10 Tips for Using Twitter in Your Marketing

Who would have thought that limiting the number of characters in a social media application would actually work? Apparently, the creators of Twitter did, and it didn’t take long before its 140-character limitation became a powerhouse in the field of marketing. If you don’t already have a Twitter account, get one. And if you want to improve your exposure with your new or existing account, try these 10 tips:

Tip #1: Tweet on a Regular Basis

Like all things in the marketing biz, consistency is the key to success. If you only tweet once every few weeks, you’re not likely to gain new followers or keep the current ones engaged. You don’t want to go too crazy with it, but if you can tweet once a day or even two or three times each week, you’ll be doing well.

Tip #2: Keep It Even Shorter

Although Twitter’s 140-character limitation is already short, tweets that are under 100 characters have been shown to garner more attention. Get creative and come up with a tweet that’s low on space and high on impact.

Tip #3: Stick in a Hashtag or Two

We’re not saying to run out and name your baby after the social media trend (like this couple did), but the use of hashtags should be a normal part of your Twitter strategy. Hashtags will give each tweet the opportunity to be seen by those outside of Twitter while improving its exposure within the site. Also, if you’re posting a link or blog, make the hashtag relevant to the information.

Tip #4: Improve Your Bio

You might be surprised to learn that people actually pay attention to those bios. Your bio should tell people what your company is all about, and should definitely include a link to your website. You don’t want to get too longwinded, so keep it short (just not “140-character short”).

Tip #5: Images, Images, Images

In the real world, it’s all about location. In the online world, it’s often about the choice of images. You want images to have two attributes — visual appeal and relevance to the content you’re posting.

Tip #6: Try Some Videos

Not a lot of businesses create videos on a regular basis, but if yours does, make sure you’re tweeting about them. An easier technique, of course, is to use videos that others have created. You can keep them relatable to your business, of course, but posting links to popular music videos or comedic videos is sure to get you some attention, too.

Tip #7: Follow the Trends

If you can make a trending topic relatable to your business, you’re more likely to be seen by others. The same goes for hashtags. When a hashtag is popular, there’s nothing wrong with jumping on the bandwagon. Just make sure that you’re not stretching things too much to make it fit your business when it really doesn’t. Your followers won’t like that.

Tip #8: Ask for Retweets

Think of retweets as sharing. If you can get your tweets to be shared by your followers, your exposure will obviously increase. One way to do this is very simple — ask. Requesting a retweet (RT) from your followers isn’t rude or intrusive, and has proven to be highly effective.

Tip #9: Retweet When Appropriate

If your blog content is thoughtful or interesting, you just may find that it’s been mentioned by your followers. When this occurs, retweet the tweet to keep the momentum going.

Tip #10: Run a Twitter Contest

A fantastic way to get attention is to run a contest for retweeting a post, such as “The first 100 people to retweet this post will receive a 25 percent discount voucher for their next order.” Another great idea is to have people post pictures of themselves using your product or visiting your store, then have a random drawing for a free gift.

Thanks to the character limitation of Twitter, it takes very little time to create a post and get it sent out into the world. By following these tips, you’ll be able to use Twitter to gain exposure and connect with your followers.