Your business is probably already on Facebook, with unlimited space to write your thoughts, sales, share pictures, and other handy information for consumers to view.
But are you on Twitter, the next most popular – and constantly growing – social network? Tweeting takes a bit more etiquette compared to posting on Facebook. Twitter has 1/5th of the users (as of yet, but are continuously growing), only 25% of all users follow a specific brand (compared to Facebook’s 40%), and not to mention the 140 character limit. But don’t let this turn you off from Twitter, as it is essential in getting your brand name seen and heard (and remember, when you follow someone on Twitter, it doesn’t mean they see your tweets – they have to follow you back to see them).
Once you start to get followers, though there is no guaranteed tweeting formula, try these guidelines for more effective interaction, retweets, and possible sales.
You are not an individual anymore. You are representing your business. Posting unnecessary pictures of your newly developed rash, rants about your sex life, why you dislike the president, or your current drinking binge all need to be thrown out the window. This is just unprofessional. Post photos of your employees in the office, company events, etc., and let it be a reminder to your followers that you are the kind of company they want to do business with.
Be humorous. Honestly, who doesn’t love to laugh? Instead of an obvious sales pitch, give people a good laugh. It’s less likely to annoy followers, and more likely for your comedy to be retweeted – getting your brand seen by more people on Twitter.
#UseHashtags! This is one thing that many business tweeters forget. This is the whole idea that sets Twitter apart from the rest! These hashtags (#) are used in front of keywords or topics with NO SPACES to catagorize and group together tweets containing the same hashtags – for instance, search #oprah #charliesheen or #websitedesign and see what you get. Clicking on a hashtagged word in any message shows you all other tweets in that category. Hashtags can occur anywhere in the tweet – BUT don’t overuse hashtags! Max of 3 per tweet or it starts to look like spam.
Twitter-only promotions. Use a “whisper code” on a tweet or two, i.e. “Come in and whisper ‘Viva la Banana’ and you get 15% off your banana split today only!” Don’t offer this promotion on Facebook – but let your friends on Facebook be aware that they are missing out on great deals if they are not following your Twitter account.
Share your unique content. Share your blog posts with your unique business perspective, and let others know that you are on the top of your industry. Share your knowledge and make it obvious (and legitimate) that you know what you are talking about, so when your audience has a question, they know they can rely on you to provide the best and most accurate information.
Be proud – but not over-boastful – of your company. Your business’s accomplishments are not something to be modest about, so happily post an amazing testimonial you’ve received or post a picture of your award for being the best restaurant in town. Don’t over-do it and gloat or put any other companies down – this could lead to un-follows, bad reviews, and could demean the name you are trying to make for yourself.
Share others’ content. Don’t make it all about yourself. Show that you care about other businesses and causes. For instance, if you are involved in a charity (or just want to promote what they stand for), retweet them or share a link to their website.
Let them know you’re listening. Customer service is a huge part of any business. If someone decides to tweet that they had an issue with your services/brand – DO NOT IGNORE. The whole point of social media is to be SOCIAL. Getting a response to the customer is extremely vital. It is very aggravating to see a company posting things daily that won’t even respond to a negative comment – this will only lead to a bad review. Even if you can’t solve or replace the problem, at least you tried to help make the customer satisfied (and they will take note of that). And what is a business without satisfied customers? Bankrupt.
Once you start to become an active tweeter (and we suggest you should), you will easily catch on how the Twitter world works to deliver your business’s message. Use your creativity and incorporate how unique your business and employees are, using their strengths, talents, and interests to take the best advantage of Twitter. Monitoring your tweets is also very important – taking note of which tweets have been ignored, favorited, retweeted, and responded to (negative AND positive responses) – and using your marketing efforts to better your tweets and responses.
If this didn’t give you enough ways to tweet to your followers, or you are still confused about why you should even use Twitter, contact us today and we can help you tweak your tweets!
