Want to get better at using Twitter for your small business storytelling? Who doesn’t? It’s a terrific search engine that lets you join other people’s conversations or start your own simply by using hashtags.
Twitter does one thing really well – it encourages people to engage with your stories. Add the power of audience insights and eye-catching visuals, and you can learn to love the power of Twitter for sharing your business stories out to the world. So here are 6 cool Twitter tips that you can put to work for your business starting now.
Know Your Audience
Did you know that you can use the audience insights in Twitter to get a better idea of who your followers are and what they’re interested in? This is the kind of specific information you can use when you are crafting your business stories for Twitter – it will allow you to send out Tweets that focus on content that matters to those followers.
Events
Is there a specific holiday or sporting event that you want to link your business to? Perhaps you want to do some Tweets around events that everyone relates to such as vacations or birthdays? Go for it. Just choose events that are relevant to your business so your Tweets stand out. (It’s also helpful to include a link back to your website in so people can explore more of what you have to offer.) And for a major event (ex. Super Bowl) always use the trending hashtags so you can join in on those conversations.
Hashtags
Speaking of hashtags – they drive Twitter’s search engine. Everyone uses hashtags to find and to be found. So create hashtags that are unique for your small business and use them consistently in your storytelling. Your followers will learn them and start using them to search for your Tweets. And don’t be afraid to also use hashtags that are more well-known – if your business story is related to the ever popular theme of #throwbackthursday – then use that hashtag to make it easier for your story to be found.
Recognition
When someone Retweets your content or has something nice to say about your business make sure you recognize them by liking or Retweeting their Tweet. On Twitter this is how you let your followers know that you really are paying attention and that you appreciate them. Communication is a two-way street on the Blue Bird highway.
Use Visuals
These days everyone responds to cool videos and images. Don’t you? Use them to make your Tweets more eye-catching. Great imagery makes your business stories more impactful than words alone.
Quick Promote
Did you know that you can boost your Tweets to a wider audience on Twitter? You can by using Quick Promote. Publish your Tweet and then select the bar graph icon at the base of your Tweet. You will be prompted to choose your budget and the location you want to boost your Tweet to. Make your selections and then tap “confirm” and you are done. You can also go to analytics.twitter.com to see which of your Tweets are performing better than others, and if you want to boost any of them you can use the Quick Promote feature right from there.
Don’t be hesitant to use Twitter to share your business stories. If you have followers who are using this platform then go out and meet them. Mind your manners: use hashtags, recognize when someone pays you a compliment, and just share the good stories that are happening in your small business. You’ll be surprised at how easy it is to connect with a lot of people who are genuinely interested in what you are doing and why.
