Sunday, September 23, 2012

7 Tips for Using Twitter for Business


Using Twitter for business has become one of the main social media activities. But effective tweeting for commercial purposes is easier said than done.

It boils down to the following 7 tips:

1. Getting more followers on Twitter

It is important to understand that the number of followers is not that relevant. What is far more important is the quality (or suitability) of followers. Once you get a notification that someone is following you, check who they are before following them back.
The same applies to the reverse: only follow contacts that are relevant for you, your business, and industry.

2. When to tweet and how much

If possible, find out when your target group is on Twitter. Research shows that the ideal number of tweets in the US is 10-20 a day; for Europe, this is a lot less.

3. Relevant Tweeters

Who are relevant tweeters to follow and invite?
  • Users of your (or a similar) products or services
  • People from your area and industry
  • People that inspire (gurus, industry leaders)
  • Your LinkedIn and Facebook contacts
  • Subscribers to your newsletter
  • Participants of your webinars or events
  • Prospects you want to engage/land

4. Ideal Subjects for tweets

People like to see tweets about tips, highlights, hot items and news. Topics of tweets could therefore encompass:
  • Trends and developments in your region/industry
  • New products/services
  • Discussion items
  • Tips and advise
  • Trends
  • Hot industry and product news
  • Webinar, promotions, news items
  • FAQ
  • Blog posts
5. Time to Tweet

It takes around 15 to 30 minutes daily to tweet. Research of finding relevant trends, articles and news items to tweet takes longer. It might pay off to enlist a subcontractor to tweet on behalf of your company. It is in many cases more cost effective and ensures quality and consistency!

6. Follow Up

People react in various ways. If the tweet contains useful tips or (news) articles, you need to retweet. Asking for advice is also a good way to get more exposure. Do not forget to put the hash tag in front of your question!

7. Monitoring

There are several tools to monitor your Twitter presence and progress. They include: Klout, PeerIndex, TweetRank en Twitalyzer.

Do you have more tips or tricks for tweeting for business? Please leave a message!

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