With your business on Twitter new doors will open because you’ll meet new customers. Here are some things to remember:
1. Don’t Be Such a Big Shot. Tweet news of value, special offers to your followers or related information that matters. Don’t just shlock out the latest press release or hype some puff piece on your CEO – if you’re not sure about the value of your tweets, ask yourself “Who Cares?” – if you’re contributing something of value, there will be a positive response.
2. Don’t Talk Like a 12 Year Old. There is a place for considered, concise, professional writing; this is it. You have 140 characters, 120 if you want a re-tweet – that’s 6-8 words, use them wisely! If UR trying 2B cool w/ twitspeak and lol – you are sending the wrong message – IMHO. Avoid cute abbreviations and emoticons.
3. Do Acknowledge and Appreciate. If someone mentions you or re-tweets one of your messages, do the right thing; Say Thanks. It’s called Social Media for a reason – be Sociable! If someone is kind to you, or kind to your brand, acknowledge them. They will appreciate it and others will notice. You’ll make a friend, make a contact and make your Momma proud – all in 140 characters or less!
4. Don’t OverTweet on AutoTweet. There is no need to impress people with your mighty powers of tweeting 24/7 – nobody falls for it anyhow. Sure, it’s fine to set up tweets to roll out while you’re at a meeting (or on the golf course) – but AutoTweeting every 7.5 minutes will quickly get you ignored or unfollowed. Besides, does any of really have that much to say?
5. Don’t Leave Them Hanging, Do Respond Quickly. Twitter is quick, if you let a message hang for a day or more, that’s poor form and disappointing. You don’t have to get back to someone in a minute or even an hour, but if you’re counting your response time in days, you are missing the point.
Conclusion: Be of value, contribute to the conversation, give value to people who follow you and engage people around your brand. They are interested in what you sell, treat them with respect and they will help you sell to their friends and contacts. Most of all – have fun!
