Think Twitter is just for sharing meaningless updates about what you ate for breakfast? Think again! Twitter, in addition to being one of the largest social networks in the world, is a great place to engage with industry leaders, identify new prospects, and connect with potential customers. If you are using Twitter as a business-building tool, here are a few tips for making the most out of each 140 character tweet.
Upload a quality profile photo and complete your bio section
When someone comes across your profile on Twitter, they want to know immediately whether or not they should follow you. Let them know who you are and what you’re about by completing the bio section and uploading a quality profile photo. Failing to do so drastically reduces your chances of gaining new followers, being retweeted, or engaging with anyone worthwhile on Twitter.
Strike a balance between self-promotion and engaging with others
Twitter is a great place to share your favorite products, tweet links to your SHOP.COM portal, and promote your business. However, it’s important to strike a balance balance between self-promotional tweets and other types of content not related to your business. To do this, follow the 75/25 rule: for every tweet you publish featuring self-promotional content, there should be at least three tweets about other topics or sources. For example: retweet an industry leader or person you admire, share your thoughts about a trending topic, inform your followers about a breaking news story, tweet out a motivational quote, or respond to tweets posted by people you follow. Use Twitter to engage with others and contribute to the community – not just for self-promotion.
If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all
People don’t want to be around negative people, on OR offline – period! Avoid complaining about your terrible day or airing your dirty laundry via Twitter. Even if you are having a bad day or feel the need to complain, Twitter is not the place to do it. Confide in a trusted friend or business partner, and tweet only when your outlook has improved.
Be choosy about who you follow
Have a new follower on Twitter? Great! But before you hit the “follow” link to follow them back, check out their profile first. Read their bio, take a look at their profile photo, and see what they tweet about. If they post content that interests you, go ahead and follow them! But if not, don’t feel the need to follow them back. Being choosy about whom you follow is all part of building your personal Twitter brand.
Post photos in addition to text-only tweets
Posting photos with your tweets is a great way to get noticed on Twitter! When you include a photo with your tweet, your followers will see a preview of the photo in their feed and be more likely to click on your tweet. Make sure that the photos you include are relevant to the content you’re tweeting – posting links that are unrelated to your pics is a big Twitter no-no!
Show your personality!
Twitter is a great place to talk business and show your passion for what you do, but don’t forget to have fun once in a while! Tweet a joke, share your thoughts about a fun topic, or retweet something you think is funny – even if it has nothing to do with your business. When demonstrate that you’re a fun, dynamic and business oriented entrepreneur, other users are more likely to click “follow” or engage with your content.
These are our top Twitter tips and tricks, but we’d love to hear yours! Share them with us in the comment section below 🙂