If Twitter is Used Correctly- You Can Hit it Big
I remember when I joined Twitter back in 2008, I just joined because it was the hottest new thing and everyone was doing it. I thought it was pointless like so many people have thought, and plenty still think that way. But the fact of the matter is, I have learned so much from it that the only thing I can tell you is- if you use it right, you will see that Twitter is a valuable source.
But like with everything else, it takes time to really learn how to use it properly and once you master it- you can get a lot of traffic on your sites, not to mention a lot of business from it. But before jumping into that, here are a few rules to go by:
Create a Detailed Profile The first thing to do is to decide to use a clean but creative username for your Twitter profile. Or it can be as simple as your name. Then be sure to get ready to fill up your profile. If you do not write anything in your Twitter profile, and do not upload a decent avatar (should be a picture of yourself or your business logo), that will be an instant turn off. You absolutely need to not only upload a decent avatar but you must write up a detailed but to the point bio. You can do this in the settings area and go to profile. In a nutshell, write what your career is and what your interests are. You don’t have a lot of space to fill up so make it very much to the point. Add your website into your website field as well. If you do this, people will instantly feel connected to you and not to mention those who have the same interests will be happy to meet you.
Create Relationships with your Followers
You can go find people in your niche easily by searching for followers in the search field related to your niche. Go and follow them and say hello to them. Not by direct message but by mentioning their names in your tweets- for instance you follow @twitteruser, well go and tweet “@twitteruser it is great to meet you, how are you doing?” – you will get a good conversation going and odds are @twitteruser will follow you back. Mentioning the user’s name will make him or her appreciative.
Start Sharing Some Useful Information You already have a good avatar uploaded, a good bio written, you had followed some good people and you had established a relationship with them. Now it is time to start sharing some useful information. Yes, it is fine to promote your blog or website. But don’t do it too much. Retweet other people’s tweets if you find them to be relevant to you and your followers. It will be appreciated. Find articles or other blog posts from other users to tweet. If other Twitter users find that you are not just tweeting to promote yourself, they will actually see you as an excellent source of information and this will instantly give you a positive reputation. Be sure to add #hashtags to your tweets, which are the keywords used to describe your tweets so other users can easily find them and can interact with you.
Answer Questions Do a search for a keyword related to your niche. If the niche is common you will find plenty of conversations going on related to it. Join in and express your opinions and be sure to use the hashtag. But more importantly, you will run into users asking questions about your niche. Be sure to jump in and answer them. Even if the question has already been answered, do it anyway. Not only will the user asking the question appreciate it but other Twitter users who see you helping others will want to follow you and build a relationship with you.
Thank Users for Retweets If you share enough useful information, you will get retweets and you can find out who did when you click on the connections tab on the upper left hand corner. Be sure to thank those who retweet you. Not only will they continue to do it, but others will be encouraged to retweet you as well.
These are just a few things you can do on Twitter to create a useful and strong profile. You will have users interested in your websites as well, and you will get an incredible amount of traffic and eventually, business will come your way as well. Not to mention, keeping up with these practices will increase your Klout score and this is something that people are looking for as well in a Twitter user. It takes time but if you are consistent, Twitter can be a true goldmine for you.
I am still trying to get used to how twitter works, and these are great points 😀
Great Twitter tips. I never really appreciated Twitter but I am starting to understand the advantages of using it.