Using Twitter for Business
If you haven’t been using Twitter for business purposes, then you may be wonder if you are missing out.
Or maybe you have you set up a Twitter account, found out how to accumulate mass numbers off followers, and maybe trying to monetize these followers?
Are you out there promoting your business In Spades and getting Nothing but Jokers?
Feel like you may as well be Quacking like a Duck?
Most of you who have been using Twitter for business probably don’t have this problem.
But I am still amazed at how much spam is out there.
Do these folks really think that works? I would think so only for someone even more naive than the spammer themselves.
Using Twitter for business can be profitable, but it still boils down to building know, like and trust, and creating relationships with your target market.
So if you want to use Twitter as a part of your marketing arsenal, then start by using it wisely.
If you think it’s all about the number of followers you have, then think again.
Sure, numbers can be powerful but there are some considerations if we’re talking about Twitter for business.
Out of thousands of followers, how many will be in your target market?
How many actually see your links? Or follow your links?
How many are you really connecting with?
Twitter for Business; Think before you Tweet
If you are a Twitterer with no measurable results, remember that as with any social media venue, it’s about relationships.
Especially when using Twitter for business!
Twitter can in fact provide a great venue not only for driving traffic, but yes, even for building relationships and ultimately finding customers and business partners.
This might seem surprising, because of the casual, non-committal nature of Twitter posts, with the limit of 140 characters. Being less cumbersome, they may seem to carry less social weight than say posts on Facebook.
Which is why I think people seem to more easily spam their audiences there. But this is where it fails them.
They think using Twitter for business means putting your links out 24/7!
But real relationships are possible using Twitter, ones that build slowly over time as with any other network and even in real life.
I’ve been amazed at some of the valuable relationships I have built directly from Twitter.
And truthfully, this stuff is really easy but takes a small daily time commitment, so that you are consistent. Just beware the social media vortex!
Twitter for Business Requires Your Flock of Followers
1) Get an Account
First of all, If you have not created a Twitter account.
Use YOUR picture, not a picture of your dog, a logo, or a cartoon character! And if you have a banner reflecting your personal brand, all the better.
It’s not only about building relationships here, but branding yourself and building your presence (your Twitter page will appear on a Google search of your name).
Be sure to use keywords in your profile description, especially important in using Twitter for business. And be sure to put a link to your blog, opt-in page or sales funnel.
2) Build Your Following
One option is to manually follow people who follow your friends, but more importantly in using Twitter for business is that you follow people who follow well known people in your target market.
You can also use free tools like Twello.com, Twollow.com and Twollo.com. These can make building a following pretty simple (Twollow and Twollo let you set up auto-following based on keywords, but the free versions limit you to using only 5 and 2 keyword phrases, respectively).
A great way to build a following is to use TweetAddr which can automate the process, and steadily grow your following based on targeted keywords. This software has a one time fee and will save you paying monthly for similar services.
Just be careful not to follow too aggressively at first, for Twitter will nix your account. There is a ratio it watches for, you cannot follow more than something like 1/10 over your current number of followers. And follow back your followers (after checking them out)!
If you are roadblocked at the 1000 or 2000 mark and can’t follow more, this is bad for using Twitter for business. So unfollow people that are not following you back and you’ll be able to follow more people. You can use Tweepi.com to do this for free.
Twitter for Business Still Requires Twitter Ediquette
Give Them Something to Tweet About!
Tweet (do a status update) at least once or twice a day. As you build a large following you will want to increase this, as only a small portion will be likely to see your Tweet at the time you Tweet it.
Your Tweets should be pleasant, responsive, consistent,uplifting, entertaining and/or educational.
And specifically in using Twitter for business, you want to provide value that will solve problems for your target market.
Always provide value (content) primarily, not spam! An occasional tweet directly to your opt-in page is fine as long as that is not ALL that you do.
ReTweet (RT) content that you appreciate! If you are getting lots of RTs on your content then you know you are on the right track!
Thank your followers who RT’ed your Tweets (These are found in your @Replies view). This is very important especially for content that you have written or even RTs of your products or opt-in Tweets! And, be SURE you are following them!
Also in your @Replies view are messages that are directed personally to you as well as recommendations for you – reply to as many of these as you can!
Watch your DMs for any personal messages. This may mean sifting through lots of spam. DO NOT follow links here, this is where many Twitter viruses have been and still are propagated!
Twitter Tips and Tools
1) Twitter Lists – There are now Lists that you can create with your followers categorized to help you keep up with your favorite people.
You can learn more about your target market, especially important for using Twitter for business. You can learn what they’re Tweeting about, and what their problems and desires are.
You can even search on Search.Twitter.com for keywords that might afford you an opportunity to offer your solution.
2) Automation – Service like SocialOoomph.com does a lot for free, allowing you to auto-follow-back and schedule Tweets ahead of time. You can also use software such as TweetAddr to do the same thing and more, such as recurring scheduled tweets, for which SocialOomph charges monthly.
Using Twitter for business makes this all the more important as you will definitely want to maximize your return on investment.
3) Tagging and Searching Content – #HashTags are useful as a search tool, even in tracking live conversations. Some people use it to brand their own stream (e.g. #VOSS). #Quote is very common and you can find great quotes this way.
One of the most popular #Hashtags is #FollowFriday which is used to recommend your favorite Tweeters on Friday – just be sure to thank anyone who recommends you!
But tags that might be specific to your target market, such as #weightloss, #attractionmarketing, etc., are very useful for using Twitter for business.
Use Search.Twitter.com to find any topic in Twitter real time. This is useful if you want to provide an immediate solution to a problem in your target market!
4) Measuring Effectiveness – If you are curious as to how much your Tweeted links are followed, use a URL tracker such as bit.ly (create a free account there). You can also test various headlines this way (best if they’re around the same time of day).
This is particularly important if you are using Twitter for business!
TwitterGrader.com will rank you on how you are doing with your updates and content (taking into account for example the number of RTs you give and receive).
MrTweet.com allows you to recommend someone giving them accolades for ‘the record’. Again, building relationships is crucial for any business and so using Twitter for business is in this way no different!
5) Productivity Tools – Too many Twitter tools and tips exist to cover, but ne of the most popular ones is Tweetdeck, with multiple columns allowing you to view separate streams easily. You can create groups of different people you follow, so you can separate business partners, clients, and just friends. It also allows updates to synchronize with Facebook, and has a built in search.
Mashable.com is one of the best sites for up-to-date info on Twitter, Twitter tools, and Social Media in general.
Help.Twitter.com is a good place for FAQs and Tips, and a search in Google will yield tons of Twitter help.
I hope this has helped you decide that is is possible to be effective in using Twitter for business, so Follow me on Twitter and Happy Tweeting!
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EXCELLENT article, very well done. Would love to see the same type of article for Facebook too if you ever have the time.
I would like to add that for those who are getting into twitter for the first time, it is easy to get hung up on all the automated tools available for twitter. However, I always advise people not to forget that you need to actually interact with others. (do some real tweeting with your personal touch)
Again, great job on this article!
– Allen
Thanks Allen! I will do that, good idea about posting a similar article for Facebook. And yes, remembering that it’s all about relationships is key!
Great post Vicki!
So much valuable information. It is funny, at first glance twitter seems so simple. But there is actually a lot to it. Especially if you want to make it work for you as powerfully as possible. I am still working on getting it down. Your post definitely will help.
Thank you
Alicia
Hi Alicia!
I actually coach my newbies not to start with Twitter until they are ready to commit some time to it! It’s being persistently consistent and visible that is the challenge!
Thanks so much for the comment and share!
All the best,
Vicki
Hey Vicki,
This is a great article.
I have been learning more about leveraging
Twitter and you provide some extra nuggets
of info.
I posted a video on how to create a Twitter list
because a fellow blogger was looking for one.
I will share this one.
Twitter is a great tool and never realized how
it can be used to really get traffic to you blog.
Have a great day!
Tommy D.
The Prospecting Hero
Thanks Tommy!
I appreciate the shares! And yes Twitter is an amazing community, I’ve been surprised by how many truly great friends I have found there!
So thanks again to you, I appreciate your support!
Wishing you every success!
Vicki
Great post Vicki,
You so right, the spam on Twitter is madness. Which if you turn it around and follow the steps you have posted can be a good thing as you stand a great chance of standing out.
SocialOomph and Tweetdeck are also great tools and ones I would recommend.
Keep up the good work and I will be back.
Tristram Lodge
Thanks Tristram! Yes it is amazing how you can make a difference in your success while not repelling everyone away from you at the same time! And yes I did mention both SocialOomph and Tweetdeck, I use SocialOomph to schedule tweets!
Thanks for the shares and support!
Vicki
I really enjoyed this post. I have a Twitter account and I believe I have just over 3000 followers. When I first started my account I fell for one of those automated programs that got out of control. I got overwhelmed.
I have made FB and Youtube my main two social media homes however with your simple list I can go in and do a re-do on my Twitter account. I need to do some cleaning house and taking some time each day to really connect with my tribe.
Thank you,
Faith
Thank you Faith! Yes it’s a challenge keeping up and the thing is we really need to be persistently consistent!
And I find Twitter more challenging than Facebook and YouTube, because I like to thank everyone for every RT and with so many followers this becomes time consuming (one day I will hire a VA for that, but I feel like I want to keep it personal). Then, RTing your followers is as important too, and it therefore can be very overwhelming. But I have built some of the best relationships on Twitter, so much to my surprise at first!
Anyway, I’m sure you will do better the 2nd time around, have fun!
All the best,
Vicki
Vicki,
I was impressed by your very comprehensive list on Twitter. Consistency is the common denominator of success in most things and twitter is the same. It has taken that to grow my followers to 15,000. It brings tons of exposure to my blog and content with an easy little tweet.
I will be checking out some of the tools you mentioned for sure to see if I am missing out on something!
Thanks for the great post!
Mary Thayer
Thank you Mary!
Yes, my Twitter account brings awesome traffic to my blog as well with just a bit of regular Tweeting, and nowadays even more with the support of our Unified Tribe!
Appreciating you!
Hey Vicki,
This is awesome information for someone to get started with Twitter! I even picked up some solid ideas. Great content here.
We’ll see you in TUT!
Thanks Ryan! Glad you got something out of it even that you are already an experienced Twitterer!
See you around tUT!
Wow, Thanks Vickie. I learned quite a bit from this piece. Will start using it right away.
Thank you Raina! I wish you all the luck and success! If you have any questions be sure to let me know!
Have an awesome day!
Hi Vicki
Thanks for the link to your web site. Your twitter tips are most appreciated.
I am amazed at how many different tools are available for twitter.
I just need to figure out how to link my blog to twitter.
Looking forward to reading more of your posts.
Stan Young´s last [type] ..Abraham Hicks -The great awakening tap into your true inner potential
Hi Stan!
You are quite welcome, I’m glad you enjoy it – and let me know if you need help, it is very simple to get Twitter linked to your blog (or visa verse!)
Thanks for stopping by, great to see you here!
Wishing You Tremendous Success,
Hi Vicki,
,my goal for today was to find valuable information to share on twitter …Yes! i did it!:-),looking forward to your tweets. (i follow u )
Thank you very much for information ,i’m learning about twitter now and get a lot from this post ,will bookmark this page to share value with others
Thank you .
Success and hapiness
Elena
Hi Elena!
Thanks for stopping by, glad you found this information helpful, and thank you for connecting with me on Twitter and for sharing my post too!
Wishing You Massive Success,
Super stuff! Thanks for sharing this Vicki! I have always wondered your magic secrets and am so thankful that you are willing to share! Keep up the great work!
Brett