Back in 2010, René wrote a blog post outlining seven ways in which Twitter can work for your business. These tips still stand and help to set out how Twitter can boost your business’ potential. However, in the last 18 months Twitter has evolved even further. As a social network with over 140 million active users, and more than 340 million tweets posted every day, it’s clear that no business can ignore it, including those in the trade b2b environment.
Smart tweeting
A white paper recently published by Buddy Media details the key strategies for effective tweeting. It seems that although more businesses than ever before are experimenting with Twitter, the majority of them are not using it effectively. Without a focused approach it’s easy to lose your way and alienate your audience. At BDB, we understand the importance of Twitter as part of an integrated marketing campaign. Here we highlight the most important things you need to take into account when tweeting specifically to build an audience, drive engagement, and showcase your expertise.
Building an engaged audience
Twitter is an ideal medium for broadcasting your message and latest news to generate engagement with your customers, both existing and potential. If you can build a solid audience and then interact with them, your brand will automatically become stronger and more well-known as followers retweet your posts.
Use Twitter Search to identify people and companies discussing topics you want to be associated with. Retweeting news and offering constructive comments on other people’s content allows you to become a reliable source of information. In this way, your business will be seen in a variety of contexts and will therefore be considered an expert. It also builds trust with your followers, which in turn strengthens your brand and can lead to a larger audience.
High visibility
According to Buddy Media, the best time to tweet is during the working day. But what happens if you work internationally and want to target the working day across different time zones? With tools such as TweetDeck and HootSuite it’s become easier than ever to monitor and schedule tweets to appear at the right time to ensure your messages get the highest visibility in key markets across the globe.
It’s also important to tweet multiple times a day – users’ timelines constantly refresh so it’s easy for your message to get drowned out. Frequent tweets can ensure a higher level of visibility. Just make sure you have something relevant to say and don’t tweet for the sake of it. Remember, content is king – even at 140 characters!
Attention to detail
Once you’ve decided what to tweet and when to post it, you might think your work is done. However, with just a few tweaks, you can further boost your Twitter experience. Using links in your tweets is a great way to drive your followers to your website or a landing page. It can also strengthen engagement with your business, as Buddy Media found that tweets with a link have 86 per cent higher retweet rates than those without. But make sure these links work – you’d be surprised how many turn out to be useless. Simply checking that tweets are formatted correctly can ensure that your followers arrive at the correct page, increasing the likelihood that they’ll retweet your post and building awareness of your brand.
Linking to interesting content:
Retweet with additional BDB comment:
Hashtags (#) are another useful way of increasing your retweet rates. Only 24 per cent of tweets currently feature hashtags, yet they can double the engagement received compared to those without. They’re also a great way for your business to tap into key trends and generate discussions. But be careful not to overuse them – too many can be overkill and put your followers off!
More and more b2b companies are taking to Twitter. If you don’t want to be left behind, contact us today to find out how social media like Twitter and a measurable, content driven approach can help your business.
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