Don’t be fooled into thinking that Twitter is taking a back seat due to the popularity of other social media networks. Twitter is still holding its own, with almost 330 million people using it every day. That makes it a very viable social media network indeed, if you’re a small business owner looking for growth.
As all business owners know well, time is money; so it helps to have a smart social media marketing strategy in place. It also helps if you know a few hacks for navigating each platform, to save yourself wasted time and effort. With the aim of practicality, you’ll get further on Twitter… faster. Here’s how:
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Keep your ear to the ground
It’s prudent to understand your target audience. For this you can simply make use of the Twitter search box. By searching strategically, it’s easy enough to find out what they are thinking about. If you can tap into that flow of information, it’s a great starting point for connecting with them.
If there’s something they’re missing out on, they’ll probably be commenting on that. Likewise, they’ll be tweeting about what they love, which is valuable information.
Tips for performing Twitter searches
Before searching, note the difference between a keyword and a hashtag, as these will bring up different results: without the # symbol, you’ve typed a keyword. Another useful tool is Twitter analytics. Finding out when your target audience are most likely to be online will help you reach them more easily.
You can also take a leaf or two out of other business’ books by checking out the latest trends. The subject matter isn’t important – it’s how they’re engaging their customers that is. The kind of content they’re using could be inspiring.
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Make sure you’re following the right people
How will you know who is doing well? They’ll be getting retweets left, right and centre. They’ll be masters of engagement; people will be responding regularly to their posts and ‘favouriting’ them, and the number of followers will consistently go up. When you spot people like that, follow them yourself and study their patterns.
A tool such as Twiends can help you to connect with these influencers as well. By providing the ability to connect with those that might be interested in what you have to talk about and vice versa, you can connect with the leaders in your field and learn from them.
This way you can learn from the winning brands and their marketing teams’ expertise. That doesn’t mean you should follow the herd; on the contrary, having a unique approach can be a good thing, especially in terms of how you respond to comments.
Developing an interesting brand personality will go a long way toward successfully engaging people. If you can get them to talk to you, you’re more than halfway there.
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Be careful with your content and communication
When you get around to posting, the kind of content you share is vital. You can’t afford to be too ‘salesy’; hardcore promotion will be at best annoying, and at worst it will get you unfollows. Instead, asking thought-provoking questions is a good idea; you’ve hooked the attention and you’re more likely to get a response.
People may well be paying more attention to the larger, more established brands (because, well, so are their peers), but that doesn’t mean they won’t listen to what you have to say – if you can intrigue them. For instance, some brands find that a witty, humorous, tongue-in-cheek approach works… from time to time anyway.
However, there is a fine line and it’s important not to cross it; you should aim to maintain your professional reputation, but a little humour comes across as confidence and a healthy attitude to life. People tend to trust and appreciate that kind of thing more than churned-out corporate spiel, for example.
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Organise your studies meticulously
If you’re serious about developing your brand and your Twitter presence, you’ll need to be organised. When you’re following countless accounts, you’re going to forget who is doing what, or not retain information you come across.
Twitter lists are great for keeping on top of your game. You can collect tweets that are relevant to what you want to achieve, as well as groups of users who are making the kinds of posts you want to emulate. You can categorize things by industry, top 10s, most engaging profiles… however you see fit.
You can even make lists of your favourite customers, to make sure they don’t drop off your radar, which makes lists a great relationship-building tool.
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Track your progress
Don’t forget to track your progress – if you don’t do that, how will you know what led to your growth? The analytics dashboard is useful for all kinds of insights; you can figure out and track the metrics here, which will help you monitor engagement… so as you start to grow, you’ll have a good idea of why it is, and you can duplicate the most powerful tactics.
Once you’re confident with your use of this network, you might think about using Twitter ads to increase engagement. However long it takes is dependent on you, but it is entirely possible to use Twitter to grow your brand. By listening, empathizing, emulating, organizing and monitoring, you’ll make the best of this network for sure. Good luck!
