Social media trends and changes and new platforms open up all of the time. Remember MySpace? One social media platform that appears here to stay — and is a great way to grow a business and your following — is Twitter. This powerful 140-character long social media platform is where many in the media turn when they’re looking for scoops and updates on breaking news. How can you, as a business owner, grow a Twitter following and use it to grow your business and perhaps make sales?
Here are our best Twitter practices and how to grow a Twitter following:
- As with all social media, you get out of it what you put into it. We recommend spending at least ten minutes a day, several days a week. Interact with your followers. Follow those who have followed you. Post relevant content — relevant to you and your particular area of expertise.
- Check out the “trends” area on your Twitter page and see if there are any trending topics about which you could Tweet. Is there a trend that is in your area of expertise? Jump on it.
- Use hashtags, but use them wisely. If you have a business that lends itself to a hashtag, then claim it and use it. For example if you write a weekly business tip, “claim” the hashtag #TuesdayBizTip and use it to provide a business tip on Tuesday. See how that works? Also, if you’re searching for a particular topic, use a hashtag and a keyword and put it in the search box.
- Share content on your Twitter feed that is something you would like to read if it came across your feed.
- Be sociable and say hello when you get a new follower. Welcome them to the party!
- Retweet content that you enjoy that you think your followers might benefit from.
- Don’t spam your followers by sending dozens of Tweets per hour. If you want to be that involved in the conversation, spread the Tweets out over the course of the day. If you don’t have time to do this “in real time” use a program like HootSuite to schedule your posts.
Twitter remains relevant for business owners and for anyone who wants to gain insight into your industry and into trends. How often do you interact on Twitter? Are we connected there? @PeakDynamics