By Julie Rambali
September 11th, 2013 Edition
I’m sure you’ve heard about Twitter and were hesitant at first as to how it can benefit your business. At first it can seem overwhelming considering you may already have a Facebook page however, with 400 million Tweets a day and 200 million active users, 60% of Twitter users log in via mobile devices, people turn to Twitter to bring them closer to the things they care about, whether it’s the news that affects their lives or the businesses down the block.
On Twitter, people talk about what they care about and what’s happening around them right now, including your business. This gives you powerful context to connect your message to what’s most meaningful to your customers in real time. Engaging with real-time Tweets can influence conversations in a way that can help build your business.
Listen and learn. See what your competitors are tweeting about or search for industry keywords to listen and gather market intelligence. It’s an easy way to get insights that you can use to inform your strategy. Grow your business by running exciting promotions which will strengthen your brand and engage with your customers.
Your voice can affect the way customers communicate with you on Twitter. What you say, how you say it and how often you respond, all have a tremendous impact on customer relationships.
Be yourself, be authentic. There’s no need to be overly formal on Twitter. Your Tweets should reflect the individuality and personality of your business. People respond best to friendly, conversational Tweets. Write a Tweet like you’re having a conversation with a good friend. Strive for a genuine, approachable communication style. Stay away from “marketing speak” – it’ll go a long way in making your voice your own.
Stand out. It’s a crowded digital world out there. Use Twitter to share unique information about your company that your customers can’t find elsewhere, like behind-the-scenes photos, discounts or new product previews.
Reply when people tweet about you. Favorite and retweet positive messages, and thank those who praise you. Keep in mind that retweets can also represent your voice and brand personality. Promptly address critical Tweets about your business in a calm, helpful manner.
Make it shareable. What makes people share? Funny, helpful, newsworthy or inspiring content. When you write a Tweet, imagine how your followers will use it. How will it help them? Every Tweet should have a purpose. People tend to share positive Tweets that solve a problem, answer a question, entertain or inspire. The most retweeted content tends to contain links, photos, videos or quotes. When you tweet something interesting, it has the potential to travel to many prospective customers.
The water cooler used to be the place where people gathered to talk about TV. Now, 95% of the public social conversation around TV happens on Twitter so happy tweeting and don’t forget that you can target your demographic by keywords in timeline. You can target by interests, geography, gender, and/or users similar to your followers. – Twitter.com
