Twitter is a powerful business communications tool. There are many ways you can harness the power of this platform for successful social media marketing campaigns, but you must do it right or you’ll alienate your followers and go into social media meltdown. Familiarize yourself with these common marketing mistakes, and steer clear of them.
A poor company profile will deter followers and potential customers. Make sure you have your profile set up correctly, and include some searchable keywords relevant to your company to help people can find you easily. You need a strong visual presence to create a strong link between your brand and the Twitter experience; use your Twitter background to show an image reflecting your brand positioning. Your profile on Twitter is where people go to find out how you’re using the site and learn more about your business.
Twitter is founded on social interaction, so failing to engage and interact with your followers is social media suicide. People voluntarily choose to follow your company and they’re going to expect some sort of response to their commitment. Failure to respond will have negative consequences, and consumers are unlikely to give you a chance to redeem yourself.
Once you’ve built up a good base, the worst thing you can do is continuously bombard your followers with spam and advertising. Doing this will almost certainly reduce your fan base, and they might even tell their friends you spam your customers. Focus on adding value. Find out what your followers want and make sure you give it to them. “Use your channel as a way to communicate things of value to your audience,” says Neal Kwatra. He recommends posts that include industry news and current trends.
Don’t forget to tell followers exactly how you’ll use the site. The last thing you want is people unfollowing you in droves because you’ve failed to meet their expectations. If you plan to use your Twitter account solely to promote your goods and services, with no opportunity for two-way interaction, you must warn people so there’s no confusion. Some companies have multiple Twitter channels specifically designed to deliver particular types of content to tightly targeted audiences.
Poor social media practice is much more common than you think. A lack of social media etiquette can make the difference between success and failure, so make sure you adhere to high business standards in order to maximize your online business opportunities.
Ryan Myers is a business blog author and writer. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 2009 with a degree in Political Science. His favorite topics to write about are blogging for small businesses and becoming an entrepreneur.
