Twitter is a micro-blogging platform which lets the whole world know what you are up to, through ‘status’ updates. There are millions of Twitter-addicts all over the world and the number of active users has increased by 900% in the past year. Businesses are also starting to use it to promote themselves and their services, but if not used correctly it can be a waste of valuable business time.

On Twitter you will have people “following” you, and you will be “following” others. If you are “following” someone, you will be updated everytime they post a new update to their profile. Being followed is the same; everytime you have something to say, all your “followers” will be updated. The more people that follow you, the more exposure your business will get. But it’s not about adding as many people as you can to your friends list. You need to be smart about building your follower base to get the best results.

The problem is that many companies that try to market using Twitter don’t understand how this community works, and consequently their Twitter Marketing efforts don’t pay off. The following steps will guide you in understanding what to do and what not to do to give your company huge exposure using Twitter:

Step 1: Import Your Contacts

Twitter allows you to import contacts from Gmail, Hotmail and your own address book. Importing your company’s existing contacts is a great way to get started as these people will know who you are and will usually follow you back.

Step 2: Make Sure that Your Profile is Complete

Fill in all the profile fields and remember to include your company’s websites address. You can also personalise your Twitter page to match your company’s branding. Include keywords in your profile description as this will help your profile get discovered through a Twitter search.

Step 3: Understand the Dynamics of Twitter

Twitter is a social tool, not a business classifieds site. Here are some useful do’s and dont’s that will help you interact with Twitter correctly:

The Do’s

• Do follow other users.
• Do be active in the community (tweet and post comments about others’ tweets regularly).
• Do only post useful and relevant information.
• Do engage in conversations, retweet and reply to others’ tweets often.
• Do post about Trending topics.
• Do participate in Follow Friday suggestions.
• Do use Hash Tagging (#) in common topics

The Dont’s

• Don’t spam others about your company in any way.
• Don’t tweet every minute – it can become annoying and you’ll lose followers.
• Don’t promote your company directly – do it the smart way.
• Don’t follow suspiciously spam type accounts

Step 4: Build Your Followers Base

There are many things that you can do to build your followers base, here are a few examples:

• Put a link to “Follow Me on Twitter” everywhere (your email signature, forums, website and business cards).
• Everytime you post on your blog, invite people to follow you on Twitter.
• Search for Twitter users whose followers base you would love to have for yourself. See who is following them and follow those users. They will follow you back.
• See who is following your friends and follow them.
• There are Twitter directories that are great to find members who are likely to follow you. Examples include Just Tweet It and Twellow.
• Use Twitter’s search feature to find profiles that interest you.
• Use Twitter’s RSS feed to be notified everytime a tweet containing a certain keyword is made.

Step 5: Balance Your Followers/Following Ratio

Try to have a balance between people you follow and people that follow you. If a lot of people follow you and you don’t follow them, they will stop following you. If you are following plenty of people but just a few are following you, you could be seen as a spammer trying to grow your follower base as quickly as possible.

These are some ideas to keep both numbers balanced:

• Grow slow. Instead of adding 200 new friends all of a sudden, add maybe 50 and wait for them to follow you back. Then follow another 50.
• Use tools like Friend Or Follow. This tool lets you check who is following you and who you are not following. It also allows you to see who you are following who are not following you. This is the best way to balance your ratio in just a few minutes.
• Avoid following others so they follow you, only to stop following them once they are on-board following you. If you do this, you can be seen as a spammer.

Step 6: Make it Worthwhile to Follow You

Tweet interesting stuff. Everytime you are about to post something, ask yourself “Is this something I would be interested in?” If the answer is no, chances are that your followers will feel the same way.

Step 7: Learn from the Best

Find users with several hundred followers and learn from them. See what they are doing right and get ideas from them. Done right, Twitter Marketing can lead to positive exposure for your business. Companies have been known to make tens of thousands of pounds from customers that found them through a Twitter account. Depending on your business, Twitter could be one of the most successful weapons in your Internet Marketing plan.

…and Finally…

Remember to follow us on Twitter to keep up-to-date on our services and special offers.

We would love to hear about your experiences with Twitter and whether you find it is working for you or not. To find out more about how to successfully use Twitter for your business, and other social network platforms, contact FIJ Design and one of our advisors can help you to establish a successful social networking strategy.