How to use Twitter for business? This network is definitely at the forefront of social marketing. Depending on the industry, audience, and available resources, its use will prove effective.
This is one of the most popular social networks. If a business is seeking for an audience, this is the place to go. Applying the correct formula leads the pathway to success.
Table of Contents
What is Twitter?
Twitter is a micro-blogging platform that allows members to send out messages (tweets) with a maximum of 280 characters. Other people follow this account. Followers are able to read this user’s tweets.
Tweets can include links to any web content, photos, and videos. They can also include polls and calls to action. To this day, there are 261 million active users in the platform. This is a large audience worth connecting with.
Embedded from: https://blog.adioma.com/how-twitter-started-infographic/
How to Use Twitter for Business Marketing
This social platform teems with people looking for new things. Therefore, it represents a great opportunity for businesses to jump in.
An Effective Business Profile Must Include Seven Basic Elements:
- to decide when to post things on social media networks;
- to understand what content can become viral and the manner to do it;
- to make a community bigger;
- to post great photos and visuals;
- to create new accounts;
- to choose the best keywords to follow SEO;
- to take care of paid ads.
All these elements working together are the first step to a successful marketing account. The following guide will take you through all the necessary steps to harness the power of Twitter. Here’s to a successful Twitter for marketing experience. It might be bumpy at first. But, if done properly, it will generate revenue.
Twitter Terminology (The Most Common Terms):
There are many specific words when it comes to the use of Twitter. Most of them refer to certain features that appear on the site, like the feed or the hashtags. Some others are related to the actions that users can carry out when using the app. Some examples are retweet or send a direct message. Below, readers can find a comprehensive list of those terms.
- Tweet: This is the name given to every post. This message has a max of 280 characters, including links, and hashtags.
- Retweet: Forwarding somebody else’s tweet. A user can simply retweet or retweet with comment.
- Following: The equivalent to subscribing. When subscribed to a user, their tweets show up on the follower’s feed.
- Feed: It is also referred to as the home timeline. This is where tweets from followers show up.
- Follower: Users that follow the account and get those tweets in their feed.
- Avatar: The picture on your profile everybody sees.
- Like: Every tweet features a symbol of a heart at the bottom. Selecting it represents a like.
- Hashtag: Any word or phrase following a hashtag (#) turns into a clickable link. This takes the user to all the tweets with that same hashtag.
- Mention (@): Use the @ symbol is to mention or reply to a specific user. A tweet with an @reply at the beginning will not show up in followers’ feed.
- Direct message (DM): This is a private chat room with no character limit. Only followed handles can DM an account.
- Lists: Lists can be public or private. They allow the user to organize accounts by interest. Lists may include any number of users, following or not.
- Trending topic: An analytics tool that indicates which are the most popular hashtags. They are classified by regions or worldwide.
- Bookmarks: Clicking on the upload symbol under every tweet allows users to save a tweet for later. The bookmarks can be seen on a list that drops under the profile name at the top right.
- Blocking: When a user is blocked, they are not allowed to follow, read tweets, or add you to a list. The blocked user’s tweets are not available either.
How to Use Twitter for Business in 2024
A brand not in Twitter is truly missing out. The level of engagement and drive has no par. The following section presents new and updated ideas on how to best harness the power of Twitter.
Wondering how to use Twitter for business? Every step of the way is important to build a strong Social Media reputation. Following these steps guarantees tangible results.
Step #1 – Introduce the Brand
The presentation of the brand must be a strong game. This is the face of the profile. Visitors and potential customers should get the best impression.
It is imperative for the profile to have the same image as the brand it represents. The same goes for the rest of the social networks. They should all feel the same. Very importantly, this face must build trust. Building an account and profile should not take too much time.
There Are Several Elements That Need to Be Taken into Consideration:
- The handle must be the name of the brand, business, or industry. Avoid special characters, points, hyphens, underscores, or any other mobile-unfriendly characters. If the name chosen is already taken, try another that comes close. The username or handle shows up above every tweet.
- There are two types of images. They can both be uploaded in the profile settings. The profile picture can be a photo of the company’s logo or a headshot. This photo will appear next to every tweet. Many brands prefer a headshot. It provides a human touch to the account.
- The profile header is similar to the Facebook cover photo. This is where a business tells its story.
- Users can also customize the background of their profile. This includes the logo, slogan, and design. It is a great opportunity to have clients get a feel of the company.
- To complete the story of your brand, add the location with detail. A link to the website is fundamental. One excellent option to consider is a landing page. A comprehensive bio tells the story in more detail.
Step #2 – Follow People and Start the Conversation
Who is worth following? The short answer to that is influencers and experts. Tools such as WeFollow and Klear work wonders in finding real accounts. Using keywords and ads that relate to the business also helps.
Those who landed nice jobs should not only stay there. Search all the time. Chances to get a better one are always out there. Also, take advantage of the social media apps we use every day. Many pros do that. New writers, for example, use Twitter to spread what they are crafting.
This proves to be great when the times come to become a professional in the industry. Courses try to give students hands-on experience. They believe the best way to learn is by doing it. So, it’s a nice option to start doing this with a blog of their own.
One Idea That Has Worked for Many Is:
- Collect 100 accounts. These are the most influential people around a niche.
- Put them on private lists depending on the category they fall in.
- Place competitors in private lists without following them.
A Word of Warning: Twitter does not like “aggressive following.” It is important to take the following slowly. Accounts can get suspended over suspicious activity.
This Social Media Site Requires Efficiency with Words:
- Ads and messages must be able to express enough with a few characters.
- Before getting started, be a listener. Once feet are wet enough, jump in.
- Be casual.
- Converse and connect at an emotional level.
- Be helpful without being promotional.
Seek to build a relationship first. Once this is done, try to find opportunities to help and collaborate.
Conversations must be based on the sweet spot of opportunity. This means finding the connection between what a target audience wants and what a business has to offer. Useful information and solutions go a long way into building trust.
Step #3 – Engage Users to Visit a Blog or Website
This is driving traffic to a website or blog. It is actually not difficult to do. We mentioned earlier that a link is a feature that can be added to a tweet.
All you need to do is create tweet around a link. Write something that will compel followers to click on the link to learn more. A tweet is clean and sleek. When it comes to driving traffic and generating sales, it is superb. It is a massive marketing tool for promotion and ads. When a link is posted, it will automatically shrink. This is to save space for the precious allotted characters.
Usually, a Shrunk Link Takes No More Than 20 Characters
- Make sure that the link is working. Very few things baffle a reader more than a broken link.
- It is also important to always link to a mobile-friendly site, blog, or video.
Keep in mind that many followers catch up on their mobile devices – some need to save data from their phone. Leading them to a desktop site eats up their precious data.
Step #4 – Share Other Media and Tools
Pictures and GIFs are a great way to connect with followers. A photo must be compelling. They say an image is worth a thousand words. This is a bigger truth here. Besides, people love to look at pictures!
Add Photos
The photo does not need to be professional. However, keep it colorful and sharp. A blurry or pixelated photo will simply make clients steer away. On the phone, Twitter integrates with the camera and pictures. There are GIFs on the platform to find and use.
The last six photos included in tweets are placed on the user profile’s page. Take advantage of this to place the most relevant pictures.
Users Can Also Add Videos to Their Tweets
However, these cannot be posted directly like pictures. They must be added to another service like YouTube.
When a tweet contains a link to a video, it can play within the app. Make videos short, attractive, and practical. Very few people will want to spend their next five minutes watching a video they feel is soliciting.
Engaging with Followers Is Imperative to a Solid Marketing Strategy.
- The first thing to do is to craft a question.
- Next, add the choices. There are two spaces with 25 characters each for the decisions. There is an option to add two more.
- The maximum duration of a poll is 7 days.
Step #5 – Organize Accounts into Lists
When the number of following is significant, how can one keep up with all of them? Many times, it is necessary to filter out the noise. Lists are one of Twitter’s most useful features. They are a great way to organize profiles into groups.
Lists can be public or private. Public lists appear on the user’s profile. Private lists are only visible to their creator.
Taking advantage of this feature guarantees great results. It is not necessary to follow a user to put them on a list. This allows the creation of a list with competitors. These accounts are being monitored with them being none the wiser.
Other Ideas for Lists Include:
- Potential customers
- Customers
- Professional organizations
- Inspiring people
- Favorite people
- Business news
- Influencers on the preferred niche
To add someone to a list, go to their profile. Next, click on the gear icon. The option to “add or remove from lists” will show up. Clicking on it will open a window with all the lists.
Another way to add members is to go to the list on profile. Click on a list. This will open the info on such list. On the members’ tab, there is an “i” option that allows the addition of members.
Step #6 – Use Hashtags to Expand, Connect, Engage and Direct Message to Solve
Hashtags are an integral part of the Twitterverse. As stated earlier, a hashtag is like a pin. It is a link within Twitter.
People Use Them to Basically Interact with Others
- When using Twitter for business, hashtags are a great way to interact. A hashtag groups together every person speaking of a topic. When clicking on a hashtag, the user is sent to a feed of everyone utilizing that same hashtag.
- Also, hashtags are a great way to expand a brand. With the proper hashtag, a business can drop in conversations about the services they offer. In summary, hashtags are a great way to expand visibility beyond followers.
Utilizing the Correct Hashtags Requires Skill. The Following Are Two Popular Ideas:
- Some brands create their own hashtag to try to make it catch on. Many times it does not.
- Another option some brands apply is to take advantage of a trending topic. This is not a good idea. When a hashtag is trending, the stream of tweets is swift. A tweet intended to engage will probably get lost in the fast-paced stream.
If using Twitter for small business, worldwide trends won’t do much. Users can change to trending hashtags close to where they live. Depending on the size of the region the hashtag is trending, a tweet might live longer.
The direct message (DM) feature is a great way to solve particular issues with a client. It is always a good idea to bring a customer to DM. This helps take care of the problem privately. Others do not need to know what the problem is.
By default, only followed accounts can DM. This can be changed in settings to allow anyone to be able to DM.
Step #7 – Tweet During Live Events
Live tweeting mainly refers to tweeting during a live event. This can be a sports game, an entertainment event, or a political rally. It is one way to get a hashtag to become a trend.
However, for a startup, this might not be easy. It is difficult to try and create a unique hashtag and have tweeters write it in their tweets. This only begs for the need for interaction and starting conversations. The importance here is to create a loyal community.
Before creating a hashtag, it is a good idea to see how others do it. Then, get down to it. One must not be disappointed about results if they are not favorable. This might take time.
It is very common to see a hashtag in a box in televised events. During every World Cup game, for instance, broadcasters suggest a hashtag for viewers to write questions, comments, and impressions.
When using multiple tweets for the same topic, respond to the original tweet. In this way, users can more easily go through the live event. This is only one way to interact with more potential clients.
Step # 8 – Participate in Twitter Chats
Unlike live-tweeting, Twitter chats are more engaging. Let us begin by explaining what a chat is. At a particular time of the day, people get together over one hashtag. All the tweeters utilizing the same hashtag will show up on everyone’s feed for that term. Therefore, it looks like a chat. Hashtags are usually interest-oriented.
Follow These Simple Steps:
- Find the calendar of all the weekly Twitter chats.
- Decide which is the one that interests your niche.
- Type this hashtag into the search bar at the hour indicated in the calendar.
- Join the conversation by writing this hashtag into all the tweets.
Now, There Are Two Ways in Which Businesses Can Benefit from Chats
- The first option is to host their own chat. If they have a loyal fan base of followers, they can organize it and almost guarantee success.
- A second option is to find an already existing chat and chime in. It is important to interact and engage once there. Take advantage of the space to connect. This shows that the brand is still up and running. You want to give that impression to participants.
These chats usually last one hour. During this time, the moderator will drop conversation-starters in the form of Q1 (question 1), Q2., Q3 and so on. Participants give their answers to a particular problem by adding A1 or Q1.
Participants can also interact with each other during the chat. They just have always to include the tag on their tweets.
One main objective of creating or attending one of these is to get more followers. When a brand raises interest in product or service, people want to know more.
Step #9 – List Influencers and Customers and Interact with Them
We have already explained the power of lists. Watching all those accounts neatly piled in groups is satisfying. At this point, a feed includes tweets from those people who share interests or run.
Similar Industry:
- The first step into listing influencers and customers is to learn the intended target area. Is it medicine, forensics, or gardening perhaps? The search option will help find experts and influencers in those areas.
- Following those people is the next obvious step. But it is necessary to interact with them too. Respond to their questions, answer their polls, ask them questions, get on their loop. Do this on a daily basis.
- Create these lists privately and interact with the members on a daily basis. One important aspect to remember is that one must first seek relationships and then look for opportunities to collaborate. Be casual and not promotional.
The most influential people in the area do not necessarily share an interest with you. But they share their insight of other stuff that the rest do not. It is important to list them up.
Step #10 – Find Local Customers
Some businesses do not require a worldwide search to find people to follow. Let alone, interact. An advanced search of nearby places offers a better opportunity.
Connecting with people far from our location is still a good thing. Sometimes they share eye-opening insights. But if a business needs local clients, the inspection will need some zooming in.
In fact, most businesses need local customers. So, their place to go is Twitter. Users then find places near their location through the search option. In this way, users get a powerful tool to supply local demand. They are also able to place fair prices for their products. When a customer is located near us, we better understand their needs and can supply them.
All you need to do is to find the local place on the search bar. This will pull a list of all the accounts located in that place.
Things to Quest for Can Include:
- Local businesses
- Local landmarks
- City name
- Events
- Local Fairs
- A hashtag identifier
Once the search is completed, it includes a tab named “People”. Click on that to find people near the location searched.
Step #11 – Measure Results to Build Better Strategies
The best way to improve Twitter for marketing is to take a look at statistical data. In this way, users get to know what they are doing right. They also get an insight into what could be done better.
The first step is to get analytical data on how tweets are being read, shared, and discussed. The platform has a tool of their own for this. Every tweet posted includes analytics on how many people were engaged. It also includes detail on how many clicked on the link. This is definitely a great tool to assess what works and what does not.
This feature is found at the bottom of every tweet. But sometimes you need more details on the amount of engagement. There are other social media tools out there that help.
Some of Them Are Free:
- Tweroid-Get the best times to tweet
- Buffer-Performance measurement, reports creation
- Commun.it – Client and community management for small businesses
- Klear-to find influencers
- Foller.me-Full stats on any public profile
- Tweetstats-Graphical reports to better time tweets
- Twittercounter-Compare tweets with competition
The idea here is to get better results using different approaches. Here are ways to improve the strategy.
Some Strategy:
- Build community by analyzing followers and reaching a target audience
- Expand topics of conversations
- Learn which tweets work with the audience
- Crank up a stronger presence
FAQ Section
What is the Best Way to Use Twitter for Business?
The answer to this requires a summary of what we have seen so far. It is clear that strategies will not work the same for everyone. However, there are common pointers. These come from experts and experienced participants.
The best approach is focus and determination. Without them, an account can land into a stagnant point.
Here Is Some Sensitive Advice:
- Complete your profile and make it look pro.
- Tweet frequently. A frequent tweeter indicates up-and-running entrepreneurship.
- Group influencers and clients into lists.
- Make proper use of hashtags.
- Post beautiful pictures to tell stories.
- Share links, retweet, mention. Interact.
How to Use Twitter to Promote Business?
There is a large audience out there. It is fertile soil for businesses to promote themselves. But this has to be done the right way. Otherwise, it could wind up being an utter disaster.
Check out These Simple Pointers on How to Promote Through the Birdie Social Platform:
- Make sure the profile page is rocking.
- Use links and compel clients to click on them.
- Run polls or contests. People love it when there are free goodies involved.
- Promote tweets. This is a paid service.
- Interpret analytics to establish what works and what does not.
How Successful is Twitter for Business?
This platform is among the most successful social media sites. It has the numbers to boast being the third largest in the world.
Its Success Rests on Several Aspects:
- Its ability to target leads as one.
- It is a powerful network.
- It helps raise brand awareness.
- It can be used to solve clients’ problems and to find real trends.
- This social media site is targeted.
- The character limit forces brands to convey messages effectively.
How Do Businesses Use Twitter Hashtags?
There are several ways in which businesses use hashtags. One is taking advantage of what trends are and tweet accordingly. So, users jump into the conversation hoping to connect. Other brands create their own hashtag with the hopes of engaging people. The best way to do that is through loyal and conversational customers.
Other Simple Things Businesses Do with Hashtags:
- Engage in conversations with real people
- Place the hashtag in all of the marketing strategies on paper.
- Organize hashtag into columns. This can be done with TweetDeck.
- Encourage content generation by sharing a hashtag.
The Final Word
Businesses sometimes run with little time and money. Social media platforms like Twitter enable users to focus on the marketing aspect. But the best way to maximize the benefits of this microblogging platform is to automate the service in the measure of the possible.
This social medium is versatile, albeit what works for one, might not for the other. Different businesses have different needs. Some are willing to go over the board with expenses while others need to evaluate. Whatever strategy winds up working, stick to it.
Knowing how Twitter is useful for the growth of your business is imperative to a successful campaign. This social media site also has to stay on the loop of advances. Therefore, it is ever-changing. Many times, adjustments to the social media platform involve a totally new Twitter strategy.
How has Twitter helped your business? Is it something that you’ve struggled to incorporate into your promotional strategy? Let us know about the challenges and advantages your team has experienced.
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