How many times have you scrolled through Twitter and came across a branded promotion on your Feed? Chances are, very often!
While the platform initially attracted a more niche audience than Facebook and Instagram, a substantial percentage of internet users respond to ads on Twitter. It is imperative to include Twitter in your social media marketing plan and cast a net into the vast ocean of Internet users as a business.
In this blog, we take a look at precisely how to go about getting started.
1. Create A Business Account
Setup
Setting up a Twitter account is a task that you can easily perform on any device. Once you’ve downloaded the mobile app or are on the webpage, the platform seeks basic information like your name and email address to confirm your password. After choosing to opt-in or out for the additional layer of available security, you can set up your username (@xyz). This will become your brand’s identity on Twitter. The account is then verified and officially online on the platform!
Profile
Once you’re online, the next step is to make your profile reflect your brand. The main features to accomplish this are your profile picture, banner, and bio. Ideally, the profile picture should be your brand’s logo and the name of your business as the name of your account. The banner has enough space to allow you to weave a story visually. The ‘Edit Profile’ option that enables all this is easy to use and access.
Bio
Next to the visual branding of the profile picture and banner, Bio is one of the essential parts of the profile. The Bio is a space to communicate your brand story precisely. With a 160 word limit, there’s no room for a bland mission statement! A witty Bio is a great way to capture the attention of a visiting user.
2. Engage Users With Different Content Formats
Generic Tweets
With a 280 word limit, communicating on Twitter is an entirely different ball game! It’s a fast-paced world where ideas are created and exchanged perennially. Your general tweets need to be fun and engaging, thereby enabling you to get the audience’s attention. These can contain text, images, GIFs, videos, or a combination of these. While the platform might seem hectic at first, the chaos is part of what keeps users hooked over time.
Replies
As the name suggests, Twitter allows users to @reply to any tweet they want unless specifically restricted. These are still public messages, and audiences can view any part of the conversation. As the aim is to drive engagement, brands are empowered to reply to users and start a conversation wherever possible. More engagement on the profile is likely to convert into more leads.
DMs
Direct Messages are private messages that aren’t visible on users’ feeds, and allow for more personalized communication between the brand and the users. DMs are also an effective method to drive engagement with the audience. DMs are also great for creating group chats, allowing your most loyal customers to engage in a more personalized conversation. Group DMs can enable any group member to add new members, expanding your reach exponentially if used right.
RTs
A Retweet or Quoted Retweet is a great way to share someone else’s tweet that you find relevant with your audience. It can be done by RTing the tweet or ‘quoting’ it with a caption of your own as a precursor for your audience. This method is a great way to generate more content without the hassle of creating it on your own. RTs also give the audience a deeper idea of the content you associate with as a brand, which helps drive your brand value further.
Promo Tweets
These are probably the most relevant tweets for you as a brand. Similar to the Boost option on Facebook, these are paid tweets that get promoted on the feeds of non-followers. These tweets help reach a wider audience and can boost your follower count directly.
3. Follow The Right Users
Following the right mix of users is what enables you to create conversations on your feed. For businesses, there are extensions and third-party platforms like Quuu, Buffer, and Hiplay that can optimize this task for you. Some categories of people you can follow are your customers, business partners, peers, KOLs, and other relevant accounts.
4. Link Users To A Landing Page/Website
On the surface, Twitter might be a space for brands to be social and relevant, but it would be prudent to use a CTA with some of your content that drives customers to your point of sale. For example, any tweet that describes a benefit that your brand can offer could be combined with a URL asking users to engage. Pro tip: Use a URL shortener to compress the link and give you more characters to tweet.
5. Market Yourself On Twitter
So far, you’ve established yourself on Twitter; you are engaging with users, and creating awesome content. The next step is to get your page out there! Some ways to accomplish this:
- Link your website, blogs, and other channels to your Twitter profile
- Feature your tweets on your website and blogs
- Add a sharing button on your website
6. Content That Is Unique And Stands Out
Photos & Videos
A picture or a video speaks 1,000 words! Include more visual content on your Twitter feed as a way to instantly grab the attention of users who are on an infinite scroll. Twitter allows you to tag users in photos. Videos, though, are where all the engagement is! Brands should use videos to communicate news, responses, and personalized messages to engage users directly.
GIFs & Polls
GIFs are byte-sized videos on a loop that work best on Twitter. These are instant visual mediums to incorporate humor into tweets and replies. Twitter has GIF support built into the app to simplify the process further. On the other hand, polls are great as they give the user a decision, thereby forcing an engagement. The voting happens without being redirected and provides the user with a real-time response.
The best way to gain inspiration on a medium like Twitter is to do what the best in the business do, AKA influencers! Here’s a look at how influencers go about establishing a niche on Twitter. Check out: 25 Steps To Becoming A Twitter Influencer.
7. Catalogue Content With Hashtags
One of the most consistent and effective tools on social media, hashtags were born on Twitter. It has never been easier to catalog content and reach an audience than hashtags on Twitter. Users often search for key terms, and with a bit of research, brands can predict hashtags to use on posts. It is impossible to have a significant reach on Twitter without the accurate use of hashtags.
Influencers on Instagram have been dominating the hashtag game for years, and you can apply the same strategies to a business Twitter account. Check out: Hashtag You Way To Success As An Insta Influencer
8. Conversation Lists & Cross-Platform Promotions
Conversation lists help you streamline content for a more focused way of communicating with followers. These lists separate different accounts into groups and can help quickly go through messages and respond. All communications coming out on Twitter should also be shared across other social media channels to cast a wide net and leverage off followers on other platforms.
9. Optimize Through Analytics
Twitter Analytics is available for free on the app and allows brands to track every metric in real-time. The main ones of concern that determine the overall performance are:
- Impressions
- Conversions
- Installs
- Engagements
Campaigns should have enough wriggle room to be able to pivot based on feedback obtained from analytics.
Influencers have set the barometer for success on Twitter, and brands could take a leaf out of their book to access virality. Check out: 25 Secrets To Become A Viral Twitter Influencer (Bet You Had No Clue About #18!)
That’s about it! All you need to do now is get on Twitter and begin the process of virality! With consistency, engaging content, and sufficient attention, you can successfully market your brand to many customers on the platform. Follow the steps mentioned in this blog to go about it in a systematic and focused manner. The possibilities here are endless and we implore you to think outside the box and craft winning strategies.
Follow these best practices and use these ideas to create a winning Twitter strategy for your brand. If you’ve got any further questions, we are happy to help you. At atisfyreach, we provide services that help brands establish a strong presence across social media platforms and connect them with influencers through tailored marketing campaigns. Get in touch, and let us help you build an authentic connection with your audience.
