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Twitter Tutorial For Business: 10 Tips
By Brian Gibbs
When you are looking at working with Twitter, are a couple of ways
to use it: the right way and the wrong way. Your posts, or tweets, need
to be kept brief, 140 characters or fewer, and they should be beneficial
or helpful. People aren't interested by what you had for lunch, or that
you just brushed your teeth. These kinds of things will get people to
stop following you pretty quickly, even if your breath does smell good. After
using Twitter for quite a while here is a list of the top-10 things
I've learned (not necessarily in order, but maybe) are most effective
when taking part in the Twitterverse.
- Tweet Regularly: I'm not saying you have to post
daily tweets, however doing so wouldn't hurt. You should show up
regularly. Kind of like when you were in school - if you hoped to pass,
you at least had to come to class. Become a contributor your followers
get to truly know and anticipate your Twitter posts. As a business
person you probably don't have time to do this easily. If this is your
case, there are services that help you schedule tweets ahead of time. My
personal favorite is Social Oomph - the link is at the end of this
article.
- Retweet Other's Posts: When you notice Tweets published by other Tweeple
(Twitter+People) you believe your followers would enjoy, retweet them.
It takes only a single click, and you'll also be building relationships
with other Twitter users simultaneously. When you retweet, you can
include your own thoughts or opinions before posting it.
- Be Helpful: Remember Twitter is a type of social
networking, so social relationships are important. It isn't all about
you. Anytime the opportunity arises to respond to a question, take part
in a questionnaire, or help fix a problem, do so. This way you are
taking part in the community. This may help your brand and image when
other people know they are able to rely on you for support or comments.
- Don't Follow All Followers: Do not follow
everybody who follows you. This might be my greatest issue in regards to
Twitter. A lot of people turn this function on to auto-follow people
who follow them. Why do this? I would rather have those I follow be
individuals and subjects I have hand-picked, rather than random
followers who might be ranting about things I don't have any interest
in. Be discerning in whom you follow or your Twitter stream could
rapidly fill up with spam. To find quality people within your industry
or interests, check out Twellow - the link is below.
- Things to Tweet: Be sure that the tweets you
publish are helpful and/or informative. Recent news relating to your
industry, along with any special offers or sales you might have taking
place are usually excellent topics. If you discover anything you believe
your followers would really like, share it. Additionally, if your
twitter posts are great, it can motivate other people to retweet them.
(Ideas: Funny Tweets, Inspirational Tweets, Helpful Resources,
Questions and Opinions, Quotes, Leads and Opportunities, Blog Posts or
Your Website)
- Comment: Participate in the community by writing
comments on other people's twitter posts. If you're able to respond to a
question, do it. It never hurts and folks will really appreciate it
whenever you take time to reply to what they may have to talk about. It
shows them that other people are in fact listening to what they've got
to express in the "Twitterverse".
- Your Mother Was Right: When somebody takes time to
retweet one of your twitter posts, be sure to thank them. Just like
offline, manners rule online - especially in the social realm, and they
will like that you noticed the retweet and took some time to show some
appreciation. It might even motivate them to retweet even more of your
tweets down the road.
- Be Personal: Once more, people really don't want
to know what you had for supper, but from time to time you ought to show
your human side with an innovative idea, quote, or any other statement.
Show your followers that you're "real" and not simply all business. You
should tread gently in this area. Being overly personal is overkill,
but a little bit might help in creating a relationship with your
followers.
- Post Photos and Videos: Don't forget, Twitter
isn't just for text messages. It is easy to publish brief video clips,
and photos as well. It is nice to change things up a bit and share
content in other forms too.
- Talk About More Than Yourself: Don't make all of
your tweets one massive promotional message, for example only tweeting
about your most recent press release, blog posting, or report that was
published. Nobody will want to follow you if all you are is a
commercial. Sure, some of this can be good in small amounts, but you
should walk a fine line and mix things up with helpful, intriguing
topics.
Now it is time for you to begin putting these suggestions
into motion. Social networking is dependent on taking part and
listening to what other people have to say. It is about creating and
giving information as well as becoming part of the community. Should you
approach Twitter like this, it won't just be more enjoyable, but your
followers will enjoy you and value you - and if that doesn't enhance
your brand name, nothing else will.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6299824
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