Building a compelling presence on Twitter can help you stand out from your competition. It takes a little work but is well worth it in the long run.
As I have said in other posts, when I first started using Twitter it literally made no sense to me. I couldn’t figure out why anyone in his/her right mind would even consider using it. What was the appeal? What can you say in 140 words that other people are going to read?
It wasn’t until I took a class almost a year ago that I really started seeing what some of the real benefits of using the site, and now I am a great advocate of it. However, one of the things I am seeing is that there are a lot of people who are not building a profile that is appealing – instead often it looks as though they just put down the first words that came into their head. They haven’t taken any time to customize it so it becomes their site instead of just another one of the many sites on Twitter.
First of all you want to show you as the person. Your profile section allows you to use 160 characters, and you would be amazed at how much you can put in if you do it properly. Do it in very short snippets – such things as a snippet about what you do now, your past, maybe a hobby. Are you a parent – you may want to include that – it makes you appear more human. Think out what would make you appear as someone of interest.
Below, I have listed some tips that might help make you a more interesting person and give people an incentive to follow you. And most importantly remember that Twitter is about building relationships and branding – not flagrantly marketing your services and/or product. The following are some ideas of how to get Twitter to work for you.
- Start looking in your niche to find followers. You can use the advanced search feature or go some sites that will help you search. Twellow is a really good site. Also there are some great sites to help you automate. Two that I have used are SocialOomph and Tweet Adder.
- Make yourself visible by using your real name and picture or your company’s logo – not some avatar that say absolutely nothing about you.
- As I said earlier in this post - personalize yourself. Combine personal AND professional information.
- Include your URL. If you have a blog and are active on it - . Otherwise use the URL of your website, Facebook profile or page or your LinkedIn page.
- Engage in conversation. It’s a great way to keep up with your friends and followers. It also is a great way to keep your name out there.
- DON’T just jump in, start following a lot of people and just blast your message out there. Most people consider that spam and many of them will block you very quickly. REMEMBER, social media is a relationship tool – not an advertising one.
- Make yourself worth following. If you only tweet your commercial, people are going to get tired of you and stop following you. For example, I and many others find it highly offensive when someone, who I have no relationship with, starts immediately telling me how I can get rich quick. You wouldn’t do that face to face – why do it on line?
- Be helpful and informative to others. If you can do something for one of your followers, reach out and do so..
- Thank a person when he/she does something for you. Not only are you strengthening that relationship, but others will see you as a genuine person and want to follow you also. Saying thank you seems to becoming a thing of the past – especially thank you notes. However, think how much it means to you when someone goes out of their way to say thank you.
Building a strong compelling presence on Twitter will definitely help get you noticed in the online world. This alone is a great way to get your business noticed.
