Whether you provide products or services, have a physical location or an online store, you need to establish a substantial presence on the internet. Social media is an important part of any company’s online profile today. Social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin allow small businesses to compete with the bigger brands. Twitter is a great way to market your products or services, and communicate with current or potential clients. Here are some strategies I have found useful in creating a successful Twitter profile:
- When you are creating your account on Twitter, choose a username that is a reflection of your business. The ideal username should be fewer than the maximum number of characters allowed. Remember that when someone tries to retweet you, the line will contain your username and what you tweeted. A short username and of course concise tweets make it easier for others to retweet your information.
- Design a custom background for your profile. You can find various designs and colours on Twitter itself by clicking on your username, going to settings and clicking on “Design”. There is also a link to http://www.colourlovers.com/themeleon/twitter, with many choices of designs and colours. You can find one that is a representation of you or your business.
- Don’t worry if you have few followers when you first start on Twitter. Start tweeting good information, and follow others. You can find people in your niche by doing a keyword search on sites like tweepi.com, tweetag.com and followerwonk.com. With Tweepi you can follow all the followers of a popular tweep. Tweetfind.com has a tool that sees who you follow, and will follow similar tweeps for you.
- List yourself in Twitter-related directories such as wefollow.com and twellow.com. On Twellow you can write an extended bio for yourself, and list your profile in several categories.
- It’s a good idea to interact with the tweeps who start to follow you. Retweet them, or ask short questions every once in a while. You may need to schedule a few tweets at times in order to be consistent with your tweets. There are many websites that allow you to schedule your tweets, including Twuffer, Hootsuite, Postling and Tweetfind.
I hope you find these tools useful. Feel free to post any other good ones you have found.
