Using Twitter for business effectively

Everybody talks about Twitter as a brilliant marketing tool. The stats don’t lie. Twitter is one of the most visited sites on the web and is used by millions of people daily. Don’t be fooled though. If you use Twitter the way most people do, you will be missing out on some of the key benefits. While most people believe the focus of Twitter is them and their businesses, the truth is that it is actually about the consumers. Follow the steps listed in this article and you will discover how to effectively use Twitter for your business.

The following is a description of how to effectively use Twitter for your business.

1. Pick a short and descriptive name for your account. The name should be as close as possible to your business’ name. Keep in mind though that there is a 140 character limit. When people retweet one of your posts or reply to you they will need to include your account name in there. Try to keep it as short as possible.
2. Understand why you should be using Twitter.
3. Stick to your area of expertize. If you business is in the legal industry, try to tweet about legal topics as much as possible. Don’t deviate much from your business’ main focus. It dilutes the overall value of your profile.
   
4. Have a designer create a custom Twitter background for you. This will make your account stand out and look more professional.
5. Use an URL shortener such as http://bit.ly when posting links.
6. Whenever you post a new article to your site, tweet about it on Twitter. Keep your tweet short and simple by describing the article and then posting a link, e.g. “Using Twitter for business http://mylink.com”
7. Only follow people that are truly interesting. They should ideally be involved in the same line of business as you. It’s perfectly acceptable to follow industry leaders, entrepreneurs and famous people, but try to stick to a specific theme (rather follow celebrities from a personal Twitter account). There’s nothing wrong with having a few celebs on your Business account, but make sure it’s appropriate and in good taste.
8. Retweet interesting tweets that your followers may find useful. Not everything has to be original. Retweeting also shows that you are actually reading and absorbing other people’s tweets.
9. Post a link to your Twitter account on your site/blog, LinkedIn account and even your Facebook page. Remember that your Twitter account gives people an impression of your business. If it looks professional and is updated frequently with interesting links and resources then potential clients will get a good feel for you and your company. Many people will carry out a search for your company on Google before doing business with you and a Twitter profile stands a good chance of ranking very high on Google for your company name.
10. Carry out regular searches on Twitter for people posting about your company and topics related to your business. This is one of the most powerful features of Twitter when used correctly. It will give you a good sense of what people think and gives you the opportunity to respond to them. Many successful business owners reply directly to people tweeting about their business and/or related topics. This is incredibly powerful and shows that your business is in touch with its target demographic.

If you follow these steps and keep your profile fresh and relevant, you will find Twitter to be an invaluable tool for your business.