Using Twitter For Business

Roxanne Roark

If you’re in business, of any kind, you know that you need social media. But do you know how to use social media for business? There are a TON of how-to articles out there, but I’m going to try to not only give you the how-to, but also the why behind it. WHY should you be using Twitter for business?

Why You Need To Be Using Twitter For Business

Using Twitter for Business is absolutely critical for any business that has customers! Especially if you have a B2C (business to consumer) industry. Twitter is perfect and has become a major platform for customer service. People want to be able to reach out to your business without talking to someone on the phone or face-to-face. They don’t want to wait for the manager of the business anymore, they want to tell the world about their experience, or reach out directly to your company through their mobile device. This is exactly why you should be using Twitter for business.

More Reasons You Should Be Using Twitter For Business

Also? You need to be using Twitter for business because you need to be “social listening”. You need to be actively searching for what people are saying about your business so that you can participate in the conversation that is already happening, whether or not you pay attention. By engaging with those people, you can possibly change someone’s mind or make someone’s day much better, just by answering them. This is how you build a community of people that love your brand — you pay attention, even if no one thinks you are. You take action when no one expects you to. People will love you for it.

Another reason to be using Twitter for business is to build your audience. You can connect with real people that use your service or product and find out how to make it better. Find out what they love so you can make something new that they will adore the next big thing. Talk with them and treat them like real people and they will follow you everywhere, and possibly become your next advocate.

How To Use Twitter For Business

So you’re sold on all the reasons for using Twitter for business, but you really just don’t know how. Let me break this down for you. I’ll try to go step by step for you so anyone can figure this out.

1. Create an account: You can do this by going here and entering in all of the required information. (There’s SO much.. It asks for your name, phone or email, and password.)
   
2. Before you do ANYTHING else, get your avatar and cover photos setup. You need to make sure your brand stands out from others who just created their account, but aren’t actually using Twitter for business of any kind. Dimensions at the time of this writing are: Avatar – 400×400 pixels and Cover Photo – 1500×500 pixels. (You can find more information on changing them here.) Be sure you are using professional graphics.
   
3. Once you have your profile ready to go, you need a following. Now, you are using Twitter for business, so before you start following Kanye, let’s pay attention to who your audience is. Have you ever asked yourself that? If you’re an established business, you probably have a persona; begin searching for your customers! Follow people that are actually talking; my general rule is that they must have been speaking or interacting on Twitter within the last few days, and aren’t disappearing for months at a time. Follow those people and you have a better chance at getting engagement from them. Chances to talk with your customers should never be taken for granted!
   
4. After you’ve followed a few possible customers, be sure to follow some industry news outlets or otherwise industry related accounts to share information from. You’ll use these to help fill your feed.
   
5. Now you’ll begin tweeting! Find some of your favorite articles online and share them with a note about why it was a good article or why people should care. Always add something personal, whenever you can, to show you’re human. NOTE: DO NOT POST AN ADVERTISEMENT. For the love of all that is holy in social media, DO NOT use your first tweet to advertise a sale. No one cares. No one wants to hear it. Wait until you have shared a few other things first, then post once about it. Think 90/10; 90% other content, 10% yours. (9 tweets of something else, 1 tweet about you).
   
6. Finally, you’re ready to go begin using Twitter for business! Watch other accounts from someone you trust or admire online and you’ll begin to get the hang of it.

Using social media for your business does not have to complicated, but it does take time and it does take effort. You need to be present and you need to be actively engaging with your audience. If all you’re trying to accomplish is “going viral”, than you don’t get social media, (and I don’t recommend starting until you do!) and you need to really think about the “why” behind your social media accounts. “Why would anyone care?” “Why are my customers following me?” What are your goals? You need measurable, concrete goals such as “earn more website traffic” or “build a community around my service”. This will help you figure out if you are going to succeed. If you don’t have a goal, how do you know if you’re succeeding?

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