Last Friday, we shared some tips to help store owners get the most out of Facebook. Today, in Part One of our two-part Twitter tips blog series, we’ll share some basic tips to help you get started with Twitter. Whether you’re a seasoned user or have only recently discovered this powerful social media tool, it is never too late to learn something new.
What can you do with 140 characters or less, you ask? A lot more than you might think.
How Twitter Works
For those who aren’t familiar with Twitter, it is essentially a micro-blogging site that allows users to post status updates of 140 characters or less to keep their followers informed about their activities. Rather than being a constraint, the 140 character limit has actually allowed Twitter users to become very creative with the way that they structure their updates.
The best part? Like Facebook, it is free to join and free to use. Although there are quite a few paid (and free)Twitter tools out there, which we’ll cover in a later post, initial setup and usage will cost you nothing and has the potential to generate a lot of traffic, press, and revenue for your online business.
Finding Followers
To be followed on Twitter, you have to be a follower. Follow businesses, organizations, and industry leaders, as well as people you are affiliated with in real life and your existing contacts on Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media sites.
If you have a logo for your business, make sure to add it as your profile picture. If you don’t have one, or if you’d prefer to use something else, make sure it is a picture that is related to your business in some way. This way, it will be easier for other Twitter users to associate your Twitter account with your business.
Don’t be discouraged if you don’t have hundreds of followers overnight. Continue to find people to follow, and post updates regularly, and soon you should have a substantial following. You can also use Twitter Search to see who is talking about your business. Remember, if someone decides to follow you, the polite thing is to return the favor and follow them in return, unless you have a good reason not to.
Start Talking
There are many, many ways to promote your company on Twitter. No matter what you say, be sure to leave enough character space for a URL that coincides with your tweet, if you want to include one. Here are just some suggestions of things to tweet about:
- Retweets: If one of your followers or someone who follows your tweets something interesting or relevant to your business, you can retweet it. Just make sure to give them appropriate credit by including RT@ and their Twitter handle somewhere in your update.
Next week, we’ll explore some other Tweetable topics, as well as some Twitter tools and marketing strategies. In the meantime, be sure to stay in touch by following us on Twitter.
Miva