15 Twitter Marketing and Engagement Tips for Small Businesses and Startups - by Internet Marketing Virtual Assistant

15 Twitter Marketing and Engagement

By Andrea Kalli

Entrepreneurs and business owners are

always on the lookout new and improved ways to

reach potential customers.

www.virtualassist.net

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but how can you best

achieve this using

Twitter? www.virtualassist.net


1. Fine-tune your priorities.

A vital aspect of Twitter and other social media marketing initiatives

that you need to keep in mind is that you can’t simply use these mediums

to sell, sell, sell. www.virtualassist.net




2. Bring your personality to your

unique brand.

The essence of social media is the person-to-person connection

it provides, and letting your followers see your personality goes a long way in promoting

your business and brand. www.virtualassist.net


Twitter users want to engage with other individuals based on commonalities at the personal

level.



3. Put a face on your Twitter business

account.

By adding a photo of you and/or your staff instead of simply using a business logo

or more generic avatar,



you let other Twitter users see that they’re connecting

with flesh and blood,







4. Personalize your account even further by customizing

your background.

There are some great Twitter tools available that will let

you incorporate photos,



your logo and other tidbits to make your background and your business

stand out from the crowd.



5. Take full advantage of Twitter directories.

List your startup or small business on directories such as

WeFollow and Twellow using

categories that are relevant to your product or niche.



This not only puts your brand out there so that

other users can find you, it also lets you locate

potential networking opportunities.



6. Integrate all of your social media accounts.

Connect your business Facebook page and LinkedIn

profile with your Twitter account, so that your content is

up-to-date on all three platforms.



This is a tremendous time saver; you can use one of the many Twitter dashboard tools to synchronize

status updates, tweets and links so that all your friends and followers

have access to your latest offerings.



7. Utilize the latest Twitter business

resources.

Take advantage of the Twitter for Business resource guide to help you get the most from this

form of social media marketing.



It covers everything a small business owner needs to know, from Twitter

basics and optimization to advertising your business effectively.



8. Build your network.

For a small business owner, building a Twitter network can seem like a daunting task, but don’t

get overwhelmed.



Start off by following people and businesses

you know.



These can include those in your immediate

geographic area, and/or in your particular niche or

industry.



9. Expand your network with the right

marketing tools.

Twitter tools such as TweetAdder let you search for users using relevant keywords

in their profiles.



Expanding your network is an ongoing process, and to do so

successfully, you need to find out who’s talking about topics that

pertain to your industry or niche.



10. Time your tweets.



You can then use the same tool to take care of scheduling your tweets

throughout the day.



11. Locate and engage the right followers.

Finding the influencers in your niche is critical to make the greatest

impact.



Use third-party tools such as Followerwonk and Topsy to

search out and find users who make the biggest contribution to

topics in your niche, and then engage those users.



Connecting with the right people can put your brand where you

want it; in the spotlight.



12. Provide useful solutions to your followers.

You can search out tweets containing questions or problems that customers want answers to, and respond with

resources or links that directly address their needs.

This enhances the credibility of your brand as a go-to for answers.



13. Tweet news and useful tips.

Make every tweet count for your customers and potential customers by giving them something they can sink their teeth into.



Staying on top of the latest buzz in your industry or niche means you always have

something of value to share, so utilize relevant newsfeeds and blogs to your advantage.



14. Ensure that all of your followers are

receiving your tweets.

If you usually use @reply to tweet a particular follower, your tweet is only reaching that individual and the followers you have in

common.



To make the biggest impact with every tweet, simply add a single character before @reply, such as ‘, @reply, ‘ and almost magically, that tweet is sent to

all of your followers.



15. Extend your reach with hashtags.

If you want to engage as many Twitter users as possible with your tweets, simply add # at the start of

each of your tweets, and you effectively link it to every other

tweet on the same topic.



This means that more of your potential customers

can view what you’re saying whenever they do a

search on a topic that relates to your business or

niche.




Let’s Get Strategic About Marketing! Andrea Kalli – Internet Marketing Specialist

