Introduction
Tweeting is like sending out cool telegrams to your friends once a week. – Tom Hanks
Today I will be sharing some Twitter tips that I have discovered that will really get you well on the way to becoming an expert-level user of Twitter for business. Twitter is an amazing platform for online marketing and you don’t have to leave your house to use it. You can post tweets, which may contain videos, photos, URLs and up to an amazing 140 characters of text. The 140 character limit is not a hindrance as it makes you focus your message. And now your links don’t count as part of the 140 characters. Twitter can play an important role in getting your website and organisation well ranked by Google. To achieve this certain steps needs to be taken.
Twitter Tips #1 – Send Tweets at Regular Intervals
As a small business owner, you need to get yourself out and about I know. You go to networking events and meet people face to face and you need to support this with online marketing. A “follow” is the same as collecting business cards at that breakfast meeting you went to. To get this done, you should be consistent and persistent in your tweeting. Observe, note and tweet good content to your viewers at the appropriate time of the day. Doing this will increase the volume of your tweets on a daily basis thereby making Google pay more attention to you. And this means more people will know about you, know what you do and know that you are brilliant.
Twitter Tips #2 – Enhance the Bio of your Twitter Profile
Your Twitter profile must be linked to your website so add the URL(link) and use your main keyword phrases within your bio description too. And if you are looking to connect with specific groups of people get that in too. You will need to be succinct. If you have more than one, related Twitter profile mention that too. You may meet people face to face and they only remember your name. So when you follow them with your business Twitter account they will realise that you are the person they met that morning.
Twitter Tips #3 – Optimise your Header and Profile Pictures
Make sure you use keywords within the image filenames prior to uploading your profile picture and your header image. The filename will be used within the ALT tag, which Google uses for ranking purposes. And your header and profile pictures need to reflect your branding strategy too.
Twitter Tips #4 – Optimize Your Twitter Lists
It is important to think strategically about your Twitter lists. You may be sitting there thinking that you haven’t even created your lists – well you must. It really helps with sending your tweets to the right people. A scatter gun approach is not so helpful online. And of course, Google will reward your extra work with another tick. Using Twitter lists is a bit like using a group on Facebook. You can look at what the people on your lists are tweeting about much more easily than not using a list. And of course it means you will know what content people on your individual lists are looking for and what content they are retweeting. Your list can be private if you don’t want people to know they are one of your prospects for instance. If you build popular lists that are relevant to your niche this will help your website rank better on Google. Google also likes it when people subscribe to a Twitter list. So build a list, add people to it and get more subscribers. The more effective you get at using Twitter you will find that people add you to lists. My @wickedspiderweb Twitter profile has been added to many lists for online marketing.
Twitter Tips #5 – Strengthen visibility of Yourself and your Business with hashtags
Use the appropriate hashtags in your tweets. Now, this will take some experimentation and you will need to do some groundwork research what hashtags others in your field are using. Although Google change the way it ranks websites all the time it is a smart move to use keyword rich hashtags. Using hashtags in your tweets gets the attention of other tweeters. And if you use hashtags your tweets will feature in the Twitter search results. For example, if I search on the Twitter website for #socialmedia I will see those tweets that contain that hashtag. It’s good isn’t it. Use your hastags!
Twitter Tips #6 – Submit Your Twitter Account to a Twitter Directory
Submitting your Twitter account to directories is another opportunity to attract more followers and therefore more connections for your organisation. There are lots of Twitter Directories on the internet, therefore, select wisely and appropriately for your market. If the selected Twitter directory used is deemed as high authority by Google, then it may increase your ranking on both Google and Twitter. Note: Do not publish links in bulk to Twitter directories…submit them one at a time manually. This will protect your Twitter account from getting marked as a spammer. Here are some of Twitter Directories to look at:
- JustTweetIt
- WeFollow
- Twibs
- Local Tweeps
- Tweet Find
- Twellow
Twitter Tips #7 – Provide Links to your Twitter Profile from other social media platforms
Try to have a link that refers back to your Twitter account from other social media platforms like Linkdln, Pinterest and Facebook.
Twitter Tips #8 – Make Twitter usernames spam-free
There a lot of Twitter spammers out there and they tend to use usernames that include a bunch of numbers like @name1234. When Google comes around to see what is going on in the world of Twitter it views these types of usernames with suspicion. So be judicious when it comes to selecting your Twitter username. Using your company name is a good option – if it is still available. You might need to get a bit creative and find a username that is related to your business name.
Tosca Lahiri says:
Thanks Kim
Kim says:
Great blog Tosca, I’ve shared it on LinkedIn!