5 Ways to Boost Your Company’s Twitter Presence

It's no secret that social media has become an integral part of any business' marketing strategy. Twitter, being one of the top social media outlets, should certainly not be avoided. There is much potential to be unlocked by your business by using Twitter.

If you're not yet familiar with Twitter, or how it works, allow this to be an introductory guide for you, your business, and your social media marketing efforts. More than 200 million users worldwide have rallied around the microblogging site for its simplicity, and ability to connect with friends, family, and celebrities. A "tweet" is a message of 140 characters or less about any topic they wish. Each user can "tag" others for conversation, or join a larger conversation by using hashtags (#). All in all, businesses that use Twitter have a greater chance of success, as they are able to connect with new potential clients and customers for free and with ease. Here are five ways to make your Twitter presence more effective.

Use Images Intentionally
Images are a crucial aspect of your business' Twitter account. When Twitter recently integrated the ability to preview images on the Twitter feed, it was discovered that businesses who posted images experienced a 55% increase in lead generation directly from their Twitter followers. Be sure to not only post quality images from your account, but select catchy images that represent your company branding for your profile and cover photos. You may even want to create new graphic art specifically for your Twitter account to match the effective dimensions of your profile image and cover photo.

Follow other Twitter Users
Following users on Twitter is kind of what it's all about. However, for your business page, you won't necessarily need to follow your personal favorite sports teams, movie stars, and bands. Instead, focus on following clients, customers, potential customers, industry leaders, local businesses, business partners, your local Chamber of Commerce chapter, etc. Find users to follow by using the search function. You could even scope out new users to follow by searching for prospects who are in need of your service. For example, if an auto mechanic searches "Northern Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC car" and looks for users complaining about their cars, follow them. They'll get notified that a mechanic is following them, and will probably be inclined to at least look at the profile information and website and may be impressed by your efforts.

Post Frequently
After you have somewhat of a following on Twitter, start focusing on spreading the word about your company. Frequently post quality content that hyperlinks back to your website for users to get more information. You could tweet links to any blogs that your company produces, instructional videos, press releases, etc. Just be sure to use a link shortening service like Hoot Suite, Goo.gl, or Bit.ly to include in your tweets, so as not to kill your allotted 140 characters with a giant link. Tweet about new business offerings, company news, or anything that helps portray your company image and operation. Frequent tweets will convey that your business is alive and active.

Retweet
Twitter is as much about social interaction as it is about communication. By "retweeting" other users' interesting and valuable tweets, you communicate that you value that company's contribution to the Twittersphere. Your followers will also value your retweeted content. Statistically, Twitter followers appreciate accounts that share content other than just their own over accounts that constantly talk about themselves. Retweeting interesting and relevant tweets from other users will help your followers appreciate your Twitter activity.

Join the Conversation
To seek out public conversations, search key terms and phrases using hashtags (#), and including hashtags in your responses. For example, try searching right now for a popular tool or gadget related to your industry using a hashtag such as the Canon #t3i camera, then tweet a response using the hashtag, "Our new Canon #t3i is helping to bring our company stories alive on social media. Thanks, @CanonUSA!"

To engage or respond to particular Twitter users, use their handle in your tweets (like how we used @CanonUSA above). Twitter makes this function easy for its users. If you'd like to reply to any tweet that you see, simply click "reply" below the tweet, and a dialogue box will open up with that user's Twitter handle already written in the box. When you submit such a tweet, that user will get notification that you've tweeted something at them and will be invited to respond to your comment. Of course, you're not limited to striking a conversation with one account at a time, you can include as many people as your 140 characters will allow in each tweet.

If your business doesn't use Twitter yet, it is probably missing out on some opportunities for great marketing, public relations, and lead capturing. While using Twitter can be a daunting task for newcomers, we promise that it'll be worth it for you in the long run. You'll be able to engage people and companies locally and around the world, and reach them with your message. You can't lose! It's free!

If you need help getting started on Twitter, give Computerware a call at (703) 821-8200. We'll help launch you into the Twittersphere!