RT – 7 Quick Tips For Using Twitter as a Business

So you’ve got 10,000 followers, almost all of whom you’re following back? Great. So do pop stars. Does it help them? Not really, merely inflates egos. As a company, you want results, right? Well, pick and choose who you interact with carefully. Sure, more people linked to you is great, but having a core network is far more beneficial. Find people who specialise in your area, and link up. Don’t be shy, just don’t be eager to build numbers. Remember, it’s all about inbound marketing

Customisation isn’t a big thing on Twitter, so you’re not going to be able to transform it into a mini – homepage. Yet there are things you can do to add individuality. Changing the background to something unique and attractive is simple, and can make it a really nice thing to (sort of) see. Your biography space is tiny, so use it wisely: maybe a link, and a slogan. Short and sharp.

Monitor the conversations, (I assure you, this is not as creepy as it sounds): Using software such as Tweetdeck allows you to keep a real-time log of what people are saying about you and your business. Someone had a bad experience? Intervene before they can stew on it for too long. Offer help and advice, so you can remedy the situation ASAP.

Out of hours service: With the advent of smartphones and tablets, accessing twitter (and a whole host of other Social-Mediary goodness) is easy and quick. There’ll be a client for use with whatever system you use, so be sure to keep an eye on things whenever you can. Reply out of standard office hours – remember, if someone has a query, the first to answer will most likely get the deal.

Make it personal – after all, Twitter is a conversation. Allow all your employees access to the twitter feed, or have a dedicated team, (like BT and Xbox have) who can bring that personal touch and friendliness to the service.

Decide on a schedule, or even one. You can access and update at all times of the day or night, but what about a weekly, daily, or fortnightly tweet, separate from the normal conversation? Posting a set of ‘Monday morning links’, or ‘Tip of the week’ can be a very useful tool that can keep people coming back to you for the information.

Retweet when needed, not necessarily often. Retweeting is, perhaps, one of the best things (from a conversation point of view) about Twitter. With a quick click, you can share that wonderful link to all of your followers. (This is where having a close-knit group of like-minded people is useful.) Just don’t overdo it. Pick and choose wisely, as no one wants their feed clogged up with retweets that may or may not be of any use to them. (Apart from spam accounts, but we won’t go there…)

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