When you think about social media marketing (SMM) for business in San Francisco or elsewhere in the Bay Area, which platform comes to mind first? Facebook? YouTube? Instagram? These are the platforms that most often come to people’s mind regarding SMM.
This is because it is so easy to put up content on these sites (and content is the quickest way to convert people into customers). People often overlook Twitter because its 140 character limit seems like too large of a handicap for business. But the truth is, this is what makes it work so good.
As a social media marketing consultant working in San Francisco, I attend a lot of SMM events each year. One common topic that I consistently hear mentioned is the underuse of Twitter in business. If you think about it, Twitter is the only SMM platform left that is truly a social media network and not just a content pushing platform. Each day nearly 500 million tweets are sent and received, and these tweets are part of larger conversations on every topic under the sun.
Twitter gives you the unique opportunity to jump right into these conversations and make yourself known. Here are some of the strategies that I have learned for social media marketing on Twitter.
- Your Profile Is Your Business Card
Create a strong profile with logos, contact information, and pictures of your business. People can find your profile page from any of your tweets, and as you begin to brand yourself as an authority in your space they will want to know who you are.
- Find The Tweets That You Care About
Twitter has powerful search and filter functions that let you find people who are talking about any topic. By searching for people who are already talking about topics in your field, you can find potential customers who are already primed for what you are selling. Make the most of the opportunity and start to build a repertoire. Providing useful answers and information will pique peoples interest about who you are.
- Let Your Words Do The Hard Work
Over time you will have many tweets out there on Twitter. If people like what you are saying, they can follow these tweets and find your business. The key to success with Twitter is to put out many different tweets in various categories relating to your business. This will bring you the most traffic possible while still keeping bounce rate low.
Twitter is a great social media marketing platform, but mastering it will take time. Remember that you will often be stepping into conversations midway through, so be polite. Take your time to build a following and post tweets that are effective.
Last year we saw a good example of a time that Twitter was undervalued, through Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. As a businessman, Trump knew that with Twitter he could send a message directly to his followers, and this is exactly what he did. Ultimately this strategy was a big part of what won him enough votes to become elected as president of the United States of America. In fact, I was so impressed by Trump’s use of Twitter, I wrote a book about Trump the marketer, here. (Full disclosure: the book is about Trump as a marketer, and does NOT imply that I endorse or agree with Donald Trump!).
But back to Twitter. Don’t underestimate Twitter, today Twitter is more alive than ever!
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