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Getting started: Twitter
If you have heard a lot about Twitter, and have decided to give it a go, where do you start and what steps to you take to integrate it into your overall communication strategy?
Here are some jargon free down to earth steps to take to start using Twitter - today - as an effective communication tool for your business.
1. SETTING UP THE ACCOUNT
It is as simple as going to www.twitter.com and Signing Up for an Account.
The account name that you choose, and the page background/colours that you use, will convey a personality for your business. As with your web-site, your business card, your brochures and stationary - every touch point between you and your customers including how your Twitter account & profile looks is a tool for conveying your brand.
Twitter is very personal. It is people - to - people, but people who represent businesses, and with an audience looking on...
Your name can be YOUR name, or use a name that helps to promote and support your business. But if you are using it for your business profile remember to be consistent with your other marketing activity.
You may want to use the same (or an easy to recognise) abbreviation of your blog and/or business name; your own name; an image from your web-site; your own photo.
One thing to aim for is to have as short a name as possible – whilst still making sense - as it will be using up characters in your tweet.
Your bio should include the key words that you want people to find you with. It should have a link to your web-site and blog. You may like to put in your interests, or values. Whatever in the short space gives people a bit of an idea about you - enough of an idea to want to click through to your site - and enough, together with your record of tweets, to be followed by the people you want to be followed by.
You don't have to put your Bio in straight away - you can check out what lots of other people have and find those that you like so that you can emulate them. And once your Bio is in, you can change it as often as you like in the Settings tab.
THE TWCYCLE
SEARCH: How to find the people that you want to be part of your Twitter community?
As with any form of business networking you need to look for people who may be customers, but also those people who share similar interests as you, and those who you may be able to help.
So far on Twitter I have been contacted by people who, strictly speaking, are competitors but have provided great information, interesting links – and recommendations for work!
So don’t go looking just for those people who look like customers.
Search at:
www.peoplebrowsr.com – Click the Bio Search and put in location and keywords. So, for example, Small Business Melbourne.
You will be able to hover over the person’s Twitter Name and get a quick idea as to whether, from their bio, they are suitable.
If so, click them to follow.
You are likely to find a lot of other businesses like yours. Get creative with your Search Terms.
So, if you have a lot of coaching clients who are in the trades, go looking for trades people.
Go back to the home page of www.peoplebrowsr.com – click people search and this time just search for words in people’s tweets, in the areas that you are interested.
For example, Search for references to businesses or industries.
Another search tool is at Twitter itself: http://search.twitter.com/advanced
Same process – look for bios, people, brands, business, events, that will help you identify people on Twitter who you can help, who can help you, who share similar interests, or just make you laugh!
You will also know of business people, authors, etc., who you admire or you know play in the same space as you. Search for their names and/or their business name – and when you find them, follow.
And there is also the followers of the people you are following....
Don't bother following people who:
* Have no bio or web address
* Have virtually no followers, but in turn follow thousands of people, and have only tweeted once or twice
* Tweet the same few messages over and over again
There is a good chance that in all cases they aren't real people but Bots. And will just send you stacks of Twitter Spam (annoying enough on screen, madening with you get it as a direct message to your email inbox).
BE FOUND
Tell people your Twitter name. Put your Twitter account as a link on your web-site. Put it into your email signautre. Have it on your business card.
If people aren’t tweeting, encourage them to do so and to follow you. That way you create another avenue for communicating with them – and driving them to your other activity: your blog, your events, your web-site, your shop.
The biggest part of being found on Twitter by people who may find you interesting as a colleague, friend, customer or supplier is tweeting about things that they will find interesting....and interacting with people who you find interesting with direct replies - so that they, and their followers, see you....Which leads to....
ENGAGE
Keep in mind as you first start to follow people they will check your bio and look briefly at your most recent Tweets to see whether you are ‘relevant’ to them.
So, get some interesting tweets up there that represent what you are going to be about!
I think of communicating on twitter like programming live radio.
You need to find the right rotation for entertainment, ads, jokes, talk-back, etc.
It can’t be all ads. Nor can it be all fun and games.
And you need to think of when people are ‘listening’. If you tweet once about an item in your shop, it may be that most of your followers didn’t catch it. And only your core fans are going to bother scrolling through a screen’s worth of just your tweets. They are likely to be scanning through many tweets from the many people they are following – and something has to grab their eye.
So, tweet your message a few times in a day or a week – at different times – keeping in mind Monday through Thursday daytime is busy; lots of Yummy Mummies are online at night; and if you are targeting the States, start tweeting at 10.00pm
Keep in mind ‘What’s in it for them’. Is what you are saying informative or entertaining or weird or interesting – It is worth their time to stop and read?
And what do you need to Tweet to build the communities trust in your area of expertise.
I think 20% of your tweets should be personal, a joke, an insight to you as a person. 20% should be re-tweeting things that you find are interesting – The things you choose to re-tweet should reinforce the core interests of your core audience. 20% should be reaching out direct to people with questions or suggestions. If someone poses a problem you can answer, jump on in and be helpful; give an opinion on a trending topic. 20% should be a form of promotion (Register here free, find out how to, Can I help with...).
And 20% should be spread across the board based on whatever is happening on twitter at the moment, what people are saying – and what you have to say.
PROPOGATE
You want to be engaging enough, informative enough, that people who are following you have reason to Re-Tweet what you are saying – which helps you find more followers, by reaching more people.
Cross-promote your Twitter activity on your blog. Talk on your blog about comments you say and have seen on Twitter.
Conduct Twitter Polls that ask people to take action.
Upload pictures that reinforce your Tweets.
Re-tweet your videos and slideshows.
Cross-promote Twitter to LinkedIn.
MIGRATE
You want to pull people out of Twitter and into the other places you play. One way is just to be so damn interesting they Direct Message (DM) you to get in touch.
But you can also DM those people who are following you with a special offer via your web-site – IF IT IS RELEVANT to the conversation you have been having on Twitter.
Putting lots of links into your Tweets back to your other content will drive traffic to that content.
You may also want to Migrate people out of your community – by un-following. If someone is spamming you, or you are sick of reading their constant tweets about affiliate marketing; or you notice that they always send the same tweets over and over again (which means they have automated the process), BLOCK THEM.
OTHER STUFF
I use www.tweetdeck.com and there are course other apps that bring together a lot of Twitter functions.
Set columns up to watch for keywords that interest you. This will help you find more people to follow.
If you want to Tweet someone directly - keeping in mind that anyone following you can see your message, use the @ sign and then their name. So, if tweeting me start your tweet with @DoTheWoo
If you want to send a message that only the recipient can see, use a Direct Message or DM. D DoTheWoo in Tweetdeck will send me a private message. And I will receive notification in my email inbox that there is a direct message from you.
RT means that you are re-tweeting something that someone else has tweeted
If using Tweetdeck, when you type your message, if you put a web-site address in full, it will automatically shorten it for you. The address will be something like http://bit.ly/2dO1MJ
If you then want to see how many people have clicked that linked put the same BIT LY address in your browser with a Plus Sign at the end: http://bit.ly/2dO1MJ+
That will bring up a report of clicks, etc., so that you can monitor your success rate in driving traffic to migrate from Twitter to your web-site, blog or shop.
If you want to pass on another tweet but you just want to acknowledge their name and the link, you can tweet "Via @someone", without having to do a full or exact Re-tweet of everything in their tweet.
In the business to business marketplace I believe that we should use Twitter (and set similar expectations) as if we were at a Networking function. The same rules of courtesy, engagement, being interesting and entertaining, offering to help and introduce, building awareness and sourcing quality leads should apply.
If you are about to set up your first Twitter Account and want to practice, feel free to tweet @DoTheWoo
Enjoy!
