How to become a Twitter Power User
Posted by Stephen Morris on Wed, Jun 06, 2012
Social Media, and especially Twitter, is a fantastic tool for engaging with potential customers and placing your business on a level playing field with much larger competitors. It's also a great training ground for the discipline of making your business social.
The great thing about Twitter is that it creates opportunities demonstrate your expertise - which is exactly the thing that causes most prospects to engage with a new supplier. But what does it take to become a Twitter Power User?
Engage with the community
Twitter Power Users are those that engage with their community and respond to questions or comments. They contribute to the discussion and the knowledge of others on Twitter. They recognise that it isn't just about sledgehammer self-promotion.
Respond in 'Twitter Time'
Twitter moves fast and, even the seasoned Twitter Power User will struggle to keep up with everything that passes through their account every day. However, when something relevant to their offering, market sector and/or customers is discussed, Twitter Power Users respond. Fast.
Don't just promote, promote, promote
Using Twitter is about adding value to the community. People certainly expect some promotion, some of the time. However, make sure you are Tweeting - and ReTweeting - ideas, observations and useful articles as well as asking and answering questions.
Find answers in your organisation
If one of your followers asks you a question and you’re unsure of the answer, find someone in your organisation that does. While it would be easy to let a question get lost in Twitter but each opportunity to directly answer a question is precious and should be treated as an opportunity to connect with your followers, showing that you value their input.
Reply with the Twitter handle at the start
The best way to respond to another Twitter user is to type their Twitter handle at the start of your tweet. Twitter will then register this tweet as a reply to that person and the tweet will only feature on your profile and in the feeds of people who follow both you and the person you are responding to. If you place a Twitter handle elsewhere in your tweet, then Twitter sees this as a mention and will publish the tweet as normal for everyone to see.
Always follow back
Building reach is important on Twitter - remember that when it comes to Twitter followers, more is more. More opportunities for more connections and more serendipitous engagements.
In addition, if you're following someone on Twitter, then they can send you a direct message (DM), which is private. If they have a question for you, especially one that relates to a more detailed request, they may prefer to DM. From a lead generation point of view, this is a very good reason why you should follow back.
Find out what works, do more of it
There are some great tools for monitoring and measuring social media. Make sure you know which Tweets generate interest and results. How many retweets and mentions? How much traffic to your site? How many leads? Once you know that, do some more of the good stuff and keep trying new things too. Twitter is a great tool for listening and learning.
If you want to find out more about how Twitter can be a part of your new business strategy, download our free guide '7 Ways To Make Twitter Work For Your Business' now.
[image credit: thenewmedia.com]