In the latter part of 2013, Twitter had over 232 million active users each month, majority of which lived in the U.S. In 2015, this number grew to 300 million.
Although Twitter is no longer as widely used as Facebook, it is still a very powerful marketing tool. So if you have a small business, it makes sense to learn how to use it to reach your target audience.
Getting Started
So how exactly can you use this social media site to get more traffic to your website? Here are tips shared by dozens of Twitter experts and marketing professionals:
1. Improve your Twitter bio.
Your company identity should be clear. Your bio should tell people what your company is and what you have to offer. It should also include a link to your website.
2. Interact with the influences in your target area.
Find influencers (bloggers, journalists, thought leaders, etc.) by searching keywords that are relevant to your industry. Once you’ve found these personalities, follow and interact with them regularly.
3. Tweet frequently.
If you regularly tweet, it tells your followers that your profile is active/healthy. If you rarely tweet (i.e. once a week) then chances are, people will forget about you. Experts recommend that you tweet daily so you remain top of mind. Make sure to tweet meaningful content so that your tweets get the most response.
4. Ask your followers to mention, re-tweet or favorite your tweets.
5. Track mentions and acknowledge them if deemed appropriate.
Don’t forget to respond in a courteous and professional manner. Keep in mind that many customers nowadays post their questions and complaints about certain products on Twitter.
6. Don’t hesitate to retweet as this will help link you with thought leaders within your industry.
7. Favorite tweets.
Doing this can get people’s attention more than a retweet.
8. Follow hashtags/trends.
Know the hottest topics and find a way to connect it to your brand. When you put your business out there with the hottest topics/hashtags, people will see your handle when they search tweets relating to those topics/hashtags.
9. Give special offers and deals to your followers.
There are many ways you can go about this. For example: the first 100 people to retweet you will get a 20 percent discount. You just need to be creative so that you can come up with offers that will get your followers excited.
10. Use promoted tweets but make sure they are not spammy.
Your objective should be to give value, build trust and promote awareness. Don’t trick your followers or other Twitter users into clicking a link.
11. Integrate Twitter with your other marketing strategies.
So, if you’re running a contest on Twitter, you can share this information on your Facebook page or even inform your email subscribers about it.
12. Make use of Twitter analytics.
Using this tool daily will give you an idea on what works with your audience and what doesn’t. You’ll also know what your best days are, the demographics of your followers, what kinds of content your followers like and so on. Once you have all these data, you can then replicate what works and figure out how to re-work those that aren’t working for you.
Do’s and Don’ts for Businesses Using Twitter
Here’s a list of things you should and should not do when using Twitter for your social media marketing:
1. Do have an appropriate profile image.
The default profile image in Twitter is an egg. If you’re a business, you need to change this ASAP. You can use your company logo to make your profile recognizable.
2. Do put a header image.
Your header image is where you can convey a powerful message to your target audience. Don’t miss this opportunity to widen your brand’s visibility.
3. Do be consistent with your handle and name in Twitter.
You should understand how the Twitter handles and names work and they need to be consistent. When someone from your company creates your business Twitter account, they may use the company name as the Twitter handle but then enter their own names in the full name section. This is where it can get confusing.
4. Do include your location in your profile.
The location of your business should be known to your Twitter followers as this allows Twitter to customize hot topics to your location.
5. Do re-tweet content.
Remember, social media is all about networking and connecting. So if all you do is tweet about your company, then you’re missing the essence of social media. What you should do is support other professionals in your industry, agree with their advice (if it’s sound, of course) and be open to providing your audience with a fresh perspective.
6. Do add comments with quotes.
You have the option to quote a tweet as well as add a comment when you re-tweet the quote. By doing this, you are opening channels for conversation with your followers and even non-followers.
7. Don’t be shy.
You have to sell yourself to your target audience so don’t be shy to fill your profile with as much information about your company or brand as possible.
8. Don’t favorite a tweet that needs a reply.
You might be tempted to favorite a tweet so as to remind yourself to reply at a later time. But if you do favorite something that needs a reply, take a minute to do so.
9. Don’t be disrespectful.
You have to remember that your tweets, comments and basically anything you do on social media can be seen by others. Always be professional, courteous, considerate and helpful if you want to leave a good impression on your followers.
Final Thoughts
Twitter is one of the most effective channels for social media marketing. But it’s important that you know exactly what you’re doing so you will get the results you’re aiming for.