I already know what you’re going to say, “We don’t want people telling us what they had for dinner” right? Well, Twitter is much more than 140 characters of nothing. It’s a business tool, and you need to use it now!
Getting Started – (Don’t be intimidated)
- Sign up for an account at http://twitter.com. Try to use your first and last name, or your blog name as the account name. Insure that is easy to remember, and easy to type. Note that there is a 15 character limit on the account name.
- Go into Settings and fill out your profile information. Make sure to include the URL to your blog in the “More Info URL” field. Add a picture, it makes it more personable to your followers. Pick a design and you’re almost in business!
- Start “tweeting”, (More on this below) no more than a few a day to start. This is a marathon, and you don’t want to lose your followers for being too chatty.
- Follow some people you know. (Go to their Twitter page and click on the button that says “Follow”.)
I recommend two favorites: @suzannefranco (Suzanne Franco) @anthonyauguglia (Anthony Augugliaro)
- DO NOT use Twitter solely as a promotional outlet for your blog, or everyone will think that is boring and will not want to follow you
- As you get more familiar with your account, and Twitter, follow more people with the same interests as you. In the long run you’ll be a lot happier!
Build Credibility by sharing – (This is HUGE, get it right from the beginning)
- Be a problem solver, not a problem maker.
- Share your business tips.
- Post original Content for your followers.
- Highlight an event or conference you’re attending.
- Alert followers to news related to your niche
- Provide valuable links to articles and content that helped you!
- Followers lover your photo’s, share them. (Example: Twitpic)
Build Your Network of Followers – (Don’t rush these steps)
- Tweetup or Meet up. In fact, do both!
- Be responsive. The faster the better, don’t leave a question hanging.
- Ask for help…Follower point you in the right direction.
- Check out your potential “Follows” before following them.
- Use the search bar to look up keywords that will increase your potential leads.
- Participate in people talking about you niche, or passion.
- Give and Get referrals from the community.
- Recommend other Twitter users in your group.
Market yourself and Your Blog (Marketing equals $$$$ if done correctly)
- Be honest and transparent with the information you post.
- Use polls and surveys. Just don’t go crazy with them.
- Share some of your strategy’s
- Avoid the hard sell (good way to get unfollowed)
- Put your Twitter ID on all business cards, blogs, emails signatures, etc.
- Link your posts, audio, and video to Twitter (It may become a viral Tweet!)
- Everyone loves breaking news, post it!
- Always respond to tweets talking about you or your blog.
Do’s and Don’ts
- Do have a good time
- Do work hard
- Do post to your followers
- Do appreciate social media
- Don’t say anything that can come back to haunt you.
- Don’t post boring things
- Don’t tweet more than 10 times a day.
- Don’t retweet anything without the original poster.
Quick Twitter Lingo
- DM = Direct Message ( You can only DM people that follow you)
- RT= Retweet
- @username = a link to that persons account
- Tweetup = A gathering organized via Twitter
- Hashtag (#) = #topic – ways to group keywords
- Shortened URLs = To use you 140 characters wisely, we like to use Bitly.com Let’s say we need to shorten http://www.suzannefranco.com/ we’d get this http://bit.ly/Cfqb9
- TwitterStream = a collection of tweets
- Follower = Someone who sees your tweets in their TwitterStream
Like any new form of communication, we must take time to learn what the medium has to offer us and our brand. Take time to learn, and experiment with Twitter. This is not some fad the will pass in a few weeks, month, or even years. This is a seriously powerful tool for you to use for your blog, your brand, and your business. Treat it with respect, and it could provide you with a bounty of prospects.
What’s your Twitter ID?
Do you have any Twitter tips to share? We love to know about them.
