If you’ve browsed personal Twitter feeds recently, you’ve likely encountered the stereotypical Twitter personas. Among others, there are those who tweet about seemingly every breath they take, those who never come up with anything original, those who try too hard to be funny or ironic, and those who treat their Twitter page like a neglected pile of clothes – something they’ll “get to when they feel like it.” Unsurprisingly, these personas also resemble common business personas found on Twitter; however, businesses following the above methods can encounter much more drastic effects. A sloppy social media stream can leave lasting detriments on a company’s image. Even worse, ignoring social media altogether might open the door for your competitors to build brand awareness where your brand is silent.
To help your business Twitter page build a positive persona and reputation, we are sharing a three-part series on our top tips to help your Twitter page sing a social media melody and compel more people to sing along. Here is Part 1:
Part 1: Create clean and effective tweets
Twitter gives users the tools to answer the question “What’s Happening?” as long as they follow the 140 character limitation. There are plenty of ways people can do this wrong, but let’s talk about what to do right:
#Hashtags
First, use solid hashtags, but in moderation. Hashtags not only give your post some flair, but they also link your post to a nexus of other tweets posting about similar topics, therefore allowing more users to see your post when they search for the designated hashtag. Be careful though; #using #hashtags for #everything does not look #professional. Two to three effective hashtags (as in those that describe the purpose or content of your tweet) per post should be enough to get your message across without overwhelming other users. If you can, embed your hashtags within the body of the tweet to bring more attention to what you want users to see.
Flair
Next, include an image or video if you can. If you’re linking to an article or other news source, relevant images make your post stand out in a good way. Most of the time, articles will include an image that you can use for your own post. If you absolutely cannot fit an image into your tweet without taking away from the central message, then don’t include one. The goal of an image is to visually improve your message, and with Twitter’s limitation on words, the saying “pictures are worth a thousand words” applies and helps you say more in your tweet.
Agenda
Finally, post often, but within reason. If you find yourself lacking the time to look for content on your own, re-tweet other posts relevant to your industry. As long as you credit the original poster, you’re engaging the community as if you found the content yourself (and you could potentially gain more exposure with the original poster’s followers). Use tools such as Hootsuite to help you schedule posts throughout your day rather than individually posting each tweet yourself. The worst Twitter page is a dead Twitter page; however, posting too much could leave your followers with overexposure effect. When you use Twitter for business, your followers are also your customers and peers within your industry. If those people grow tired of hearing about every new development every few minutes, you lose credibility. Just be smart about how often you post. The lifespan of a tweet is only a few hours, and the optimal number of tweets per day is about four to six.
This blog was contributed by Clearpoint Agency intern, Conner Shaw.