What You Should be Tweeting

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Many businesses are jumping on the Twitter bandwagon. They are excited by the prospect of this free marketing tool, and all the success stories they have seen in the media. They eagerly anticipate the traffic spikes and hoards of followers that will help them promote their businesses. But it doesn’t happen. The traffic doesn’t come. The visitors that do come don’t stay. The number of followers doesn’t budge.

One of the biggest mistakes that businesses make in the Twitter world can explain what is going on. Instead of engaging and interacting, businesses are strictly self-promoting. Only sharing their own news and information. Creating what is essentially an advertising stream on Twitter. And the majority of people on Twitter are not interested in that. That’s not what they are there for.

How to break out of this cycle of constant self-promotion? Here are some ideas for what you can tweet about to help boost engagement and visibility for your company on Twitter.

  • Share industry news that is not specifically about your company, but is related and would be of interest to your followers.
  • Share tweets from others in your industry or from your partners. This helps to foster relevant relationships.
  • Respond to @ mentions. Even a simple “thanks for the retweet” goes a long way.
  • Ask questions. You can gain some valuable insight and maybe get some conversations going.
  • Reveal a more personal side to your business. Share information or comments that are in line with your values and mission. Give people a peek inside the day to day workings of your company.
  • Participate in conversations. Create lists with your customers, partners, industry contacts etc… and then interact with them as appropriate. You’ll boost your visibility and help establish a stronger connection.

By keeping the above tips in mind when managing your Twitter account and avoiding only self-promotion, you’re sure to see more activity and interaction. When tweets come to your Twitter stream, they’ll see a company that is interested in engaging and building relationships. And that will make them that more likely to click that follow button.

Hartland Ross on September 06, 2011