Why YOU Should Be On Twitter
If there is one thing I am super excited about on social media, it is Twitter. However, I didn't always feel this way. I'll admit, I was far from an early adopter of this platform. I didn't get it, I didn't see the value of keeping up with another form of social media. The true value didn't hit me until I began really actively using it during Infusionsoft's InfusionCon 2013. My magical moment hit me when Mari Smith replied to one of my tweets:
@ChristinaAKehoe Thank you so much! Loved meeting you last night, Christina! ;) #ICON13
— Mari Smith (@MariSmith) March 28, 2013
Mari is someone I am a fan of and have a deep respect for in the social business space. I felt like jumping up and down on my bed like a three year old when I saw this. It was then I realized that Twitter was a very unique platform when it came to building relationships with others. It allows people to engage with others without even needing a "friend request." Just think of what your brand can do for your followers through truly engaging with them on Twitter. You can give them all that feeling! Twitter done right is a two way conversation. The magic happens when engagement happens.
During this InfusionCon 2013, I was part of the social media team that was responsible for reporting the events of the conference as well as engaging with attendees over Instagram, Tout and Twitter through the brand handles. I got the feeling that the more we engaged with the event attendees, the better experience they had with the event as a whole. Twitter was the main platform attendees used to interact. They were able to share their experience with those that weren't there and help them experience the event as well. All with a hashtag, you could re-live an entire event! How awesome is that!!!
From a brand standpoint, Twitter affords you the opportunity to extend your influence. If you have a presence on Twitter, it allows you to jump into conversations so that you can position yourself as the expert to those who might not know who your brand is yet. It gives customers the chance to share the things they are excited about, their needs and yes, their grievances with you. From talking to hundreds of small business owners, this seems to be one of the biggest fears with social media. They believe that social profiles can potentially open up complaints. Believe me, they will tweet about you anyways. You want it to be on your turf and you will want to know about it. Plus, there is such an amazing feeling that comes from being able to turn someone's bad experience into a good one or at the very least make sure no one else has the same experience.
I hope I have convinced you that you should be on Twitter. Here are some quick getting started tips:
- If you haven't already, sign up for Twitter here: https://twitter.com/signup and choose your handle
- Make sure you edit your bio section. Add details that explain why someone would want to follow you and what your tweets will likely be about.
- Don't be an egg, add a profile photo. Profile photos put a more personal touch and help your tweets stand out in the timeline. They also build more confidence that you are not just a SPAM account.
- You have 140 characters to share your ideas with.
- #Hashtags= Categories. Use hashtags to help other Twitter users find your content and to search for content that might be interesting to you.
- Don't be a hashtag abuser. 2-3 hashtags per tweet is plenty!
- Use hashtags that make sense with the content you tweet about
- #Hashtags= Categories. Use hashtags to help other Twitter users find your content and to search for content that might be interesting to you.
- Start following people! I suggest searching for those who are in your industry, your customers, and those who share your common interests. This way, each time you access Twitter, your timeline is filled with interesting content.