Whether you’re an established business with teams in every state or a start-up laying the groundwork for a few employees, there’s no getting around one simple truth: social media will play a part in the success of your business.
While it is a previously non-existent marketing channel for some and an annoyance for others, being social media savvy can make a difference in how your business makes it in today’s competitive business environment.
Here are five fundamental tips all businesses should know when getting started with Twitter.
Content is king
Show people why you’re an expert in your field. Show them you’re in the game. Give them advice. Help them. Show them why they need you. Show them why they should trust you. Tell them something new. If you do this, they will likely follow you back and share your tweet with their network.
If you’re not sharing information that is timely, informative and valuable, nobody will follow you. Just like you wouldn’t follow someone who always tweets about their cat or favorite Angry Birds character.
Share your content correctly
If you don’t consistently share valuable content in the correct way, you’ll never grow your following. Everyone is inundated with information these days, and not always the right information. Show your followers that your thoughts are important, timely and worth reading. Also, use the technology built into Twitter to help your tweets reach the biggest audience.
For example, just posting content without any hashtags or linking to anyone will essentially leave your post in social media space, aside from the few who have time to scroll through their news or have tagged you on their favorites list. Another example is to use a period before the @ symbol to ensure everyone on the person’s list sees your Tweet.
Use the right tools
There are many tools available to help you be active and engaged on Twitter. You can use HootSuite or Buffer to find, manage and schedule your tweets. You can use Bitly to track clicks on links you share. Finally, spend an hour or two exploring Twitter to learn the interface, the available settings and the built-in analytics.
Start following to be followed
Finding people to follow is easy. It just takes some time and research. Look through trade journals and follow the authors. Look through business magazines and follow the leaders the articles are about and the authors that wrote them. Follow your competitors. Finally, do some searching on Twitter using relevant hashtags to find people who tweet content that interests you.
Be engaged
Show your followers you’re in the game. There are communities for every business and every topic. Find your tribe. Engage with them. Have fun. If you’re engaged, reaching out to them and most importantly helping them, they will reach back. You’ll become part of their community and your outreach will only continue to grow.
One of the underlying keys to all of these tips is to jump in and start having fun. If you’re engaged, active and informative, your following will grow and so will your reach.