How To Use Twitter For Business

TWITTER FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES START Should you tweet? I'm either introverted, shy, small talk averse, too intellectual, self serving, have an antisocial personality or simply I'm keen to try, but am worried about what to say and how to manage it... I'm already tweeting, but could do with some pointers. have no time. Do you have an employee who can tweet on your behalf? Don't worry for now - that's why we are here. THE SUCCINCT GUIDE TO TWEETING FOR BUSINESS NO YES Set up an Account: Go to twitter.com Forget you ever heard of Twitter - turn the lights off before you leave. IDEAL FOLLOWERS? Employee Company TWITTER ETIQUETTE * Often overlooked, but hugely important. * The obvious answer is "A potential client, but it needs to be more defined than this. * No1 thing to remember - There will be a permanent record of everything you write! * Any normal post you make is seen by all your followers in their 'timeline' (like an inbox), and anyone visiting twitter.com/yourusername can see your public posts. * Reply to tweets by using @personyouarereplyingto - but bear in mind these are visible to anyone - it's like having a conversation in a room full of people. * Send Private (or 'direct') messages using 'D personyouaremessaging' (i.e put a D and space in front of the username at the beginning of your tweet). Only viewable by recipient ( but they could retweet). * RT ('retweet) messages you receive if you think them of use to your followers (but don't make all you tweets RTs) * A hashtag (#) is used to mark a keyword or topic in a tweet to categorise it and help it show up more easily in Twitter search. E.g. adding #budget to a tweet about the chan- cellors budget. Recommended max is 3 # What are your Twitter savvy clients like - what do they like, and how can you help Use real name. Use company name. them? * It could also be someone who isn't necessarily a client, but is heavily influential within your client's world. * It can help to imagine a room full of a few of these target people - real people if you can, and imagine you are speaking directly to them when you tweet. Create suitable avatar - sensible headshot. Create a professional looking background for twitter page Create a bio that makes it clear is you speaking as employee, not personal. Create avatar with company logo Write description that describes what your company does and what it will be tweeting about. Link account with your Linkedin profile. TOOLS * You can do all your tweeting via twitter.com (most people do) but there are many 3rd party tools that seriously streamline t process by automating things like URL shortening and uploading pictures, eg: * Tweetdeck: (tweetdeck.com) * Hootsuite: (hootsuite.com) * Twitterific (twitterific.com) per tweet.. * Don't get involved in arguments or point- less negativity - everyone has a ringside seat! (By all means criticise constructively and courteously though - especially if you can back up with facts - it will impress your followers.) * If people retweet or mention you, thank Learn Twitter etiquette. MONITORING Identify your ideal follower. * Monitoring twitter can alert you to breaking news, mentions of your brand name or keywords specific to your industry. (The above tools have monitoring functionality) * Monitoring the web in general can also alert you early to relevant articles and news for comment/RT etc. * Google offers a free tool: google.com/alerts Decide on your tweeting strategy. Map out your workflow and set them. * Be mindful of any confidentiality or regula- tory issues - Twitter is very public. If your profession is sensitive, link to a disclaimer in you bio. up tools to make tweeting easy. I want to tweet comments / share links to articles relevant to my profession. I want to promote offers and deals. I want to ask industry questions to my peers. I want to share tips I want to I want to tweet create or re-use our own company news, events we are attending etc. and advice. existing content. Don't over do it - openly promotional tweets should make up no more than 10% of your tweets. Give as well as take! Set up monitoring tools with relevant keywords to pick up People do like to show off their knowl- edge, so use as a starting point for up on news. Use a URL shorten- ing tools such as bitly.com, and add you own comment on the news/article to draw followers in. Organise content (e.g. blog or web site) and use a URL shortening tool for your tweets - eg bitly.com Ideally, create a content roadmap and aim for a steady Consider using Twitpic to add photos to make it more personal. Provide links and information. Ensure you are complying with any regulations concern- ing your business. Link to a disclaimer conversations. Always thank and acknowledge, and share findings. from your profile page if necessary. release over time. WRITE AN AMAZING TWEET! Search out and follow people in your industry. Ask colleagues/ associates/friends to follow you. Retweet interesting/ newsworthy/ entertaining/ amusing tweets. WRITE ANOTHER AMAZING TWEET! Search out and follow like-minded people. Engage in conversa- tions with people in your industry. Keep the momentum! masius CREATED BY MASIUS - A SPECIALIST BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS AGENCY - WwW.MASIUS.COM