Twitter and Facebook are commonly the first two services mentioned when discussing social media. Last week, we discussed the different ways Facebook can be used to more effectively interact with clients and prospective customers. Today we will look at Twitter, another great tool to increase your business.

Twitter is a social networking and microblogging service that allows you to send short text messages,140 characters in length, called “tweets”, to your friends, or “followers.”

If you haven’t started using Twitter to market your business, or are looking to give your Twitter strategy a “lift,” here are some strategies to fire it up.

Perfecting Your Profile

Your profile page is important as it contains several components which reinforce your branding, and serves as static elements which speak to your visitors.

• Your Bio: Your bio permits 160 characters to describe yourself or your business, this gives you 20 more characters than a “regular tweet, but still forces you to be creative and concise when describing yourself and your business.
• Your Profile Pic: This is critical, it is the first visual which potential new contacts see when deciding whether or not to interact with you.  Do not default to the placeholder image.
• Your Background Image: This is the image that appears in the background of your profile page. Don’t rely on the default colors. Services like Twitbacks make it easy to customize a clean and informative background image to ensure a cohesive online identity.
• Killer Content: You can have the most stunning background and profile picture, but the quality of your tweets is really what will determine whether you’re getting the most out of Twitter.

Competitive Analysis

It doesn’t take long to learn what types of tweets resonate with Twitter users. Sharing strong content, such as industry-specific blog posts, often  creates dialog with desired Twitter contacts. Make a note of what kind of tweets are frequently re-tweeted, and post them, as this practice can boost your Twitter q-rating significantly.

Lists, Searches and Monitoring Your Reputation

Twitter users can organize others into groups, or “lists”. Using the “Lists” feature sorts the individual accounts you follow into more manageable bites. When you click to view a list, you’ll see a stream of Tweets from all the users included in that group.

Each list can have up to 500 Twitter users on it. Tools like HootSuite displays your Lists in column form, enabling you to quickly scan and interact with people. HootSuite allows for up to ten concurrent Lists tabs.

Sites like Listorious make the process of compiling a relevant list fairly simple. TwitterAdder  finds and adds related users, and even unfollows users who don’t follow you back within a timeframe you select. (If possible, it’s best to keep your follower/following count roughly even.)

Searches are another way to join the conversation on Twitter. A set of defined searches can facilitate easy interaction for targeted topics. An example would be “homes for sale Orange County;” when that comes up you send an @reply and include a relevant link to your blog or site or offer information.

Building Your Own Base of Followers

As with all social media services, the best way to gain followers on Twitter is compelling content, and interaction. Twitter is deeply rooted in reciprocal activity. There’s even a button on every tweet that enables you to share a contact’s tweet on your own account, known as “retweeting.”

Remember to use other social networks, your advertising and your emails to let people know you are on Twitter. Include your Twitter username in your email signature and your advertising . Post a very visible image link on your blog and Facebook page to your Twitter feed. Adding a “retweet” button to your blog posts makes sharing a one-click investment for readers.

Direct Messaging for Fun and Profit

Direct Messages (DMs) are one of the more nuanced aspects of connecting on Twitter. A Direct Message is a great way to make a personal, non-public connection with other users, but the proliferation of automated “bots” to send meaningless, inbox-clogging DMs has kind of put a damper on its usefulness.

It’s best to try to send each new follower a personalized DM, indicating that you’ve looked at their profile and their tweets. Automation is always an option when you have many new followers, but a personal DM always puts your best foot forward.

Trending Topics, Hashtags and Your Business

Twitter use is heavily influenced by what are known as hashtags, and a recurring list displayed with every Twitter feed which are known as “trending topics.”

Hashtags involve a certain term converted into a clickable link by adding a “#” symbol- an example would be #LArentals; this term would sort for all tweets marked with this hashtag.

Trending topics are the current top ten most discussed terms on Twitter. These topics often center on news stories or celebrity gossip.

Including a trending topic increases tweet visibility because a large number of people are following the progression of the term or story. Tying a trending topic into your content, is a great way to gain some incidental traffic to your blog or website.

How Do You Twitter?

Have you implemented a Twitter strategy or practice that has boosted sales or otherwise enhanced your business? What are your favorite Twitter tips or tricks?