In 2014 it’s accepted that social media plays an integral part of inbound marketing success, and Twitter is a big player in the social media arena; currently ranked as the second most popular social network worldwide after Facebook. Nowadays the current business environment has a special place for savvy social media marketing – where buying decisions are increasing because of the social influence.
Change is constant in the world of social media and SEO and you’ve got to commit yourself and your business to this ongoing change so that you don’t become ignorant of the best practices. To reach the widest and most captive audience possible you must become a valued industry resource, provide straightforward links to high quality content and strive to integrate a genuine human facet into your social media marketing strategy. You can advance your business with Twitter this year – you’ve just got to make an impact in the social sphere with the stuff you’re bring to the table.
You can also read our blog about harnessing Twitter for local SEO
Quality > Quantity
‘High-quality tweeting’ may seem like a vague phrase, but all this calls for is authentic engagement. You have to be responsive to your followers, participating in discussions and talking to your social audience in general. Though, simply talking at your followers – many of whom many not be actively listening – will in most cases cost you followers. Authenticity is all about being human, if not seeming human. Too many brands over-automate their social media pages with flack – mistakenly believing that it will increase their influence.
‘Don’t act like a robot’, is the simplest way of saying this. Your targeted audience have joined twitter to interact with actual people. All social media pages need that personal touch and will make your company come off as more accessible and genuine.
Tweet Short and Sweet
Statistically, on average, tweets that consist of less than 100 characters are engaged 17% more than those with over 100 characters. You should also remember to always shorten your URLs – some won’t even fit in the given 140 characters. There are a bunch of good URL-shortening services; like Ow.ly, Bit.ly and TinyURL. Social media management dashboards like HootSuite also offer linking-shrinking free of charge.
Limit Hashtag Usage
Again, statistically, tweets contained one or two hashtags attract 21% more engagement than tweets with three or more. Choose your hashtags in an efficient matter. Hashtags.org offers a user-friendly interface to search for and find individual hastags, and to see their trending popularity.
Ask For Retweets!
Tweets which tell followers to ‘retweet’ are actually retweeted 10 times more than those without that request. Most brands aren’t employing this tactic and fail to realise it’s a great way of expanding your reach. Don’t overdo it though, and pick your moments. The perfect example lies in football pages – they frequently offer a debate and offer a chance to give your opinion. For example: “Both incredible footballers, but who’s better? RT [retweet] for Messi, FAV [favorite] for Ronaldo.”
Practice High-Quality Content Curation
Social media pages, much like websites, require the sharing of relevant, high-quality content to your audience. Offer up a selection of content featuring industry-leading influencers. You can use Klout to uncover such people who are trending content relevant to your industry. Informational data from trusted, respected sources will be well received and highly shared by your followers.
Today, there’s no doubt that social media can be a powerful asset for any business. In this sense, Twitter marketing is key for success in today’s online-marketing climate.
Stay informed on the latest and best practices and keep your business a step-ahead of the social curve. Strategy and commitment will help you find increased reach and social lead generation.
