Top 10 tips for Twitter
More and more business is being done these days via social media, especially twitter – contacts are made, meetings are set up and deals are done. On the plus side it’s free advertising and a great way to make personal contact with your customers. On the downside it can hoover up a lot of your time if it’s not managed properly. Here’s a quick guide to help you find your way.
- Pick a perfect username – try to avoid names with an underscore or anything too tricky – short & simple so folks can find you and remember you.
- Be regular – don’t leave it days between tweets – little and often is what the doctor ordered. And make it easier on yourself by getting a Twitter app on your smartphone – perfect to make use of time waiting in queues etc.
- Keep it current – make sure you have a short and snappy bio on your profile and make sure it’s up to date. Twitter also allows you to pin a top tweet to your profile but don’t leave the same one languishing there for weeks at a time.
- Be proactive – get out there, be sociable and chat to people. Answer the other people’s tweets, retweet them and engage with other users. Twitter is not a one way conversation so don’t be afraid to wade in and say “hello” (and don’t forget your manners either – a “thank you for your retweet” is always appreciated.)
- Try a networking hour – there are hundreds of them so pick the one that’s right for you. Look for the hashtags and see who’s saying what. Some networking sessions are little more than a torrent of endless retweets whereas others encourage you to join in to answer and debate questions.
- It’s not all me, me, me – post interesting stuff from other people, be known as someone who shares good stuff rather than just shouting about what you have to offer the whole time.
- Be broad minded – tweet about things on a range of topics related to your main business theme. For example my central theme is hiking in Cumbria but I often tweet about hikes elsewhere, travel in general and current news relating to the outdoors.
- Meet face to face – many networking groups have evolved into lunches, coffees and even hikes (“Netwalking” is more popular than you’d think!) so get out there and put a face to a name and get to know folks properly.
- You don’t have to follow everyone that follows you – follow those people you’ve made a connection with, or who tweet things you’re interested in.
- Add value to the twittersphere – consistency and quality are the 2 most important elements of any social media. Post interesting stuff regularly and engage with your audience and you’ll be making new friends before you know it.
Follow me @CumbrianRambler or give me a call on 07738 161943 for an informal chat about how I can help you with web content or other writing projects. You can find my blog here with links to other sites and publications I write for – or you can connect with me via LinkedIn.
Beth Pipe Outdoor Writer & Blogger
