Jumping into Twitter for the First Time

May 3, 2010 Jillian Koeneman social media, twitter blog

As Twitter becomes more mainstream, an increasing number of marketers are venturing into the world of 140-character communications to engage with their target audience.

However, Twitter can seem quite daunting to a new user. Jack Monson, Vice President of eNR, recommends when testing the waters with any new social tool that you commit to using it for 30 days. Monson says that within 30 days you will know if the tool is right for your business and you will have a good feel for how to best leverage it.

I’ve had several clients ask me how to make sure they get started off on the right foot for Twitter. Here are some suggestions to get you started.

• Establish your goals and objectives: What do you want to achieve with this tool and why? After you clearly define what you want to achieve make sure you also have a system in place for measuring your success and the effect on your business.
• Customize your Twitter page: Aside from uploading a photo or a logo, you should also customize your Twitter background. I have found that when considering whether or not to follow someone on Twitter, the presence of a customized background makes me feel they are more legit. There are tons of free programs you can use to create unique backgrounds relevant to your brand.
• Make life easier with Twitter applications: Of all the tools created to manage Twitter and all of your social networks, I like Hoosuite the most because you can manage multiple accounts and you can schedule tweets in advance. You can also import your Facebook and LinkedIn accounts.
• Follow others: The fastest way to build up your Twitter following is to find members of your target audience to follow. Use Twellow to search for users based on location or keyword.  As long as your tweets are reputable, most people you follow will follow you back.
• Let people know you are on Twitter: Add links to your Twitter account on your website, Facebook, and other places your customers frequent.
• Tweet every day: The more you are present on Twitter, the more visible you are. Post quality Tweets about topics relevant to your audience. Don’t be salesy and respond to others often.
• Utilize Twitter lists: Identify influential people on Twitter related to your brand. Check out what lists they have (on their profile) and follow their lists that are relevant to you.