If you’re a Denver-based business owner who thinks Twitter will never work for you—too time-consuming, too complicated, and not enough measurable data (besides, I’m a grown-up and I don’t “tweet”)—think again. The fact is, Twitter can become your new best friend, if you do it right.
Start the Conversation
Every successful business owner knows that you need to start conversations with your soon-to-be customers as well as maintain ongoing conversations with your existing customers. Consumer buying decisions are increasingly based on these conversations—and the information that prompts them.
So, where are these conversations happening? Where is this information? More and more, consumers are turning to Twitter and other social media sites to find out what’s valuable and what’s not. Maybe you’re already engaged in inbound internet marketing and are wondering how to incorporate social media into the plan. Maybe your competitors are already using Twitter and it’s making you a little nervous because you’re not. Whatever the reason, you can start using this powerful tool to market your business and make it work.
The following tips for Twitter success will get you on the road to inbound Internet marketing success. Here are 7 smart tips:
1. Start with your keywords.
Optimizing your social media content starts with search engine optimization, and SEO starts with keywords. A solid list of effective long- and short-tail keywords is crucial if you want your tweets to be found and forwarded by both humans and search engines.
2. Plan ahead.
It’s not a bad idea to plan out and write your tweets in advance, then post them on a schedule. For instance, create topics for each day of the week in the same way you would a blog, to get conversations going or release interesting information. Planning ahead gives you direction, gives you time to check for proper voice and keeps you on track.
3. Check your retweets (RT).
If you write a post that is retweeted a lot, congratulations! It’s popular! Keep these popular tweets in mind, as they give you important data about what topics people find interesting, and which ones you should focus more of your time on.
4. Optimize your “handle.”
Your Twitter handle is your identifying name for Twitter users (i.e. @dbcdigital), so ideally it would be your company name. However, if you can’t use your company name, use your best keyword. Since your handle precedes each tweet, this boosts your SEO power.
5. Don’t oversell.
If your tweets are all about you, people will soon go away. This is part of inbound Internet marketing 101. So, use the 80/20 rule when posting material on Twitter. This means 80% pure information, 20% marketing material. Include keyword-optimized links to other useful resource sites, and leave personal comments and answers. Remember, this is social media marketing, but your followers don’t want it to feel that way.
6. Create good hashtags. (#)
Hashtags are designated with a pound sign (#) before a key word. These were developed by Twitter users to tell others that they’re talking about a specific topic and to be able to search for and track who else is discussing the same topic. So, be sure to use your keywords in hashtags whenever possible. This will help lead people to your account.
7. Time your tweets.
Be smart about which topics you introduce and when you introduce them. If your business is seasonal, for example, start talking about the topics relevant to the season. Or, if you just attended an important trade show or convention, be sure to talk about it right away (on site, if possible). Include your keywords for these specific seasons or events.
Apply these Twitter tips and see what Twitter can do for you!
What’s your opinion? Do you agree or disagreee that Twitter can help a business grow? What are some ways you use Twitter in your business?
