Twitter used to be a simple platform for sharing short messages but, today, the platform is used by millions of marketers. Twitter is the perfect platform for sharing powerful messages to a targeted audience. The platform currently has more than 316 million active users that log into their accounts at least once a month. Most Twitter users also follow five or more business accounts on the platform, and about 79% of all Twitter users have recommended a brand they follow on the platform to others.
#1. Start With A Profile
If your business doesn’t have a profile on Twitter, then you cannot utilize the platform as a marketing tool. Thus, the very first step is to create a profile for your business. Unlike Facebook, Google Plus and LinkedIn, Twitter does not allow you to create a business profile inside of your personal profile. Instead, you will need to create a new Twitter account that dedicated to your business. Sprout Social recommends choosing a short username that represents your business. They explain that you need to consider the fact that Twitter only allows 140 characters per tweet, and your username will take up some of these characters if any Twitter user mentions you in a Tweet.
After you have created your profile, you should immediately confirm your email address. Twitter will send an email to the email address you used to sign up. Open up the email and click on the “Verify My E-Mail Address” button. The next step is to optimize your profile to be presentable, professional and to ensure your profile is “followable.” A profile that has properly optimized will also work better when you decide to implement influencer marketing. Here are a few tips that will help you properly optimize your profile:
- Include your business logo as a profile picture, or an image that is appropriate.
- Add a professional cover image to your profile. Investing in a graphic designer is a good idea as this is one of the elements that will make a first impression on any user that visits your profile. If you are on a small budget, then visit Fiverr. There are many graphic designers on Fiverr that offers cover image design services from as little as $5.
- Write a professional bio for your company’s Twitter profile. Ensure there are no grammar or spelling mistakes. You can also include a keyword or two to make your profile easier to find when users search for specific keywords in your industry on Twitter.
- Add a link to your website in your company’s Twitter profile. There is a place to add a link – use that space instead of the bio to link out to your site. Not only will this give you a high-quality Backlink, but it will also send visitors to your site.
#2. Build A Following
To be successful on Twitter, you need followers – and a lot of them. The good thing about Twitter followers is the fact that, if you work smart, then they will be highly targeted. People will follow your Twitter account if they are interested in what they see in your username, bio, and Tweets. Social Media Examiner recommends following relevant Twitter accounts – profiles that are relevant to your own business. They also recommend ensuring that the patterns you follow have a profile and bio. Your Tweets should also be engaging and entertaining. Don’t Tweet about obvious things that your followers already knows. Try Tweeting about the latest news in your industry and about topics that your followers would want to engage. You should also try to include media in your Tweets – either as images or videos.
#3. Build Authority
The next step is to become an authority in your industry and niche. It might be a tricky part, but if you put some effort into this step, then you will surely come out at the top. To build authority, you need to share information that shows your audience you know what you are talking about and that you are an expert in your industry. You also need to engage with your audience. If someone mentions you in a Tweet, then respond to their Tweet. If someone sends you a message, then reply quickly. All of this will help you build authority for your Twitter account. When you have authority, then you are also more likely to be successful should you decide to use blogger outreach as part of your marketing strategy.
#4. Connect With Influencers
After you have created a good profile, grew your follower count and built some authority for yourself, then it is time to connect with influencers in your industry. Influencers may be one of your most valuable assets, but only if you approach influencers in the right way. Start by determining who influencers in your industry are and then start to follow them on Twitter.
Once you have followed a couple of influencers, you can start to contact them. Many influencers will be willing to recommend your Twitter account or even your website’s URL to their followers. Utilizing influencers as part of your social media marketing campaign can skyrocket your results, expand your follower count and lead to thousands of new customers in a relatively short amount of time.
Conclusion
Even though Twitter is a powerful platform for marketing products and services, many businesses are not yet utilizing the platform to their advantage. We’ve shared with you some statistics that proof the platform is useful, and we explained exactly how you could use Twitter to reach more customers. Now it is up to you to implement these tips and techniques and to discover how Twitter can help your business.
