Should you be using Twitter as a marketing tool for your small business? For some entrepreneurs, learning how to use Twitter can be challenging. You may not know if it is the right answer for you and, if it is, how to get more Twitter followers for your business. But that’s OK. This article should clear things up. Let’s start with the why.
Why your business should be using Twitter
According to Twitter’s company about page, as of May 2017, there are more than 313 million active users on the platform per month. What’s more, more than 500 million tweets are sent out every day.
For other amazing Twitter stats (just in case you’re not convinced), here is a great article that compiles some interesting facts about the social network.
In the end, if nothing else, these numbers suggest there’s a good chance at least some of your customers are using the platform. So why wouldn’t you use it as an opportunity to connect?
How Twitter works as a marketing tool
If you think it’s impossible to sell or market on Twitter, you’re wrong. Although it might not happen every time, it is possible to Tweet a 140-character message that motivates people to buy something, subscribe to your newsletter, or engage with your company.
You can use video, images and text to stand out and grab the attention of your audience.
With so many people adding tweets to the pool all the time, standing out in up-to-the-minute newsfeeds can sometimes be the biggest challenge. Fortunately, your tweets and account can be found through Twitter’s search function. People search based on location, events, topics, popular hashtags and anything else relevant to their interests, which means someone out there might be looking for what you have to offer.
Before you start tweeting away about whatever is on your mind, take the time to develop a strategy. Learn about your audience and their interests as they pertain to your business. Then, put together a marketing plan for Twitter (sending 100 tweets out and adding everyone you can is not a plan, but a recipe for wasted time).
How to get more Twitter followers with these 11 tips
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Completely fill out your Twitter profile.
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Find your audience.
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Create lists.
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Engage with people.
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Have an active Twitter account.
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Participate in Twitter chats.
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Participate in conference event chats.
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Make your Twitter handle visible on your website.
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Mention your social handles when you blog.
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Utilize top trends on Twitter.
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Use some social tools to help you find Twitter users.
Learning how to get more Twitter followers for your business does not mean you’ll go from zero to a million overnight. It will take time. It will take engagement and research. If you aren’t comfortable with either, you might want to hire a social media manager to handle your brand’s growth.
If you’re going to go out alone and handle your own Twitter account, here are some tips for growing your presence and using Twitter as a marketing tool.
1. Completely fill out your Twitter profile.
Whether you’re trying to target an interest or location, your profile needs to reflect that. It’s going to be really hard to get people to want to follow you if they don’t know who you are and why you are relevant to them.
2. Find your audience.
Twitter has a search box that you can use to listen in on specific conversations. If you are looking for a certain group of people, you can search for a word or phrase they might be using. Twitter will pull up a list of who has been talking about that subject, and you can either jump in and engage with that crowd, or follow them — or add them to a list for future marketing campaigns.
Aside from normal search terms, you can also search for hashtag terms. All of the tweets that use a particular hashtag are grouped together, making it easy to find everyone who is commenting on that topic.
3. Create lists.
Create a list of the people you want to reach on Twitter. Set your focus on engaging with these users, following them, and giving them a reason to follow you back. Keep your list and update it regularly, as it is handy to go back to — especially if you are running marketing campaigns and want to reach out to specific people for feedback.
4. Engage with people.
This is a HUGE part of what Twitter is about. Like any social network, it is all about engagement. You can keep throwing things at Twitter all day, but if you’re not trying to get involved in conversations with people, then you’re probably going to be glanced over.
5. Have an active Twitter account.
People follow people who are active. The more interesting stuff you publish on Twitter, the more often people might visit your profile (and re-share your Tweets).
6. Participate in Twitter chats.
Twitter chats are really handy because they drive discussions on focused topics to attract like-minded people. For example, #Blogchat is held every Sunday at 8 p.m. Central Standard Time and geared for bloggers. Quite a few people participate, and they usually have a set theme to discuss — and sometimes special guests.
7. Participate in conference event chats.
Conference event chats can be amazing for your business. Some events, like #BlogHer16 and #Inbound16, were chock-full of great information. Even if you didn’t go to the events, you could participate and re-share some of the content that people tweeted. This practice helps build content in your feed that’s related to your business and makes you look active. Additionally, people from the event see you participating and will more than likely follow you, especially if you’re retweeting their content.
8. Make your Twitter handle visible on your website.
If you’re on Twitter, you should be linking to it on your website. Try adding it to your blog’s sidebar, contact page, front page or even your about page. But choose spots wisely, as you don’t want it to be too excessive.
9. Mention your social handles when you blog.
Sometimes when you blog, you might want to try to offer another way for people to engage with the article (other than the blog’s comment thread). Every so often, encourage readers to follow you on Twitter (or any other social handle) and retweet the article. This helps get you free exposure.
10. Utilize top trends on Twitter.
Be wary of Twitter trends. Depending on the trend and how you respond, it could backfire on you. Choose trends carefully and be tasteful with your comments — not spammy. Interacting with individuals who are actively participating in trending topics might be better for engagement, but again, be smart about who you choose who to start conversations with.
11. Use some social tools to help you find Twitter users.
It can be overwhelming to find more followers, so third-party services might help in weeding them out. Some of the following tools can help you find who is active. These already organize Twitter users by category or interest:
These third-party services are free to join, but do have some premium or paid extras that can give you even more useful information.
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In conclusion
So there you have it. If you’re wondering how to get more Twitter followers, follow these 11 tips and watch your following grow. Oh, and be wary of services that are willing to sell you followers.
If you’re buying followers, STOP! It’s not worth it.
They might claim that they’re giving you real users, but the accounts are usually not from real people. They often have ulterior motives, and you’re much better off growing an organic following of your own. If you follow these these tips for how to get more Twitter followers for your business, you can develop a valuable audience. Good luck!
