Last week, I reviewed ten ideas to take your Facebook page to the next level. Hopefully, you've had time to work on at least a few of those and are seeing some results. If you haven't yet, that's okay, but remember—nothing in social media is "set it and forget it!"
This week, I want to focus on Twitter. While many businesses have done a great job with their Twitter accounts, others just can't seem to grasp the possible impact that it could have. If you fall into that category, then this post is definitely for you.
1. What's in a name - When it comes to your social media, quite a lot! Make sure your Twitter presence matches your overall branding image. Pay attention to these key things when setting up or refreshing your Twitter presence:
2. Use Hashtags - Twitter is where hashtags got their start. They are a way to search that people use to find relevant topics that could relate to your business or services. They're a great way to follow along if you're attending a conference and a great way to build your following. I wrote a detailed post on hashtags not too long ago; I highly recommend you read that for all things hashtags!
3. Create Lists - If you are (still) early enough in the Twitter game, I recommend that you start building lists from the beginning. It is a great way to make Twitter work better for you because you're creating “buckets” for the people you follow. That way, if you only want to see tweets from a certain group of people (say "Industry Leaders"), you can just look at the people in that list. You decide if they're visible to the public or private, and only you can see them (such as my "Ones to Watch" list where I keep tabs on the kids and their friends who are on Twitter). You can also put people in lists and not actually follow them. Here is a sampling of some of the lists that I've created for myself.
4. Watch Your Tweet Length - You have 140 characters, but keep it shorter so that you get retweeted. Remember: URLs, images, etc., also take up character space. Take a look at this graph from Track Social for some statistics:
5. Follow Back - I know this should be common sense, but so many people don't just get this. Unless you're a famous celebrity whose last name starts with "K," you should follow the majority of people who follow you. Otherwise, you're just telling the world that your Twitter will be nothing more than broadcasting your message and not used for engagement.
6. Use a Social Media Dashboard - I truly believe the number one thing you can do to make your Twitter life better is to use a 3rd party dashboard such as HootSuite. It makes it so much easier to see what's going on because you can streamline everything. You can add your lists, and you see which tweets are coming straight to you—all in one screenshot. No more poking around Twitter to find everything you want.
7. Run "Twitter Only" Promotions - Whether it's early access to something or a special discount code, it's easy to run promotions that will reward your Twitter followers. Just make sure you're abiding by FTC guidelines.
8. Pin a Tweet - Similar to pinning a post to your Facebook page, this feature enables you to keep a tweet that is important at the top of your stream so that it is the first thing people will see when they visit your Twitter page. Whether it's regarding an event or news about your company, or a promotion for one of your blog posts, this is a great way to keep your best information front and center, and thus, gain more exposure.
9. Don't Start a Tweet with @ - If you start a tweet with @, it will only be seen by you and anyone else who is following BOTH of you. Instead, simply placing a . in front of the @ will ensure that your tweet is seen by anyone. Example:
. @KristenDaukas Really enjoyed all the great tips you give on the @Atlanticwebworx site!
10. Video, Vine, and Periscope - Before Twitter started letting you add video into your tweets last year, people were using Vine to create 6-second videos to largely be distributed on Twitter. Here recently, Periscope has become all the rage. Adding video into your Twitter stream creates a whole new level of engagement and, similar to the video on Facebook, betters your algorithm!
