Quick Tips: Twitter for Business

Love it or hate it, Twitter is a global social media powerhouse.  With 500 million tweets posted each day, your business can’t afford to overlook Twitter!  Here, your business and/or brand can really shine and show off its personality.  Described as a “microblogging system,” Twitter makes it easy for both mobile and PC users to tweet and retweet short messages and quickly exchange banter.  This social media channel entertains a wide variety of users with audiences ranging from youth and young adults to politicians, researchers, educators, professionals, the news media and more!  Twitter's key demographic includes 18-29 year-olds with a large number of users located outside the United States.  

WHERE TO BEGIN

Unlike other social media accounts, establishing a Twitter profile for your business requires some additional forethought.  Without an official “business” designation, users must quickly establish a “voice” in order to build a following. Twitter has also stopped its “verification process,” so “voice” is imperative.  Will you operate as a strictly corporate account, a corporate led-persona account, a business/personal hybrid account, or a character account?  Determining “voice” early will help your business to develop and cement its personality and ultimately determine business goals for this platform.  

Twitter insiders remind us that within the account profile one should include a brief business summary, a link to an existing website to draw in traffic, and finally, a “pinned tweet.”  Additionally, don’t get too cutesy with the name, your account handle should clearly reflect your business. Once you’re set-up, immediately begin following industry leaders to build your own profile and attract an audience.  Don’t forget to monitor your competition, too!

TWEET WITH PURPOSE

1. Post often, but strategically to gain a following.  Timing is everything.  The lifespan of a tweet is about 18 minutes with 7,000 new tweets sent every second.  Statistics suggest posting Monday through Friday as well as on weekends.  Insiders further recommend tweeting in the afternoon between noon and 6 PM.  Don’t have something to tweet?  Well, don’t let that stop you. Businesses can further build their audience by posting comments on other businesses’ tweets.  These exchanges can draw attention to your brand. Nearly, one-third of users say they can recall specific Twitter posts, so utilize every opportunity to build your audience.  Don’t forget to include @mentions and tag influencers...drive a little traffic their way and watch them reciprocate.

2. Use photos, gifs, videos and polls to engage audiences.  Utilize these media formats to promote your business but also to share your point of view.  Here’s where you can really show your brand’s personality. Like other social media channels, great content begins with great visuals.  Keep in mind that Tweets with a GIF get 55% more engagement, 93% of Twitter videos are viewed on mobile, and Tweets with video attract 10x as much engagement.  Storytelling should be brief but intriguing.  Remember you can always link back to your website, blog or article to share additional info.  Be sure to mix it up!

3. Include RELEVANT hashtags. This is a biggie!  Tweets that contain hashtags receive twice as much attention as those that don’t.  Hashtags help to group subject matter together making it easier for audiences to find trends, industries, and specific topics.  When you use a hashtag, your content becomes a part of this grouping. Similarly, you can search hashtags to seek out groupings that you want to be associated with.  Don’t forget to check “trending” hashtags to use as needed in your tweets and get creative, develop a hashtag specific to your business, but don’t get greedy—too many hashtags are a turnoff.  The keyword here is RELEVANT.

4. Direct Message responses.  You can use this Twitter feature to welcome new audience members, engage in conversation, answer questions, and troubleshoot.  Your businesses’ response should be professional and prompt as if you were helping a customer face to face.  Direct Message is another key way of developing customer loyalty and should not be overlooked.  

5. Live Tweet, Twitter Chats and Interact with Influencers.  With Twitter, it’s not just who you are, but who you know.  Take advantage of Live Tweet opportunities! Look for trending current events and topics, or create your own.  Make sure you grab the right hashtags and then start posting.  Prepare before you begin and then tweet and retweet away. Similarly, you can engage your audience through Twitter Chats.  Address current industry topics and show your knowledge as a means of growing your audience and establishing trust for your brand.  At all times, keep in mind the power of influencers in your field and interact when appropriate, this is another opportunity for @mentions and tagging.  

TWITTER ANALYTICS

After establishing Key Business Requirements, creating content, and tweeting, Twitter offers several opportunities to measure your company’s goals.  Twitter’s At Home feature is like a report card for your business profile.  This feature allows you to track statistics from month to month.  Your Tweet Activity Dashboard gives you important metrics for each of your posts and allows you to discover which tweets are performing best and at what time.  Finally, stay connected to your audience through the Audience Insights Dashboard.  Here you can monitor followers' growth, interest, and demographics.  Knowing the metrics will help you to make adjustments to your social media marketing plan.  

LAST THOUGHTS

Twitter is supposed to be fun!  With a young demographic, mobile interface, quick responses, trending topics, and more there’s a lot of room to play and interact with your audience.  Twitter users are looking for the “next big thing.” This social media channel moves fast so remember to vary your tweets, take advantage of Twitter features like Live Tweeting, @mention influencers, discover new hashtags, and follow your industry’s movers and shakers because Twitter is all about personality.  Success on Twitter is as much about listening to your audience and monitoring analytics as it is about learning the ins and outs of this social media channel.