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Twitter Tips
from Emma Ward Hunt, PR consultant and Director of Foundation PR Ltd
A number of businesses now incorporate Twitter into their PR and marketing campaigns, relying on it to communicate and share information directly with their audiences. If you are unsure of Twitter and how it can work, this article provides some tips and advice on using Twitter as a business tool.
As well as enabling you to interact with existing and potential customers, Twitter is also a real-time search engine, with live updates on an infinite range of subjects, so typing a keyword in the search box will enable you to see what Twitter users - or ‘Tweeps' around the world are saying about your brand, industry or geography. You can use this to interact with those people, building up a network of potential customers and partners with whom to share information.
Getting started:
The best way to understand Twitter and how to use it effectively is to start using it by following key people and organisations. You will notice that many website and emails now have a 'Follow us/me on Twitter' button. Checking who they follow is another good way to expand your list of people who are useful / relevant to you.
Advice on using Twitter for your business:
• Make sure a real person is representing your business and don't be too ‘salesy' in your profile or in your tweeting as this can turn people off and prompt an unfollowing. Twitter is about developing relationships online, as you would for your business offline.
• Leaving the default Twitter image is impersonal and won't encourage a follow back. It's best to use a photo of you or one of your team as opposed to a logo.
• Aim to engage users by varying your Tweets with company news, interesting news relating to your industry / business, and so on.
• Never outsource Twitter to a third party, such as a PR firm or freelancer - your PR firm should give you advice, but you need to be authentic and tweet in your own voice.
• Log on in spates during the day. It can become both addictive and a frustrating distraction as you get sucked into conversations. Be disciplined.
• Use hashtags (#) before keywords to help them be found more easily when others search for the topic or trend you're tweeting about. EG #property or #travel
• Play around with Twitter using a personal account before committing your company to the service. This will help you familiarise yourself with the platform and the way people use it.
Things to avoid
• Never tweet in anger. It may be tempting if you see something infuriating that you want to respond to, but remember that whatever you type will be available online forever, even if you delete your comment, some traces can remain.
• Don't set an ‘auto-follow' thank you message. This is an option available to you to say "thanks for following" and add your message to all new followers, but this is seen as impersonal and defeats the object of Twitter as an open dialogue.
• Put a policy in place to avoid any ‘off-piste' clumsiness from your staff. As with all things, social media common sense is a prime currency.
• Although Twitter could help you discover comments about your brand that you may not like, it also presents you with the opportunity to engage positively with the people making those comments, an essential part of marketing in the internet age.
Remember: if you're planning to use Twitter for your business, it's best to do it properly or not at all.
For more information visit www.foundation-pr.co.uk or call Emma on 020 8542 7400
« Back to News | Published: 12/07/10