A few weeks ago I created a blog post outlining a few tips to help businesses market themselves on Facebook. The key pieces of advice I listed were to help businesses not only learn the basics, but to cover some of the more “advanced” areas in regards to Facebook marketing. If you missed it, you can check out that post here: https://theadotblog.com/2017/10/26/social-media-marketing-tips-part-1/

Today, I am back with some more tips and tricks to help you excel at marketing your business on Twitter.

Let’s jump in…

1. Choose a Twitter handle that makes sense.  Ensure it resembles your business’ name as closely as possible so that your audience can easily find you.
2. Pay attention to the details. Fill out your profile and keep it concise. Add information that is relevant. Add a website URL (link) if you have one. And remember, don’t remain an egg; add a picture to your profile ASAP!  Twitter accounts with profile pictures have 10 x as many followers than those that don’t.
3. Familiarize yourself with what hashtags are and how to use them. There’s no need to use them for #every #single #word, be sure to #CapitalizeEachWord & #KeepThemShort. For more tips on how to use #hashtags, check out my post here: https://theadotblog.com/2016/02/25/how-to-use-hashtags/
4. Understand what “@” means. The @ symbol is always displayed next to each and every username, but it is also how you will communicate on Twitter. If you compose a Tweet and begin it with someone’s @username, not everyone will see the Tweet. For example, “@StaffStatSuds I love filling shifts in seconds!” will be seen only by users who follow you and the user you are mentioning. Adding the username anywhere else in the Tweet is called a mention and the Tweet is visible and public to all. For example, “Wow! I love using @StaffStatSuds to fill shifts in seconds!” will ensure the account mentioned and all others will see your Tweet.
5. Tweet your own content. Do this once daily at the very least; share a photo from an event, a blog post, information surrounding enhancements to your product/service offering, etc. Doing so will not only help build your brand, but it will help keep your feed current and fresh.
6. Re-tweet at least 1-3 times daily. This step is easy and shouldn’t take more than a few minutes to complete. Use hashtags that are relevant to your industry, product, service or brand. If you’re in software, search something like #TechNews, #SaaS, #Software, etc. You should be able to find reputable content that aligns with what your business is doing. Once you find something you like, click the re-tweet button, and add your own personal opinion as a comment (A.K.A a quote Tweet); this will ensure when others search for your content (or content related to what you re-tweet) they will see your thoughts which can help position you as an expert for that specific subject matter.
7. Reply to others. If someone re-tweets your unique content, thank them for doing so and spark up a conversation by tweeting back to them. Hint: reference point 4 in this post to understand how to best converse with individuals on Twitter.
8. Be engaging. Some businesses are guilty of constantly promoting their products/services. While it’s okay to Tweet about a sale or promotion or a new product launch, be sure to share content that your audience wants to see, such as a blog about the latest features of your product, an explainer video highlighting the benefits of your services, or a series of teaser videos to build excitement for your holiday collection. Putting a spin on the “generic” content you share will help increase the quality of conversation that surrounds your brand.
9. Tweet links to your blog — and do so often. If you have a company blog Twitter is a great space to share your posts! Don’t be afraid of tweeting the same blog link more than once a day to ensure you reach people in different timezones, or anyone who didn’t get the chance to see your tweet the first time it went out. Try not to spam your audience, however. Three of the same blog tweets per day is more than enough!
10. Use Twitter as a customer service tool. If a customer has a concern or complaint, they may choose to Tweet you about it. Don’t be afraid of responding directly to them via Twitter to help resolve their issue. For tips on providing social customer service, click here: https://theadotblog.com/2015/11/05/6-tips-for-providing-exceptional-social-customer-service/
11. Create lists. Ever feel like your newsfeed has A LOT going on and the tweets you’re seeing throughout the day aren’t necessarily filled with content that matters to your brand? Get into the practice of creating lists. From the desktop site, simply click on your profile photo in the upper right hand corner of the screen and select “Lists”. The page will then show you any lists that you have subscribed to (when viewing others’ accounts you can check out their lists and subscribe to any that interest you) and lists that you are a member of (those that others have added you to). You also have the option of creating your own list, naming it, and adding accounts you exclusively would like to group together. For example, you can use keywords such as “entrepreneurship” or “quotes” and group similar accounts under their respective lists. To view lists, go to your personal Twitter timeline and select “lists” from the bar that portrays all your other Twitter-related stats, such as Tweets, Following, Followers etc.
12. Use images. Tweets containing only text tend to get lost in the shuffle. Stand out in the crowd by using images that contain faces and evoke some sort of emotion — these types of images are what people are naturally drawn to.
13. Don’t be afraid to recycle. Do you have a certain tweet that has a lot of likes,  retweets & replies? Either tweet it again, pay to promote it, or pin it to the top of your page so anyone new visiting your feed can see it — no matter how much time has passed since it was first created!
14. If you’re tweeting a link, shorten it using a URL shortener such as bit.ly. This will ensure you have enough space to add additional wording to the tweet, and will allow others to retweet your content and add their own thoughts about it.

There you have it — 14 tips to help you out with your Twitter marketing efforts. Be sure to check back next week as I share more social media marketing advice for your business!