Mistakes that Businesses Make on Twitter
More and more businesses are starting to see the value of Inbound Marketing and how it can help your business online. Whether they are blogging, using social media, content marketing or doing SEO it has become an important part of the marketing mix for many companies.
The problem with these kinds of marketing strategies is that companies tend to jump in with no strategy and no planning – particularly in the social media sphere. It is incredibly easy to sign up for Twitter and even easier to start tweeting, but if you are in charge of a company account have you set out a strategy or are you going out on a limb and just doing it because everybody else is?
Doing it because it is popular is a somewhat naive approach to using Twitter for business, you need to apply some logic to the process, and you need to know whether you target audience is on that channel and you need goals. There are a number of things that you need to do but even more that you should be sure not to do. Let’s look at some of the big mistakes that companies (big and small) are making on a daily basis and how your business can avoid falling in to the same traps.
Mistake 1.
They don’t spend time listening. By all means you should claim your business name on Twitter but before you send out your first tweet you should spend at least a few weeks listening to your niche. Follow your competitors and see how they interact with their audience. What are they talking about and which tweets appear to be more popular than others? This can allow you to put together a strategy on what you are going to tweet about rather than blindly guessing what your audience wants.
Mistake 2.
They only talk about themselves. Everyone knows someone who loves to talk about themselves—don’t be this person. If every tweet that leaves your fingers is self promotional your audience will soon leave (if you manage do get enough traction to build an audience). Allow your tweets to evolve naturally and talk about the things that will interest both your current and potential customers. Put yourself in their shoes and ask yourself what you would want to read.
Mistake 3.
They don’t brand their Twitter profile. Always make sure that you change your profile picture to reflect your brand (not the person in charge of the account). It also helps to change the Twitter background so that it is branded – just make sure that you include your web address, telephone number, email address and logo on it.
Mistake 4.
They aren’t consistent. You may have seen this type of account with other brands, they tweet several times a day for a week and then they disappear for two. After that they return with enthusiasm and tweet 20 times a day for a week and then disappear. If you want an engaged following they you need to tweet consistently based on your strategy. If you have more than one member of the team tweeting use initials to differentiate between personalities.
Twitter can be a great way to drive traffic to your site, find new potential customers and position yourself as an active, personable and knowledgeable brand in your niche. If you want to be successful, however, you need to plan ahead and have a solid Twitter strategy.
David Beastall works and writes for Hallam Internet based in Nottingham, who provides SEO and Internet Marketing for UK businesses.
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