For me, the jury is still out on whether or not Twitter is a valuable business tool (i.e., whether or not it is just another spamming site). I’m not a Twitter specialist or a massive fan of the platform (though you’re welcome to follow me if you’re interested), but I have found a few tricks that have helped me and my clients get more subscribers. In this brief piece, I’ll provide several approaches that I’ve found helpful in the past.
Stay away from the sales pitch.
Twitter, like other online social networks, is inevitably viewed by startups as a potential marketing platform. Twitter’s usage for social awareness (as we’ve seen recently in Tunisia and Egypt) is a welcome deviation from the norm. Still, for the most part, it’s just another platform where small firms with limited resources try to attract customers with subtle and blatant advertising. Offering helpful advice without expecting anything in return is a great way to build a loyal and engaged fan base. Share a curious realization from your own experience that others can connect to. Start a conversation with your followers by remarking your business that is not biased. If you’re going to include links in your tweets, ensure they’re informative pieces rather than promotional content or freebie offers. If you’re anything like me, you’ll see this individual and quickly decide to stop following them.
Give Priority to Excellence, Not Quantity
Some questionable “experts” may suggest that you post your Tweets in blocks to increase the visibility of your content. You know what? I’m talking about a user who posts 8 or 9 consecutive Tweets to dominate a vast portion of your Tweet feed. It’s obnoxious as hell and a dishonest way to get famous (if that’s what you want to call it). If a person uses this method, I will unfollow them immediately. Instead of spamming other people’s Twitter feeds for followers, put in the time to create content that will interest your followers. Twenty average posts each day can’t compare to just one excellent one. Also, aim for many weekly updates. This will increase the potential audience for your Tweets. Throughout the day, you may monitor how well your
postings are doing. Bitly is a valuable tool for shortening URLs and monitoring their popularity. Why aren’t you tweeting with links? You may gauge the success of your messages by the number of replies they receive. Even though it seems like a good idea to post between 12 and 1 pm EST when most people are at work, you will face more competition because that is when most people take their lunch breaks. It could be more productive to publish at 8:30 p.m. when most people are winding down after the day. Try different times and see what works best to maximize answers.
Make use of Hash Tags.
Hashtags on social media consist of a keyword or phrase preceded by the pound sign (#). Including hashtags in your Tweets makes your messages more discoverable, increasing the likelihood that others will follow you. Like “tags” in the Blogosphere, which are essentially sub-categories, hashtags serve a similar purpose. Take the case of promoting your company using Twitter. For example, you may write, “Having fun today with my business development strategy session.” Doing a search on Twitter for the word “Business” would return results from users who have either: recently referenced the word business in a tweet, have the phrase business written in their profile bio, or benefit at random from Twitter’s current search algorithm. A more specific business tag, such as “Having fun today with my #business development strategy session,” will boost your visibility in search results. In the future, only content that includes the #business hashtag will be returned in a search for that term. This is a far more refined approach to searching on Twitter, as frequent users are already well-versed in hashtags. Seeing which other people are using the same hashtag is a bonus. Once you’ve done that, you can follow them, and hopefully, they’ll return the favor. Tweeting about happenings with hashtags is also quite effective. If you have many people planning on using Twitter before, during, or after an event, you can facilitate their use by having them all use the same hashtag.
Make use of Twitter’s Lists.
I wasn’t sure how to put Twitter lists to use at first. But I went from lukewarm to diehard in no time. Creating a Twitter list is a fantastic method to discover relevant accounts to follow. I frequently utilize Twitter’s search function to find lists of notable people in my profession, and then I follow everyone on that list. The time-consuming task of tracking down highly targeted people in a particular field is greatly simplified by list-based searches. You can increase your exposure and the number of people interested in what you have to say by making lists that people hope will get them added to.
Knowing When Your Followers Drop Off
I find Twunfollow an invaluable resource for keeping tabs on former followers. If a user follows you back on Twitter, it’s good karma to return the favor unless the other user is fake. But many people employ a covert method to rebalance their “following” to “followers” ratio. These persons will follow you initially but unfollow you within a day or two, changing your follower count from +1 to -1. The percentage of people you follow to people who follow you can be easily changed by simply repeating this method. The reasoning behind this strategy is that more followers and fewer followers are desirable qualities in a Twitter profile. This ratio discrepancy is supposed to indicate that you are an influential Twitter personality worth following.
Consequently (again, in some opinion), this makes you a more appealing person to follow. In my opinion, this way of looking at the ratio of followers to those you’re following is very elementary. This ratio isn’t something I focus on often. However, let me get off-topic. Twunfollow is a fantastic program that keeps you apprised by email daily of who decides to stop following you on Twitter, regardless of how you feel about the manipulation involved. Dishonest Twitter users who are trying to tilt the scales can be unfollowed.
Submit Your Twitter Account to Listing Sites
Even though Twitter’s internal search engine is continually being updated, there are numerous more free tools accessible to identify niche people. Twellow, the digital equivalent of the Yellow Pages, is the site I use most often. Twellow allows you to do searches based on both topic and location. You may also control who follows you on Twellow. For instance, you can check up on your one-way and non-reciprocal followers. This is the best Twitter directory I’ve seen. However, there are others.
Check Your Direct Messages and Reply to Tweets
The ability to send DMs on Twitter is often overlooked. Some of the direct messages I receive are from real people, but the vast majority are automated responses to follows like “Thank you for following me” and “Here is my Free Book for following me,” which we all get. Don’t forget to use Twitter’s direct messages; that’s how I found several new leads. It would be best to retweet tweets that you find interesting or valuable. Do you have a handful of Twitter users that you never miss a tweet? I’m sure we all do, but I’m following @smashingmag right now. Then, tell the world about it by using Twitter’s Retweet feature. To directly address a user on Twitter, just use @ followed by their username. If you wanted to Tweet me about this article, you could write something like this: Thanks for the Twitter article, @Davalign.
Enjoy It to the Fullest
Twitter has no purpose if you are not at least trying to enjoy it. Increasing your Twitter following won’t help your company succeed. It won’t be a game-changer by any stretch of the imagination. If you have fun when networking, you won’t mind putting in the time and effort as much, and the business opportunities you generate from those connections will be icing on the cake. Send a Tweet occasionally sharing a funny story you recently heard. Share a tweet you found on Twitter that made you laugh. Don’t be too serious, either with yourself or with Twitter.
Fairfield County is home to Dave Panfili’s web design firm in Connecticut. Businesses seeking to increase their web visibility and consumer base should hire him for web design and consulting services.
Read also: 5 Things To Hate About Website Design And How To Fix Them
