By now, everyone has heard of Twitter and it would seem as though everyone has their own account.
This is just as true for businesses who have taken to Twitter, even more than Facebook, to reach out to their customer base. Twitter makes it extremely easy to not only get the word out to your market, but listen for what they say back (for better or worse).
However, being successful with 140 characters is harder than it looks.
Follow me @Loral!
The first rule of Twitter is to use it often.
People have been saying content is king for years and that hasn’t changed now that it is processed in smaller chunks. If your company’s Twitter account goes stale because you’re not using it enough, you’re missing out on a golden opportunity.
While it’s important to use your company’s Twitter account to make important announcements and advertise new products and services, you can be doing so much more with it. Speaking to individual customers or even tweeting something humorous or non-business related now and then will go a long way. Just be sure you keep it professional and don’t get sucked into conversations or arguments that won’t help your business.
One of the biggest challenges everyone faces with Twitter is getting recognized and being heard. With hundreds of millions of users, this is no easy task. Interacting will certainly help, so aside from tweeting, be sure you favorite and retweet certain messages, too.
However, Twitter will also provide you with plenty of opportunities for strategic partnerships. Find other Twitter accounts that could use some growth just as much as you could and negotiate a deal to both help the other by mentioning them in tweets. If you can do this with a company where you share customers, this will be especially potent. Sometimes there are Twitter accounts that won’t gain from your added exposure because they already have hundreds-of-thousands of followers. Find contact information for them and see what they would charge you for some mentions.
Don’t expect immediate results with Twitter. Those accounts with impressive followings are usually the result of hard work or starting back when Twitter was still a small platform. Stick with the simple advice above and you’ll get there soon enough.
No business these days should exist without a Twitter account. More and more, it’s becoming a feature customers expect. So start with Twitter today and begin implementing these tips for a respectable following you can concert into revenue.
