then tweet) that will attract other users to retweet your
post. You can even ask others to retweet your post. Also, make use of the
hashtag # symbol in order for your users to be visible to those who are
interested in the topic, even if they are not your followers.
9. Get yourself listed in Twitter directories. They may not be as
effective in bringing a huge number of followers, but they can be useful in
getting targeted followers, or those who are specifically interested in your
sector. Good ones include:
10. Use tools outside of Twitter to expand your reach and increase your
followers. Some ideas you can try are:
- Add your Twitter username to your email signature
- Add a Twitter badge
to your website or blog
- Add Tweetmeme or AddThis to your articles or blog
posts
- If you use other social media communities such as LinkedIn, Plaxo or
Facebook, consider connecting your Twitter account so you can showcase your
Twitter feed to your other social network contacts.
For more tips on how to effectively use Twitter, read our blog post
"20
Tips on How to Use Twitter for Your Small Business"
