You may not be a fan of Twitter; many people have a natural aversion to it, viewing it as nothing more than an indulgent playground for celebrity self-promotion or a platform for people with nothing better to do than talk about their every move.

But don’t be fooled…Twitter is now being used successfully by companies of all sizes and in all industries as an online marketing tool. And you would be well advised to sign up…or miss out. So, here are our top ten tips for getting started with Twitter for business.

 

Presenting Your Brand

Your Twitter account and profile are the foundation of your Twitter experience. It’s your chance to tell your business story to the Twitter community. Make sure that your Twitter presence has the same look and feel as your other social media tools.

1.         Choose a good username

Nothing expresses your brand on Twitter more than your account username. This name appears next to all of your tweets, and is how people identify you on Twitter, so choose wisely. And avoid using punctuation to keep your name easy to type on mobile devices

2.         Upload quality, relevant Images

Twitter uses two different images to represent your account. It’s important that you take advantage of both of these images to tell your business story.

Profile Images – upload these images under Profile in your account settings.

• Your Twitter profile photo is a square photo that appears next to every tweet you send. Use a personal headshot to add a personal touch to your account.

• Your Twitter profile header is a large background photo similar to the Facebook cover photo. Use this to tell a story about your business.

3.         Optimize Your Bio

Complete your bio to tell people who you are and include a link to your company website or a landing page. Keep a consistent tone so that people clearly understand who you are and what you do. Add in a little personality to bring your account to life.

4.         Follow the right people

Your Twitter experience is defined by whom you follow, not by who follows you. Pay attention to your follow choices to give yourself a great Twitter experience.

Find out who the influencers and experts are in your target areas and interact with them on a regular basis. Using Twitter search or tools like Topsy and Followerwonk, enables you to find like-minded prospects, customers and industry influencers by searching keywords that relate to your industry. You can then follow and interact with them on a regular basis.

5.         Start Talking

Talking on Twitter is different from every other social media site. It’s a fast-paced, hectic, freeway of ideas and information. Give yourself a little time to get your bearings by listening to others before diving in, but don’t be nervous, it’s important to just GET STARTED!

6.         Keep Talking

For Twitter to work for you, it’s vital that you keep talking.  Regular tweeting is a sign of an active, healthy profile. If you only tweet once a week, people will forget about you. We recommend daily postings and engagement.

7.         Watch What You Say

Make sure that you are tweeting relevant or useful information and content that your followers will read, click on, retweet and/or favourite. Give people useful information and answer their questions, and they will consider you a valuable member of their community. That’s an important first step to winning a new customer.

8.         Ask Questions

Twitter is GREAT for getting opinions.

9.         Use Images and Videos

Getting visual will drive more clicks than text alone, and photo and video content is a great way of telling people more about your business.

10.       Share the human side of your company.

If you’re bothering to tweet, it means you believe social media has value for human connections. Allowing people to see the real people behind the brand encourages interaction, engagement and trust.

So, there we have our quick guide to getting started with Twitter for business. It’s a valuable marketing tool and it’s great fun too. As you expand your audience, increase your followers and master your Twitter skills, there are many tools and strategies you can use to meet your business goals. We’ll cover those in a second blog. But for now, if you haven’t taken the plunge into Twitter, it’s time to dive in. We’re sure you’ll enjoy the water once you’re in!