Over the past year, Twitter has gone from being “the next big thing” to being, perhaps, the most talked about social network of the moment. It seems you can’t go more than a few minutes without hearing a newscaster or a celebrity say “Follow me on Twitter @ (insert Twitter name here).” Frankly, Twitter is almost at the point of overexposure.
That being said, this recent surge in popularity represents a huge opportunity for companies looking to increase their presence online. Companies of all size and from all industries are using Twitter to connect with their target audience and to increase brand awareness. From Southwest Airlines to Zappos, everyone is jumping on the Twitter bandwagon.
So, now that you know there’s an opportunity to promote your company on Twitter, the only question left to answer is this: What are the secrets to building a successful Twitter presence? Here are 5 tips to help you get headed in the right direction.
1. Consistency is key. When you’re building a Twitter presence, your ultimate goal is to create a community of followers who pay attention to your Tweets, trust you, and value what you say. Now, how can you possibly expect to accomplish this if you only show up to Tweet once every week or so? You can’t. That would be like trying to build a relationship with your girlfriend by lobbing her a phone call every couple weeks. You have to stay active in your community so that your followers will get to know you and your authority will start to slowly increase.
2. Stop marketing. The biggest mistake you can make is to treat Twitter like any traditional marketing platform. Sending out Tweet after Tweet talking about how great your company is and dropping link after link to your website just won’t cut it. After all, why would anyone follow somebody whose Twitter profile is nothing more than a commercial? You have to give people a reason to follow you, so traditional marketing won’t work. It’s all about building relationships with your followers.
3. Focus on adding value. Adding value to the community, not marketing, is what will help you build a loyal following on Twitter. How can you add value to your community? By providing quality information in your Tweets that can’t be found anywhere else. This can be anything from giving your unique insight to a discussion question to linking to great blog posts around the web. The key is to make sure every Tweet adds something to the user experience. By consistently providing great information in your Tweets, you’ll start to build your authority, placing yourself as a leading expert in your industry.
4. Interact with your followers. Remember, Twitter is a social network. The keyword here? Social. So, don’t you think it’s in your best interest to actually be social. In other words, don’t just send out one-way Tweet after one-way Tweet. Actually take the time to interact with your followers by engaging in discussions with them. Building relationships is how you will eventually convert your Twitter account into loyal, paying customers. Your followers are a lot more likely to feel committed to your company if they actually have a sense that they know you.
5. Lend a helping hand. When most people start marketing on Twitter, they get this “me vs. the world” mentality. On Twitter, that’s not a good thing. Instead of only being concerned with yourself, you should be looking to give others a helping hand. And it doesn’t take a lot of effort either. Something as simple as ReTweeting a message for one of your followers to increase their exposure will earn you a lot of goodwill down the road. It will also make you look less like a marketer and more like a member of the community.
Simply put, the best way to increase your Twitter presence is just to be yourself. Stop worrying so much about how this will improve your company’s bottom line and start focusing on getting to know your target audience. Building relationships is what will make your Twitter efforts pay off down the road. So, get out there and start Tweeting!
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Whether I am not insightful enough, or I just have no vision the right way to promote professionally but I really cannot obtain virtually any followers. I have tried following individuals to get a friendly follow back, aids a bit but it just looks like almost everyone who does that wants the equivalent thing as me, another person to look over their day by day drivel.
That’s an interesting comment. Is ttw your solution. There are many types of followers that you can have and I think most of them are important to really making use of twitter as a marketing tool. There are those that just follow you so that you follow them, that doesn’t always have to stay that way, but it’s fine if it does. There are also those that find your posts informative and/or thought provoking. Then there are the followers that you can interact with on a regular basis. There are plenty of ways to get more followers, whether or not anyone at all is paying attention is another story. Good luck! Thanks for stopping by.
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