Why Use Twitter for Business and 4 Tips To Get You Started

Why Use Twitter

Twitter has been one of the hardest and least fun platforms for me to learn for the sake of my business. I'm drawn to Instagram for quick posting, and Facebook for long posts and further engagement. That trend is not restricted to me; Twitter is the least used platform on the internet (24% of all internet users, as opposed to 79% Facebook, 32% Instagram, 29% Linkedin, and %31 Pinterest). The interesting thing about Twitter is who uses the platform. As a towney from Minnesota transplanted in Las Vegas, I always thought Twitter was for those overly successful and glamorous people who didn't have time for platforms “more involved” than Twitter. I may have been onto something. Twitter stats tell us that its users are more often than not young and educated.

Twitter users are die hard about it, too! Of those internet users who post daily, Twitter ranks 3rd of all social platforms which means that while there are fewer users on Twitter, they are more engaged. This makes them a higher quality target for your content. Of the internet users who use Twitter, they are most likely to use all the other platforms as well, which means that they are the savviest internet users and rank even higher quality targets for all platforms.

Use Twitter to gauge the technology smarts of a particular target, sharpen your skills to deliver a message or elevator pitch quickly since Twitter only allows 140 character updates, genuinely follow highly successful people in real time because their other accounts are likely managed or scheduled, replace text messaging if you want to and manage your contacts much more efficiently, and just, plain have more fun on the platform. Being an avid Twitter user has a way of making you feel like a part of a reality show. You get to know people in a really new and different way.

Get Started

1. Follow Your Favorites

Who you follow on Twitter tells the app or site what content to put before you. You may want to first brainstorm the criteria for the content you'd like to see and distribute. Who do you want to follow, interact with, and have follow you? Reflect on your goals with Twitter and go from there. Follow people you already know, professionals in your industry, businesses like yours that are more successful than you (to watch and emulate content), and of course, potential customers or clients and the companies they'd likely follow, too.

2. Save Some Searches

Using Twitter's 'Discover' tab, you can search for people, videos, photos, news, and broadcasts related to anything you have interest in. Because I want to go to events to network and community outreach, I've saved the search, 'happening in Vegas'. Think about things you want to stay up to date on, save related searches, and check them daily to encourage your Twitter practice. I use Google Alerts the same way to get my favorite types of news emailed right to me as quickly as it's published.

3. Connect Your Accounts

Many of your social media accounts can be linked to Twitter. If you link your Youtube, Facebook, or Instagram, any posts you make on those channels will automatically be posted to your Twitter. You can also have your Twitter linked to those accounts, so your tweets are posted on those platforms. You can design this any way you like, so if your strategy is to post certain things on certain platforms, you'll probably have specific guidelines you want to follow for sharing as well.

4. Automate Your Strategy

Lastly, once you become savvy with the first 3 steps of using Twitter to further your business, you can start scheduling posts using Hootsuite.com. If you fear coming off less genuine, don't worry. You can schedule marketing posts, but your followers can still be engaged daily with your spontaneous posts!

Most businesses implementing the use of Twitter are pleasantly surprised by the results. Those who want to know you and your business more intimately will have a chance to, and if you are as engaged as Twitter's current user base and log in daily, you'll find that your sales will increase the amount your own engagement does!