If you've been doing business online for any amount of time (or if you've been researching online business), I'm sure you've heard that Twitter can be a very effective marketing tool. I completely agree with that and in fact I get lots of traffic and clients from my Tweeting activities. If you've never Tweeted before though it can seem a bit overwhelming at first. Thinking back to my time as a Twitter-Baby, I remember spending hours staring at the screen, Tweeting into what seemed like the void, and getting very few followers or responses and virtually no traffic. Ugh!
Over time I figured it out (yes, with a few wrong turns, money wasted on useless "how to become a social medial mogul courses," and a lot of wasted time). Today I run 6 different Twitter accounts, all of which have lots of followers and drive traffic to my sites, and all of which keep growing practially on their own. Oh and I do this in less than 30 minutes a day!
Interested in how I do it? These tips will help you make the most of your time and energy and help you Tweet like a pro!
- Twitter is NOT an advertising or marketing medium. It is a SOCIAL network. The things you say on there (even for business) need to be more casual and social, like you’re having a conversation with a friend.
- One of the cardinal rules of successful business Tweeting is DON’T EVER SPAM! Spam means sending the same tweet out over and over again (whether on one account or on multiple accounts), or sending lots of Tweets out all at once. This is annoying and if you do it people will stop following you. Which will NOT get you business.
- Don’t post links that say “visit my site at www.site.com.” That gives people absolutely ZERO reason to visit your site. Instead give them a benefit or reason to visit, with a link at the end. Examples:
- Give free tips: 6 free tips on how to make the perfect cake *link*
- Ask a question that is answered on your site: How can you get wine stains off new carpet? Find out at *link*
- Or a more personal version of that: How I got a huge wine stain off my new white carpet *link*
- Start with “did you know”: Did you know that your tap water may be making you sick? *link*
- Or another way of doing that: I didn’t know that tap water could make me sick. Did you? *link*
- Share information: I just found the most interesting article about peanut butter *link*
- Include other information about your industry that have NO links attached. I like to Tweet relevant quotes and tips. In fact, many internet marketing professionals recommend that you only link to your site in every 5th or 6th Tweet.
- Link to other places on the internet that then link back to your site. Some examples of this include:
- A blog that you wrote a guest post on
- An article that you published through Ezine articles or other related sites
- A favorable review from a third party
- Include links to other sites, even if they’re not related to your business or industry. People LOVE cool sites and if you develop a reputation for sharing those sites people will be more likely to click on the links that point them back to your site too.
- Take the time to join in conversations and answer messages people send you. This adds a personal touch to your Tweets and lets people know there’s a real person behind the screen. (Hint - I use a service that makes this very easy to do).
- Give your account personality. Again remember that social media is about connecting with people. So let your style shine in the Tweets you send out.
- Thank people for Re-tweeting your tweets. You don’t have to thank every single person every single time (which is near impossible once you're getting tons of retweets), but it is nice to acknowledge people who take the time to pass your words on.
- Use a service such as SocialOomph to organize and schedule your Tweets for maximum effect. If you don’t know about SocialOomph then check out the article I wrote about it here. It’s amazing and I wouldn’t do social media marketing without it.
- Bonus Tip - Link your twitter account to Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media platforms. You don't have to post every Tweet on Facebook but the ability to post some of them automatically will give you a much larger internet presence (Hint - SocialOomph can do this for you).
- Bonus Tip - Once you become profieient at Tweeting, run multiple accounts for various aspects of your business. This gives you and your business more exposure without seeming too pushy. I'll write another article on the best way to do that soon.
If you want an idea of how I Tweet for business, follow me on Twitter and pay attention to the Tweets I send out. I'm also available if you need additional help setting up your Twitter marketing plan.
