4 Tips for Effective Marketing with Twitter

Twitter is one of the latest and most important social media channels for companies to use to market their brand and interact with  their customers. Statistic Brain states that there are 554,750,000 registered users on Twitter and 115 million of those are active. There is a very good chance that among those users, some may be interested in becoming a customer of yours. HubSpot also contends the value of Twitter with the following statistics:

• 67% of Twitter users are more likely to buy brands that they follow
• Companies that use Twitter average two times more leads per month than those that don’t.  

With all of the new forms of social media and technology constantly being thrown at us, it is easy to understand why you may hesitate to put your business out in the Twitter-sphere. At the same time, it will be easy to see the benefits once you begin gaining traction and incorporating marketing with Twitter into your overall marketing strategy. Twitter is a useful marketing tool that allows you to easily reach your current and potential customers with offers, messages and more. Here are 4 tips for utilizing Twitter effectively for marketing:

#1 - Don’t Be “That Sales Guy”

Informing and educating your customers about your company and its products or services can be beneficial to them, but don’t overdo it on the sales pitch. Don't be pushy all the time. Be pushy at the right time. Consumers aren’t on Twitter to be sold; they’re there to be entertained, get news updates and share snippets of their life (and that’s just the tip of the Twitter iceberg). As a business, instead of focusing on selling your product or service, you’ll be better off sharing news updates, pictures, glimpses of who you are as a company and the benefits you provide through your product and services. Twitter is an interaction platform, not a sales soapbox.

#2 - Find Balance

Getting started on Twitter can be tricky. There needs to be a delicate balance between the number of followers you have and the number of people or businesses you follow, especially in the beginning. You want to appear relevant and follow-worthy without appearing like a SPAM account, and these conclusions are often drawn from your followers vs. following ratio.

You’ll also want to find balance in which people and businesses you choose to follow. The Social Media Examiner states that “Your Twitter experience is defined by whom you follow, not by who follows you.” Here are some recommendations The Social Media Examiner gives to get you started following the right people and businesses:

• Customers
• Business partners, suppliers, contractors and vendors
• Competition
• Peers
• Other professional and trade organizations in your industry
• Local businesses
• Business leaders/professionals

The point in following other people and businesses is to gain knowledge and insight on the latest industry trends, network with other professionals, interact with customers and share news about your business.

#3 - Stay Consistent and Dedicated

Spending at least a few minutes each day to share, interact and respond to your followers can make or break the effectiveness of your marketing efforts on Twitter. If you do not stay consistent and up-to-date with your posts, you will fall out of the minds of your followers.

Although a few minutes each day may suffice, the more time you can spend on Twitter, the more successful your efforts will be. In fact, many businesses and advertising agencies have specialists devoted to marketing with Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google+ and many other social mediums. In addition to keeping consistent with posts and interaction, it is vital to stay updated on the changes, upgrades and best practices each social medium implements and recommends.

#4 - Sweat the Small Stuff

When completing your Twitter profile, something that should be done at the very beginning, it is important that you do not skip any steps. Clearly and succinctly complete your profile so you give the Twitter-sphere the full picture of your business. This information not only introduces your business to the habitants of Twitter, but it also allows you to appear in searches and be found by potential and current customers.

Take the time to create custom graphics to visually represent your business and your brand. Although the sizing, colors, copy, username and more can seem tedious and unimportant, take the time to setup properly. You don’t want to lose a follower or future customer because your visual appearance is mediocre or because you didn’t provide a way to explore your business outside of Twitter. 

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Here are a few more items you’ll want to consider (and even this list isn’t exhaustive):

• Balance between social activity posts and lead generation posts
• Use of hashtags
• SEO
• Review & adjustment
• Other social mediums you should build a presence on

Sources:

http://www.twitip.com/use-twitter-for-your-business-the-right-way/