Like all other social media platforms, Twitter started out as just another online time suck with the curious draw of forcing people to “conversate” in 140 characters or less. Oh, and the hashtag thing was cute, too. Remember #Winning?
And then, something changed. Smart people, those entrepreneurial types, realized the marketing power that those 140 characters and those targeted hashtags could wield. Not surprisingly, people have figured out how to make money on Twitter. And you can, too, by following these 8 strategies, tips, and pieces of advice designed to take you from Twit status to Tweet status.
- No time? Steer clear. Twitter is about conversation and communication. If you don’t have time to socialize, don’t bother joining.
- Find the Balance Point. If you join Twitter for the sole purpose of pushing offers and nothing else, you won’t gain much ground. Your content should be a good mix of promotions and relevant content. .
- Mind Your Manners. When someone “follows” you or retweets a post, be sure to thank them via direct message. Better yet, thank them and offer them a freebie such as a download from your web site. Twitter has all sorts of other user etiquette rules. Be sure to read up on them before you dive in.
- Use Your Face. Business logos are nice, but they are impersonal. Use a photo of yourself for your profile. It helps Tweeters (read: potential leads) put a face to a name, and it goes miles in terms of getting people to trust you and your offers.
- Don’t Be a Hashtag Hag. Hashtags are awesome for targeting customers and finding new leads, but they must be relevant and used appropriately. If your offer is for shoes and you type #TaylorSwift, thinking you’ll get more hits, that’s not ok. Unless Taylor Swift’s face is on the shoe. In that case, the hashtag would be relevant. More than likely, using hashtags that have nothing to do with your promotions will hurt your Tweet cred.
- Don’t Hog the Feed. There are mornings I open my Twitter feed to find that every single tweet is from the same person. It’s called mass tweeting, and I find it super annoying, and so will your followers. In fact, I usually end up “unfollowing” people who clog up my feed. Use common sense when you post. Don’t go overboard. The best advice is to post throughout the day so your message hits a wider audience.
- Avoid overautomating. If you have a large following on Twitter, you’ll want to automate some of your processes, such as sending thank yous and scheduling posts. It makes life easy and convenient. But take care not to automate more than you have to. Personal messages still get the best results.
- Get creative. Grab attention with unique lead ins to your tweets. Your goal is to get people to click, read, and act. Additionally, when you retweet something, include a meaningful comment. Go beyond, “Good article” or “Check this out” or “I liked this.” Offer a thought or opinion, which of course you can only do if you actually read what you are retweeting.
So there you have it. A few ideas to get you started down the path to making money via Twitter. Like anything else, you have to do what works for you. Test drive a few of these strategies and research some others. Trial and error, baby. Happy Tweeting!
