What is Twitter and How Can It Help Market my Business?
Benjamin S Powell
A Product Owner & Manager | Proven Track Record in Driving Success Across Every Business Function | A Strategic Leader with a Rare Ability to Align Teams, Optimise Processes, and Deliver Results.
There are almost 300 million active users on Twitter each and every month, so for those that know how to use it, as far as marketing goes it has become an extremely powerful tool. As with other social media platforms, Twitter allows you to connect directly with a huge pool of potential customers.
What is Twitter?
Twitter as stated above, is a hugely popular social media platform that allows users to send 140 character tweets out into cyberspace where everyone has access to viewing them. Users can follow other people and have followers themselves whilst everyone can share thoughts, statuses, photos and even videos.
How Can it Be Used to Market My Business?
By having a Twitter account, you have access to millions of other users, so if you were to use it correctly, it could be a magical tool for the marketing of your company. Take a look at a few tips that should heed in order to utilize what Twitter can offer you correctly.
- Make Sure Twitter Profile is Optimised - To do this, your Twitter profile should not only have a bio that explains exactly what it is that you and your company does but also provides a link to your websites homepage.
- Network Within Your Niche – Twitter has many users as we established before and many of them will carry a lot of authority and influence in your industry. Take the time out to create a list of the most influential people and follow them and engage in any conversations that they are having. This way, you build relationships, promote your business and may create new opportunities for yourself.
- Keep Colleagues Involved – Colleagues and co-workers should also get involved by following you, adding their input to conversations, retweeting your tweets and just generally doing their bit.
- Stay Active – You should be tweeting from your account regularly as otherwise you will get left behind and forgotten about. Once a week is not enough as you should be tweeting at least once a day and asking others to retweet what you post when it is relevant.
- Track Mentions About Your Business - Many people use Twitter to praise companies or vent their anger towards them, so make sure you track relevant keywords associated with your brand and respond to them quickly. Always be polite and helpful as this will all be done in full view of anyone else.
- Run Twitter Promotions – You could run promotions among your followers such as awarding the first 50 people that retweet a certain post with a discount. This will encourage others to follow you in the hope that you again run such a promotion.
- Retweet and Favourite – You should never underestimate just how powerful a retweet or favourite could be on your behalf. By showing others that you value certain posts, you can build up your very own authority on a subject and show people just what you are about.
- Look Out For Trending Hashtags – If you notice topics or hashtags that are trending, you might just be able to make a connection between them and your brand. You can jump on the bandwagon by including the hashtags in your posts, each which will be seen by those searching for the hashtags.
So, as you can see, when it comes to the question “What is Twitter?” the simple answer will always be social media but to those in the know it is much more than that and actually a fantastic way to promote your business.