Once considered the king of the social media world, Twitter use among users has decreased, while other platforms, like Facebook and Instagram have risen to the top. Yet, despite its decline in the hierarchy of social media giants, Twitter is still a valuable tool for marketers. Contests, customer service and networking opportunities are still very effective on Twitter… if executed properly.
The unfortunate truth, however, is that a lot of businesses on Twitter simply, exist. Many post tweets for the sheer sake of account activity, which is a shame, especially when you consider just how powerful of a marketing tool Twitter can actually be.
If you’re like many people, you may be having a tough time connecting all the dots. And sadly, at the end of the day, there’s an awful lot of junk advice floating around out there about how to successfully market Twitter. So let’s cut through all the “noise” – right here and right now. What’s outlined below is a fail proof strategy for achieving Twitter marketing success.
Develop A Legitimate Strategy
This first, and might I add, vital step often gets ignored. Twitter offers ease of use and quick account set up, which often times means planning out an effective strategy simply doesn’t happen. If you want to be successful, you’re going to need to invest some time mapping out what you’re going to do, how you’re going to do it, and when.
A solid strategy should include:
- Deciding WHO you want to reach
- WHAT influencers you want to connect with
- WHEN will you be posting tweets (your schedule)
- Your WHY: Spell out your goals (do you want to increase brand awareness, attract more leads, or gain more website traffic?)
- HOW you’ll engage with other users
- WHERE your personality will shine?
- HOW MUCH you are willing to invest (time, effort, money)
Having a Twitter strategy in place means you’re working towards a goal instead of just existing.
Make A Daily Effort
Social media seems to move at the speed of light, which is why your Twitter activity can’t be something you just try to squeeze in. Create a schedule of tasks for yourself or a team member to do each day. Your schedule should include things like:
- Responding to customer questions or concerns
- Scheduling tweets
- Responding to direct messages (DM)
- Making sure to acknowledge new followers (a simple “Thank you” can go a long way)
- Re-tweeting and liking top industry influencers content Researching trending topics and developing a plan to integrate them into your Twitter strategy
- Following top industry influencers and up incomers
Twitter operates in real-time, which means when a customer has a problem or complaint, you should respond immediately. DO NOT WAIT! By monitoring your daily page activity, you can engage your customers and prospective leads before they go elsewhere.
Go Manual Before You Automate
With all the tools available for Twitter marketing, it can be easy to fall into the time-saving “trap.” I’m not saying automation isn’t effective, because it definitely is. But if you don’t have the knowledge about how to use the platform effectively first, automating tasks will actually do more harm than good.
Before you start automating, you need to really get into the trenches. Search for relevant content to share.. Instead of having a 3rd party program automatically choose accounts that you should follow, actually look through and find companies and people YOU want to follow. All of this will help you to understand more about what tasks can successfully be automated.
Wrap-Up
By creating a Twitter strategy, planning out daily tasks and learning more about how the platform works, you can effectively use Twitter for your business. Remember that all social media has one common element, “social.” People want to hear what you have to say, which allows them to see your human side. Once you become more comfortable, following the methods outlined above and ensuring that customer engagement is always authentic, Twitter can really take you far.
