5 Ways to Engage Your Clients with Twitter

Yes, that is J.K. Rowling, the infamous creator of the world of Harry Potter. Unless you've been living under a rock, she is also the most popular and successful author of the book series, and eventual inspired film series, both the highest-grossing pieces in history. She also tweets, and has over 4.5 million followers.

Using Twitter for business, let alone for personal use can be a bit overwhelming (trust me, I know). Back when I joined in 2008 - I didn't even know how this 140 character limit 'new thing' was even worth it. It has now become much more than finding out what Oprah had for breakfast.

If you're not on Twitter now, you'd better be. By the year 2020, 85% of the buyer-seller interaction will happen online through social media and video.  

So here are five things that I have found really help get you started and continue to keep you engaged with the world of the tweeters:

1. Rotate what you tweet about:

Twitter is all about the conversation. Although some may call it a "micro-blog," the world of tweeting is much more of a two-way street. No one cares about what you have to say until you care about them.  As you RT (re-tweet) other interesting posts, reply and mention others, you'll also want to broadcast your own valuable content. Your tweets about your business should rotate on different types of posts - and here are some suggestions:

• Sales/Marketing
• Event coming up (sign-up), coupon codes, limited sales, free book signing 
• Company Info
• photos of product or personality, new/highlight staff members, FAQs, Press
• General Industry Info
• Articles about your industry, re-tweets, infographics, videos

2. Be a Human

The old days of marketing worked, because there was an actual person behind the sale. The joke about the "Bible salesman" holds value, because if you show you're human, people will be drawn to you. This is even more important in today's digital culture, where automation and lack of personal presence runs the scene. Every once in a while, tweet something personal, like your favorite movie coming up, or having lunch at your favorite eatery. 

3. Call-To-Action

There have been studies to show that people are more likely to interact with a post if it contains some sort of "call-to-action." Things like "Help me pick..." or "Vote for.." or even "Please RT" seem to show results. Again, Twitter is all about community. (Oh, and also - leave enough room for someone to RT and add their own comment when you can.)

4. Participate in trending topics

At the front and center of the Twitter main page is "Trending Topics." These are things people are talking about right now. Your tweet has a much higher chance of being seen if you are participating in the current trend, these are still strongly #driven by hashtags, but now can contain anything within the tweet. You can even adjust location settings to your local area to see what is trending nearby rather than globally. 

5. Reply Quickly, Reply All

Over 350,000 tweets are being posted every MINUTE! That means what was happening an hour ago is gone. If someone follows you, mentions you, or talks about you on Twitter - you don't want to wait too long to reply, you may miss out to someone else. Also, if you're mentioned with others, it is common courtesy to reply to everyone in the tweet - besides the more the merrier!

See you on Twitter! @fuzz