There are countless statistics out there about Twitter users: who’s more active, who the loudmouths are, who logs on once in a blue moon and who didn’t get past the first step of signing up.
As you might guess, those who are involved in conversations and sharing online get the most out of the site. Twitter is becoming an essential and invaluable tool for companies, making positive differences in ROI, customer satisfaction and new business leads everyday.
To optimize efforts put toward your company’s profile, take note of a few rules to live by on Twitter:
- Keep a consistent brand image. Maintain a profile picture and/or background that is consistent with your other online accounts such as your Web site, LinkedIn profile, Facebook page, etc. When your picture or logo is consistent, your brand is much more likely to stick out in people’s minds.
- Build relationships. Social media is not all about you. Twitter doesn’t exist for you to sell your product or gain customers. Sure, it can lead to that, but it really shouldn’t be your raw goal. A more appropriate and realistic goal would be to establish your company as a genuine, knowledgeable leader in your industry that is in tune with its customers.
- There’s always time for personality. It’s great to promote yourself or your company and the benefits both offer, but potential and current customers need to know there’s a human behind those posts. Remember, there’s a difference between giving a play-by-play of your shopping trip downtown and tweeting briefly about a cool new store or restaurant you came across. Including a Web site address, Twitter account or a photo is always a plus!
- Re-Tweet unto others as you would have them re-tweet to you. Make sure what you say is something others will want to repeat. In the same way, if someone else says something noteworthy, keep it circulating in Twitter world, and give the original author credit.
My next post will cover more tips and specific uses of Twitter tools – both within the site and through outside sources. Follow me @stevekleber.
