Twitter can be a great way to amplify your message…if you can get your tweets to be heard above the din.
With about 200 million monthly users and counting, Twitter can seem a bit overwhelming at times. As Lisa Barone explains, getting attention for your tweets can be challenging:
For a brand with a voice and something to say, Twitter acts as a powerful communication medium allowing you to put your stamp on things and get yourself heard. But let’s face it: Twitter is also kind of noisy. Your success on the platform rests on your ability to make your tweets stand out and gain visibility in your customers’ eyes.
Fortunately, there are ways to increase your odds of getting heard at least by your target audience even with all the noise out there. Below are some tips you might want to consider to both crank up the volume of your Twitter account and fine tune your message to reach your target listeners.
Social Amplification: Pump Up Your Twitter Volume
Start with the Right Data
Data on Twitter and other social media channels seems to be everywhere. Start by examining some of this information to see what it can tell you about Twitter users in general. Every person is different, of course, but understanding who is using Twitter and a bit about their preferences may give you insight into how to craft your tweets.
For example, social media software company Beevolve has compiled data from 36 million Twitter profiles. And the results provide some major insights. For example, did you know the vast majority of Twitter users are young and that more women use the platform than men?
The study shows the vast majority, 73.7 percent, of Twitter users are between the ages of 15 and 25 and 53 percent are female.
How might this information affect the way you tailor your next Twitter message?
Use Promoted Tweets
You don’t need to be a social media rock star to add major amps to your Twitter account. In fact, Twitter’s new promoted tweets are proving very effective at getting a message across.
For example, when British Airways allegedly lost his father’s luggage, Chicago-based business man Hasan Syed paid more than $1,000 to give his promoted tweets the boost they needed.
The effort paid off. Syed not only reached an estimated 50,000 Twitter users, his tweets were also picked up by major news media eventually bringing an apology from the airline.
Imagine how far your message could reach.
Do More Listening
Sometimes the key to getting your tweets seen by your fans is to pay more attention to what your audience wants. As Lisa Barone explains:
The good news is your customers will tell you if your Twitter strategy is working. They’ll tell you through increased RTs, blog comments, site traffic, additional social media interaction, etc. So listen to them. If you see that certain types of content are doing better, it’s a sign your audience wants more of that.
You’ll likely need to try a lot of different approaches with your tweets in the beginning, just to find out what works. Then watch your audience and learn.
Engage, Engage, Engage
Social media is all about…well, being social. There’s no point in trying to raise your voice unless you’ve found someone to talk to.
For this, Lisa suggests some simple techniques. You can use keyword searches, look for people who have already retweeted one of your posts or find potential clients and customers on Twitter.
Then, of course, chat them up, she suggests.
Become part of their conversation, answer their questions or start a conversation of your own. Just get started!
Be Sure to Personalize
Just retweeting the latest news from your industry isn’t enough. Remember, anyone can do that and there are probably plenty of them doing it already.
The real art of tweeting effectively is to add a bit of your own distinctiveness in every 140 character message, says Lisa.
To do this, you must include much more than simply the title of the article you’re sharing and a link. Try to dig a little deeper.
Try to share what you think about the post too. What does it mean? What do you as a thought leader in your field conclude from it? You may also want to pick out a quote, an interesting point or an important statistic from the post you’re sharing. It will make your own tweet more memorable and sharable.
Have any suggestions you could share about using Twitter more effectively?
Crank Up the Volume Photo via Shutterstock
Thanks for the great tips, Shawn.
Twitter is my favorite platform…and has been since almost day one.
It’s noisy. There’s a lot of clutter.
Thanks for showing me some ways to rise above it all.
The Franchise King®
I know that some people have issues with “promoting” tweets, but if you want to get your message in front of more people it’s a very effective way to do so.
Although I agree that promoted tweets can be effective, it is still better if you create real conversations in your Twitter account. That means real followers and real updates. No news and other promotion crap. You have to be as real and approachable as possible.
1. Increase your followers!
One of the best ways to successfully generate leads on Twitter is by increasing your followers. This can only happen if the content you post or tweet about is relevant and interesting enough to catch eyeballs. A regular tweet is general restricted to 140 characters so naturally it does requires some skill to put forward your point across in a manner that will benefit your business.
The other way is to follow other people with similar interests or from the same industry.
For example, if you specialize in marketing, follow other marketing professionals for tips, information or just to connect with them. That will make a huge difference.
This can perhaps lead to a mutual twitter relationship where both parties follow each other and thereby, increase followers for each other.
2. Create Lists:
Create lists to segregate and manage your leads. For instance, you could add your potential customers to one list and have another for those loyal customers that you already have. By creating lists, you are following them more closely and keeping track of their needs.
For instance, I have separate lists for different groups of people – One group for people from my work place, another for my close friends and a third for those celebrities and others who have interesting things to say. This will help you keep a close eye on them and cater to their specific needs.
Looking at it from a business point of view, you can do the same.
Segregate customers depending on how important they are to you and which stage are they at in business terms, and segregate leads accordingly.
3. Post interesting Tweets:
As mentioned above, your tweet will either make it or break it. A regular tweet is restricted to 140 characters but Lead Generation Cards can have up to 240 characters, which includes the tweet, description and CTA. This is accompanied by an image. That is all you have to convert a customer into a client. Use it wisely.
You can do this by posting tweets that are engaging, amusing or interactive.
4. Be active:
One of the key factors in generating leads for any business is being active and enthusiastic about it. Correspond with you followers on a daily basis. Retweet relevant information from other links or twitter accounts. Respond to queries. Make the most of “#HashTags” so they appear on the “Trends” section. All of this will also enhance your brand image.
For example, don’t think for a minute that your followers would be inactive for a certain period of time. Most of them have Twitter apps on their phone which means they are watching you all the time!
5. Be local:
The concept of glocalization has really worked for brands like McDonald’s and Lay’s. Even in this case, it can be used to benefit your business. Target people who are within your reach and will benefit from your product or service.
For instance, if you’re a retail chain, talk about trends in your local area of the area you cater to. That would make a difference.
6. Use an effective Twitter handle and image:
The Twitter handle (username) and image makes a difference. Be specific and clear so customers can directly identify with your business/product/service. The image, though small, is still important since most people would rather look at images than read content.
A username makes a big difference. Don’t keep something complicated that would be difficult for the average person to remember. Keeping a simple name will not only make your customers remember your twitter handle but can also easily tag you in messages.
When it comes to advertising, Twitter has a couple of features that help in marketing and lead generation. They work on a pay-per-click style. Here are a few features of Twitter Ads.
7. Promoted Accounts:
Promoted Accounts are those accounts that have been promoted by Twitter. If you want to advertise your company’s Twitter profile, you could opt for this feature. As the name suggest, Twitter will promote your account. This is used to promote the brand image.
This feature allows the Promoted Account to be displayed under the “Who to Follow” widget found on the left-hand side of the page.
This will allow for more exposure, and in turn, more followers.
8. Promoted Tweets:
Promoted tweets are tweets for advertisement purposes. Several companies use this feature for lead generation. Your content will be promoted by Twitter and will be labeled as “Promoted” allowing users to distinguish between promoted and regular tweets. Promoted Tweets also appear at the top of search results, allowing more people to read it.
9. Promoted Trends:
Similar to the two features discussed above, Promoted Trends includes content about a specific topic or subject. Promoted Trends are available to all users but it is expensive. It is usually used to promote a product or service (like an iPhone).
Twitter has been a great source of traffic for me. Often times the user spends 6-7 minutes on my site too.
I try and reply and share as much as possible. Reaching out and connecting people is starting to pay off as I have “met” some great people on Twitter.
I am surprised that almost 3/4 of Twitter usaers are between the ages of 15 and 25 though. I would not have expected the number to be that high. Interesting.