Do you use Twitter? I love Twitter and use it a lot, but it’s funny how many people tell me they don’t get it and don’t use it. If you fall into that camp, this blog post is for you. Here are some do’s and don’ts for Twitter novices.
Building a following
Do: Build up your number of followers by following your clients, business partners, vendors, friends, colleagues, former colleagues, and people in your network (especially on LinkedIn). They will most likely follow you back.
Don’t: Automatically follow everyone back. Be selective and choose people and businesses whose Twitter streams are full of interesting tweets and conversations.
Don’t: Keep your Twitter account locked and private. Twitter is a social media site, not an exclusive country club.
Optimizing your Twitter bio
Do: If you have a Twitter account for your business, your Twitter bio should include a short and sweet value proposition and link to your website.
Do: For your individual Twitter bio, include what you do for a living, what you tweet, and something fun and personal. Include relevant hashtags (#hashtag) and Twitter handles (@yourname). For a Twitter bio example, here’s mine.
Don’t: Fill your Twitter bio with hashtags or vague, meaningless statements (“I am social.”)
Include links
Do: Link to content – a blog post, image, article. Write a compelling intro to that content to increase click-through rates.
Don’t: Cut and paste the link into a tweet without shortening it. You can use Bit.ly, though if you use a social media dashboard (I use Hootsuite), they have built-in link shorteners.
Keep your tweets short
Do: Try to write tweets that are shorter than 140 characters so followers have room to add their own comments when they retweet it.
Don’t: Write in shorthand like a texting teenager. 1), It’s hard to read and 2), it doesn’t look professional.
Use hashtags and handles properly
Do: Use relevant hashtags to organize information around one topic, so include them in tweets when relevant (you can find hashtags by conducting a simple search).
Don’t: Create a hashtag without doing research first to make sure it’s not already taken – or being used for an entirely different topic.
Do: Use handles to give authorship credit or a shout out, or to communicate.
Don’t: Begin a tweet with a handle, as your tweet will show up in that person’s or business’s stream as a message (not as a direct message or DM, which is private, but as a public message).
Create conversations
Do: Create conversations around a topic or idea to increase engagement and find new followers.
Don’t: Broadcast information. Twitter is not a bullhorn.
Do you understand Twitter better now? What tips do you think are most useful?
Image courtesy of greenlights.org
Image via Flickr user Vanessa Chettleburgh 
)
Recently On Web.Commentary
by Tinu Abayomi-Paul
October 17, 2012 in Business
Tags: business, small business, small business tips, web dot com, web.com, web.com Small Business Forum series, web.commentary No Comments »
What you may not realize is that both have regularly updated blogs with articles targeted to small business owners.
About every seven days (assuming there are enough posts to warrant a summary) I’ll be doing a round-up of the posts I’ve read on our sibling sites.
Before we get started, I just want to make sure you’re aware that the Jacksonville edition of the Web.com Small Business forum takes place tomorrow. It’s going to be a great event, and as we previously mentioned, there are some great perks being given to every attendee. I mean, besides gaining knowledge about how to make your website better, or include Facebook and Twitter in your marketing plan.
Have you ever wondered how to get inside your customer’s head to find out what they want to know when they’re looking to buy? Or maybe how many other websites exist besides yours? Curious about what social media book you should read next? If so, it’s a good idea to subscribe to web.commentary – these are all topics they’ve covered in recent days.
Whether it’s learning the basics of Twitter marketing, or getting the highlights of the iPhone 5 launch, you’ll get plenty of relevant news and information to help you market your business on the web.
There’s also a great story about a local Jacksonville business owner named Karen, who is running an online business that shows ways families can save money.
And did you know about the rise of the Gen Y independent worker? This was fascinating to me because I had an informal discussions with a couple of economists and a historian where we explored the idea of whether the state of the current economy is perhaps a turn back to the era when having a business was as common as working for someone else.
Marketing for Halloween? If it hadn’t occured to you because your business isn’t seasonal, or related in any way to costumes, candy or Halloween in general, you may be surprised by some of the tips the article has for how small businesses can seize the opportunity. They’re all fun ideas that would make even the most promotion-leery business owner think twice about holiday-related tactics for exposure.
My favorite article in this update was the one about Intellectual Property Strategy. Entrepreneurs often realize that we have intellectual property that needs to be protected, but aren’t sure what to do next. This article, as well as the one it links to, gives you a starting point.
That wraps this overview – I haven’t covered all the articles on the Web.Commentary blog, so be sure to skim along the right sidebar and browse through your favorite topic while you’re there.