Posted on: - by Robyn Smith
If you’re jumping on board with social media marketing for 2012 then Twitter.com will definitely be one of the sites you utilise.
As of September 2011 Twitter has over 100 million active users from different countries and industries around the world and it’s not unreasonable to believe that some of them will be interested in what you have to say.
If you either already have a Twitter account or are only just introducing Twitter to your business, the tips below will help you maximise your Twitter account and increase your Twitter followers for 2012.
1. Give and you shall receive
You can’t expect your followers to engage with your Tweets if you don’t engage with them.
The best way to engage with Tweets publicly is, of course, to Retweet. Not only does it show you’re interested in the topic, but gives the Tweeter a little ego boost as you’re recommending it to your Followers. Adding a personal touch like a short comment (providing you can fit one in) is an even better indicator that you’ve truly read and engaged with the post.
If you can convince your Followers that you’re genuinely interested in reading and sharing their stuff then they’ll be much more likely to pay you the same respect and Retweet your posts, thus promoting you to a whole new list of potential Followers.
2. Stick to a couple of topics
With business, Twitter followers are largely based around industries and related topics so it’s important that you know your industry, and more importantly, stick to it.
Chose just one or two topics to Tweet about so you know that once you’ve hooked your audience, you won’t lose them on a random tangent. The more you can confidently discuss a topic, the more knowledgeable you appear to your followers (hopefully you do actually know something about your industry, too!).
As a result, this should encourage trust in you as a knowledgeable source and Followers will be more likely to share your information via Retweets, again, exposing you to a new group of potential Followers.
3. Make the most of the ‘Lists’ feature
If you really want to refine the audience of your Tweets you should start putting together lists of people you would class as influencers in your chosen field.
This is a great way of having a list of respected content to Retweet from reliable sources. This could in turn encourage them to Retweet some of your posts if they begin to recognise your name and associate that with an expressed interest in their posts.
It’s also handy to observe the people in your lists to see how they interact with their Followers, the kind of content they post, the level of discussion, frequency etc. This can give you a good idea on how a highly successful Twitter profile is run (although obviously their position and fame in their industry will give them an advantage so don’t get disheartened if you can’t quite reach their level).
4. Remember to Tweet on a regular basis (but not too much)
It’s likely that you’re followers will come from various countries with differing time zones so bear in mind that not everyone will see the Tweet you send from the UK at 10am (for example).
There’s no set limit on how often you should Tweet (whether that be a Retweet or otherwise) but general rule of thumb is around a handful of Tweets per working day. But only if you have the content, don’t Tweet for the sake of it or your Followers will be able to tell and certainly won’t Retweet.
You can schedule Tweets at out of office hours that will hit other time zones though so make the most of that feature so as not to miss out certain groups.
5. Twitter isn’t all about Retweets – Get talking
Retweets will likely be the best and easiest way for you to gain more followers due to the time they take up but if you’ve got the man power then you should definitely try and engage in conversations.
Make the most of Twitter’s #Discovery tab and search for and join in with discussions related to your industry. By searching for particular topics you’ll find like-minded users who will be more willing to not only participate in discussions re those topics (as they already are), but will also be more inclined to Follow you as a result of your shared interest.
If you’re looking for more influencers to Follow yourself, then the #Discovery tab is also a great tool for providing you with an infinite list of potential Follows.
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