Many entrepreneurs today have heard about Twitter and the resulting increase of sales that can follow by tweeting. Like all social networking sites, Twitter has its own unique language.
First, what is Twitter? Twitter has been widely accepted as part of the microblogging platforms. Twitter allows each user to post a status update of 140 characters. These updates are referred to as tweets.
This restrictive character limit is responsible for the success of Twitter. In an increasingly busy world, Twitter forces users to keep their messages brief and to the point. There’s a chance that users are already discussing your business on Twitter. You want to know what they’re saying and how you can better serve them since customer satisfaction means sales increases.
Twitter users have what are known as followers. These are similar to friends on Facebook. Users can choose to ‘follow’ another user to subscribe to that user’s updates. As a marketer, you want a lot of followers. The more followers you have, the more word about your product or business gets out online. So how can you build up your followers?
Let’s say your niche is dog grooming. You set up a Twitter account for your dog grooming business. Prospective customers will now subscribe to your tweets and see them when they log in. Your follower list ends up growing this way because people seek out and get recommendations for fellow Twitter users who have similar interests.
Once you sign up for Twitter, the first thing you’ll want to do is edit your profile. Start by choosing a profile picture. If you’re tweeting as your company, then you’ll want to use the company logo.
But if you’re tweeting under your own name, then you can use a professional looking picture of yourself. After you upload your picture, write a short (160 character) bio that will be included on your profile. Don’t stuff keywords into the bio box. Doing that will only get you mistakenly labeled as a spammer. Instead, take a moment to craft a sentence or two about your business.
Once you’ve updated your profile, it’s time to start tweeting. It’s important to make your tweets valuable to your readers. Don’t just post about your latest products or sales. Post helpful tips, links to informative articles, and participate in ongoing conversations.
You can participate in conversations by clicking ‘reply’ underneath someone else’s update. Going back to the previous example, say you’re following doglover083 and in a recent tweet they ask their followers about the cure for mange.
You can click reply and tweet back with a link from your blog on the topic of curing dog mange. You can also ‘retweet’ someone else’s cure for mange by clicking retweet under their tweet. By making yourself valuable to your followers, you’re more likely to build lasting business relationships and increase sales.