• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Before Header

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

The Social Media Hat

Always On Top Of Social

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Digital Marketing
    • Social Media Articles
      • Facebook
      • Instagram
      • LinkedIn
      • Pinterest
      • Twitter
      • YouTube
    • Social Media Tools
    • Virtual Events
  • Marketing Resources
    • Newsletter
    • The Virtual Event Strategist Podcast
    • Marketing Hyperdrive Podcast
  • GET HELP
    • Virtual Event VIP Strategy Day
    • Social Media Planner
  • About
  • Search
  • Home
  • Articles
    • Digital Marketing
    • Social Media Articles
      • Facebook
      • Instagram
      • LinkedIn
      • Pinterest
      • Twitter
      • YouTube
    • Social Media Tools
    • Virtual Events
  • Marketing Resources
    • Newsletter
    • The Virtual Event Strategist Podcast
    • Marketing Hyperdrive Podcast
  • GET HELP
    • Virtual Event VIP Strategy Day
    • Social Media Planner
  • About
  • Search

Twitter for Business

You are here: Home / Social Media Articles / Twitter for Business

August 21, 2012 //  by Mike Allton

Reading Time: 3 minutes

The past few years have seen a remarkable growth in the number of online websites and services used for sharing and communicating information about ourselves. For most small business owners, it’s been a very overwhelming period, with many simply refusing to acknowledge that mediums like Facebook and Twitter are not going away, and may actually prove beneficial to their business. But how?

To paraphrase John F. Kennedy, “Ask not what your twitter can do for you, ask what you can do for your twitter.“

Instead of jumping into Twitter wondering how it will help your business, what you should be thinking is how you can use Twitter to help your customers and potential customers.

First, a few pointers about how Twitter works:

  • If you haven’t already, visit http://twitter.com and create an account for yourself – be sure to use your business name and logo if at all possible.
  • Tweets are simple posts that are limited to 140 characters. Individuals use them as status updates to let others know what they’re doing.
  • With Twitter, you have to “follow” others to automatically see what they’re tweeting about. Similarly, others will need to follow you to automatically see your tweets.
  • Start to grow your follower base by using Twitter’s Find People functions to search your email accounts and address books for friends already using Twitter and invite them to follow you.
  • You can ‘Re-Tweet’ a post that someone else has made that you think your own followers would find interesting and may not have seen. Preface a Re-Tweet with RT.
  • Use the @ symbol before another user’s name to direct that comment to them, or give them credit if it’s a Re-Tweet. Twitter will automatically create a link to that user.
  • Use the # symbol to give a particular word or phrase emphasis as a searchable term.

Now, before you post your first Tweet, a few other considerations for business owners:

  • Tweets are searchable.

    Anyone, at any time, will be able to read your tweets. Not only are they searchable within Twitter, but within Google and other search engines as well. In fact, the U.S. Library of Congress has started to archive Twitter updates so bear in mind that anything you post will be there forever. While that might seem a scary and intimidating prospect, that’s actually good thing!

  • Tweet on topics relevant to your customers and industry.

    You should talk about things that matter to you and your business. Do not advertise, but discuss breaking news, industry trends, offer tips and tricks, and so on. By making your posts relevant to your target audience, not only will your posts be interesting, but you’ll attract Twitter users searching on those topics and gain more followers.

The more followers you gain, the more impact each individual tweet will have. If you use your tweets to help and advise customers and potential customers, you will paint yourself as an expert in your field. The next time one of them needs someone like you, who do you think will come to the top of their mind?

Aside from meaningful posts, here are a few other ways to gain followers:

  1. Search for and follow your customers and potential customers – most people will follow you in response.
  2. Include your Twitter account link in emails
  3. Include a button to follow you on Twitter on your website
  4. Post your Twitter account to your Facebook and other profiles

Finally, when it comes to creating those interesting Tweets, here are a few suggestions:

  1. Use Twitter’s Recommendation system to follow leaders in your industry, as well as news sources. These can be a great source for information, links to blogs and other sites that you can share with your followers.
  2. Create Google Alerts for industry terms so that you keep up on news events and new products, information, and so on.
  3. Post sales and updates for your business, but keep these to a minimum so as not to appear to be advertising. Annoying your followers is a sure way to lose them.
  4. Write blogs and case studies and other articles on your website and post a link to them.

If you have a Drupal CMS website, or are planning on getting one, there are several ways that we can integrate Twitter with your website. First, we’ll make sure there’s a nice, recognizable button on your site inviting visitors to follow you. Second, we can make sure that every blog post and other content within your site has a Twitter icon that visitors can use to quickly and easily post a link to that content on their own Twitter account. Your new content will automatically be posted to your own Twitter account. Finally, we can pull your Tweets into your personal profile so that your site maintains an internal, searchable copy of all your Twitter updates.

Happy Tweeting!

Related

Category: Social Media ArticlesTag: Twitter

About Mike Allton

Mike Allton is a Content Marketing Practitioner – a title he invented to represent his holistic approach to content marketing that leverages blogging, social media, email marketing and SEO to drive traffic, generate leads, and convert those leads into sales. He is an award-winning Blogger, Speaker, and Author, and Head of Strategic Partnerships at Agorapulse.

Mike is a Virtual Event Consultant and has partnered with Jenn Herman, Stephanie Liu, Amanda Robinson and Eric Butow to write Ultimate Guide to Social Media Marketing published by Entrepreneur Press.

Free Virtual Event Webinar

10 Benefits of Virtual Events for SaaS Brands
Hosted by  Mike Allton
Most people are hesitant to try virtual events because they don’t understand all the benefits. They think it’s just a webinar or a conference call, but there’s so much more that can be done! 10 Benefits of Virtual Events for SaaS Brands is the answer to your questions. In this webinar, Mike Allton will teach you everything you need to know about virtual events. You’ll learn how to make them work for your company and get everyone on board with the idea.

Join The Community!

17 savvy marketers sign up every day to get the latest social media insights and ideas.


Previous Post: « 8 Ways to Get More Google+ Page Followers
Next Post: Using a Message Calendar for Social Media »

Primary Sidebar

LISTEN to The Virtual Event Strategist Podcast

Virtual Event VIP Strategy Day

Meet Mike

Mike Allton is a Virtual Event Strategist, and an award-winning blogger, speaker, and author at The Social Media Hat, where he has been educating businesses and organizations on the best use of content marketing for reaching and converting target audiences. He has spearheaded dozens of live shows and virtual events, reaching tens of thousands of potential customers on behalf of represented brands.

Since 2012, Mike has excelled at helping his community understand the nuance and best practices involved in utilizing social platforms, leveraging social media management tools, and creating 10X content. He has established a reputation for being able to explain complex tools or topics in easy to understand ways, all while bringing a necessary sense of overall brand strategy and business purpose.

Featured Posts

Virtual Event Ideas

6 Powerful Virtual Event Ideas for SaaS Brands

April 24, 2022 //  by Mike Allton

Reading Time: 8 minutes There are many virtual event ideas that brands can explore, from large to small, and with varying goals and objectives.

How To Replicate In-Person Event Networking for Virtual Events

February 5, 2022 //  by Mike Allton

Reading Time: 12 minutes 8 Ways To Encourage Virtual Event Networking

From Blah Webinars To Sold Out Summits – My Virtual Event Journey

November 8, 2021 //  by Mike Allton

Reading Time: 7 minutes Learn From My Virtual Event Experiences

More Like This

  • Virtual Event Strategy: Getting Started With Elephantine Events
  • Virtual Events As Powerful Customer Discovery Tools
  • Steal This Virtual Event Plan For A Flawless Event

Footer

Recent Posts

  • Choose Your Virtual Event Platform Before Building Your Agenda
  • Virtual Event Strategy: How To Rally Resources To Help You
  • Virtual Event Planner Options You Need To Consider Today
  • Virtual Event Strategy: Getting Started With Elephantine Events
  • Virtual Events As Powerful Customer Discovery Tools
  • Steal This Virtual Event Plan For A Flawless Event
  • Virtual Event Strategy: How To Narrow Focus To Achieve Broader Goals
  • Virtual Event Strategy: Your Why is Why You’re Unfocused

Key Topics

Agorapulse Bing Blab Blogging Buffer Business Canva Content Marketing Easil Email Marketing Evernote Facebook Google+ Holidays Hootsuite Influencer Marketing Infograph Instagram Klout LinkedIn Live Video Marketing Meerkat Mobile MySpace Pinterest Podcast ROI SEO SnapChat Social Media Marketing Social Pulse Summit Strategy Tailwind Triberr Twitter Video Vine Virtual Event Virtual Event Planning Virtual Event Speakers Virtual Event Strategy Yahoo Yelp YouTube
  • Home
  • Virtual Event Strategy
  • Subscribe
  • About The Social Media Hat
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosure

Site Footer

The Virtual Event Strategist Podcast

  • Listen on Apple
  • Listen on Spotify
  • Listen on Amazon
  • Listen on Stitcher
  • Social Media Articles
  • Digital Marketing Articles
  • Social Media Tools & Resources
  • Virtual Events Articles
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2022 The Social Media Hat · All Rights Reserved