How to Engage Followers on Twitter
Chances are, your business already has its own Twitter page. Twitter is a great social platform that allows you to interact with your followers and share short messages. Yet many businesses find themselves getting hooked on increasing their followers, when really, they should be focusing on engaging their followers.
Consider this example. Company ABC goes through all the marketing efforts to draw in more followers. They have over 10,000, and they’re proud of this numbers status. Yet even with all of these followers, they rarely receive favorites, retweets or comments. On the other end, Company XYZ has only 2,000 followers, but their engagement is high. It seems like everything this company churns out gets some type of response. Which scenario is better?
Obviously, Company XYZ has done more to engage their followers, and instead of focusing on the number of people following their page, they put their effort into building strong rapports with their follower base. These are the types of people you want to be interacting with on social media because they are truly invested in your brand.
So, how exactly do you stop looking at the numbers and start engaging?
Tweet Valuable Content – Establish your brand as an authority, and start getting information out there that is relevant to your industry. Aim for unique content that only you may know about, as well as links to your blog and website.
Respond to Followers – It’s important that you keep the conversation going by responding to your followers. Check your page often so that you can respond to retweets, comments and questions.
Tweet Often – The beauty in Twitter is that you don’t have to be shy. Since you don’t want to tweet links all of the time, share a few fun facts every day, ask short questions or comment on a discussion regarding a trending topic.
Use Hashtags – Hashtags are a great way to group topics together, so be sure to throw some tweets in there that follow suit with trending topics. You only need to use hashtages in about 25 percent of your tweets for them to be effective.
Follow Back – Follow people who will have something in common with your brand. A true follower who is invested in your brand is better than one who just adds a number, so look for those who will find purpose in what you sell or do.
What are Hashtags and Should I be Using Them?
c/o: mashable.com
Hashtags. We’ve heard of them. We’ve seen them on tweets, status updates and Instagram photos. Sometimes they are overused, sometimes underused. These simple yet effective tools still have many businesses wondering, “Should I be using hashtags?”
A hashtag is a # symbol that is used to mark keywords. All keywords with a hashtag in front of them are then grouped together, making them easier to find. Hashtags got their start on Twitter, but the trend has emerged on social sites like Instagram and Facebook. Hashtags hold importance when joining a discussion, sharing news on a trending topic or creating more exposure for a post or photo.
In short – yes – your business should be using hashtags. The trick is that you should when to use them, as more isn’t better in this case. In fact, if you overuse hashtags, you’ll actually have less engagement.
The best reasons to use hashtags include the following:
Conversations – If you want to join in on a conversation, a hashtag makes perfect sense. This way, anyone searching under that particular tag will see your post come up in the discussion. Hashtags in this context actually do a good job of filtering out content, except in the case of #Superbowl that drew in a record 4,064 tweets per second.
Targeting – You probably have certain products that you would like to target to a particular group. A hashtag can help with this. You can use particular keywords to target moms, dog owners or body builders for instance.
Marketing Effort – If you dare, you can start your own hashtag and let it serve as a small marketing campaign. If it doesn’t work, you have nothing to lose, but if it does catch on, you have everything to gain. Domino’s Pizza encouraged their followers to tweet #letsdolunch and gave a special promotion once the number hit 85,000.
Follow Friday – #FollowFriday began in 2009 as a way to recommend followers to other followers. Think of it this way. You’re at a party, and there are plenty of people there. You introduce some of your favorite friends to a pal of yours, and he introduces some more and the chain goes on. The same happens with #FF, and it’s a great way to pick up new leads.
#ThanksforReading
How to Attract Followers on Twitter
Twitter has quickly become the central news feed for everything related to breaking news, craft ideas, popular recipes and celebrity gossip. It has also become a hub for businesses that want to connect with their audience in a refreshing way. Instead of just connecting with potential customers in a sales-orientated manner, Twitter allows businesses and their target audience to build a relationship. But, how exactly does this relationship work, and what can you do to attract new customers?
For businesses, Twitter has a simple, effective platform that allows them to post fun facts as well as links to interesting articles, press releases, blog posts and other information that is related to the industry. When a person “follows” the Twitter account, they receive these posts in real-time in their Twitter feed. It’s a great way for businesses and their audience to stay connected, and businesses are able to shine in a variety of areas.
Always Use Proper Etiquette
In order to attract – and keep – followers, it’s important to always have proper etiquette. While you certainly do not need to write a “thank you” after each response, you should be replying to questions and negative comments. Always handle them in a professional manner, using the mentality of “the customer is always right.” The difference is that the customer won’t just go and tell others how you handled the situation, the evidence will be posted on the internet. So, always be nice.
Encourage Interactive Followers
It’s also effective to get your followers more interactive with your company, so don’t be afraid to post contests. Ask your followers to re-tweet your message for a chance at the prize, and hopefully you pick up a few new followers, or at least interested folks. This is easy for your customers and easy enough for you, too. Also make sure that your Twitter page is optimized, meaning that you have a call-to-action in your banner and a unique background that showcases your brand. You want to make a good first impression.
Optimize Your Twitter Page
Finally, make a few more efforts to optimize your Twitter page and grow your audience. Link your blog with your Twitter account so that new posts are posted automatically. When responding to questions or concerns, include a landing page with helpful information. Offer up incentives and keep active by posting regularly. Don’t be afraid to keep your competitors close by following industry leaders, and also be sure to follow customers to see what their interests and likes are. With a comprehensive effort, you can grow your Twitter audience while still keeping a good rapport with your existing followers.
Blog sponsored by: WSI Web Sales Now