10 tips for taking your business into the Twittersphere in 2010

I feel compelled to say right off the bat that if you aren’t interested in genuinely engaging with your customers (spamming with links to your website or special offers does not equal engagement), don’t use Twitter for your business. But if you are ready to start a conversation about your company, it can be a powerful tool to develop your brand and add many loyal customers to your following.

These days if you aren’t using social media, you’re doing something wrong. Don’t believe me? Here is a list of companies using Twitter. The good news is you don’t have to have deep pockets like Starbucks, Coca Cola or American Airlines to successfully use Twitter. And up until a few months ago, it was enough to just be on Twitter. But these days you need to know how you're going to use it before entering the fray. To ensure you see a return on your efforts and that you get the most out of your energy, we recommend following these 10 tips for taking your business into the Twittersphere. Pretty soon you may just find yourself on lists like this.

1. Create a strategy. Ask yourself exactly what it is you want to get out of Twitter and what you're willing to give. Then put it down on paper. There are hundreds of ways to use Twitter: A listening tool to gauge sentiment about your brand or competitors; A tool to engage and converse; A podium to express your ideas and build a reputation as a thought leader; A forum to instigate debate; A medium to share news about your company or industry; A place to address customer service issues. There are many more, but only a few are probably right for you. Choose wisely.


2. Tune in to the conversation. You should start using Twitter Search right away to see what people are saying about you, your competitors and your industry. It’s free, invaluable consumer insight and it allows you to respond to complaints or compliments about your company. Listening closely will also help you get a feel for Twitter and its dos and don’ts.

   


3. Show that you’re human. Don’t be afraid to add your personality and opinions to the conversation or share things you find interesting that are related to what you do. Your tweets should sound like they’re coming from a person, not a marketing machine. By no means should you put your account on auto-Tweet and walk away or auto DM your followers. They really don’t appreciate it.


4. Have more than one tweeter. This will give your tweets extra character and will keep you covered in case someone falls ill or goes on vacation - it’s important to keep the feed going. But this brings up the issue of consistency. Make sure you have written Twitter tactical guidelines specifying the content and tone of your stream as well as your behavior on Twitter - this will ensure consistency and that you are always contributing to your strategy.


5. Help solve people’s problems. Don’t just push your own interests and goals. Figure out what your followers need, and try to help them get it. This could be links to useful information, solving problems they have with your service or keeping them up-to-date on general industry news.


6. Use 3rd party software to manage your account. There’s a lot of great software out there to help you refine info from Twitter into something easily manageable and highly effective. TweetDeck  is our personal favorite as it lets us organize followers, @’s, keyword searches and more into individual columns that can be taken in at a glance. Check out our previous post for more info on apps that help you manage followers.


7. Make it useful when you do talk about yourself. You should use most of your tweets not talking about yourself, but when you do, don’t just push your name and offer out there. Give people useful advice, links, blog posts or cool pictures to make your message worth your followers’ while to listen to.


8. Follow people involved with or interested in your industry. Quantity does not equal success on Twitter. Creating a balanced ecosystem of following/followers that are all relevant to your industry and goals will give you the most back from Twitter. You’ll get valuable information and opinions and will be talking to the right people.


9. Respond to people who @ you. This is fundamental for making your Twitter use a conversation and not just a stream of words flowing over your followers. Other tweeters out there are likely to @ you with questions about your brand or complain if they’ve had a negative experience. Make yourself more sympathetic and helpful by engaging with them.


10. Ask your followers questions. Racking your brain to figure out what new solutions your customers need? Just ask them. It can’t replace proper market research, but it can give you a quick, honest answer to what your targeted group of followers want from you. Why guess when it’s so easy to ask? See our earlier post about polling your followers to find the right polling tool.

Take your time getting to know Twitter and how it can fit into your business. Being patient in the beginning is better than immediately following hundreds of people just to try and boost your own following, and then pummeling them with loads of tweets. Finding the right people and the right, natural flow of conversation is the key to meaningful Twitter use and strengthening your brand.

Jason
Ross is a copywriter for The Duffy Agency. He loves working on both
traditional and social media projects and speculating on the future of
the ad industry.