Twitter is the most recent internet phenomenon. It started with a simple question:
“What are you doing?” Yet, it has become so much more–relationship builder, marketing tool, community organizer, open conference line. Here are 3 simple strategies to have Twitter grow your business.
Setting Up Your Twitter Profile
Your Twitter profile is your resume–design it as such. When you follow people, they follow you, and in the course of any dialogue they are looking at your profile. So, make sure it quickly communicates what you can do for them and the benefit they will receive.
There are a couple of places you add this information:
• Twitter Name: Use your real name–it makes it easier to find you and follow you
• More Info URL: Make this your business website (it can be the company you work for, a blog, or affiliate site, but it should be where you make money or prospective clients can hire you)
• One Line Bio: This is 160 characters make it convert–keywords or benefit statement
• Background Image: Create a benefits and contact landing page–don’t forget your email address and telephone number
Value, Benefit, Contact–3 steps to building a profile that converts.
Add Value By Telling What You Do
With a solid profile in place it is time to drive traffic to it.
The quickest way to get more people to look at your profile is to find and follow prospective clients. Twitter has made this marketing research very simple–Twitter Search. Simply search keywords that you think people would use when looking for your service.
Follow the ones that are looking, talking, and promoting keywords related to your services in their Tweets.
Now that you have a few people you are following begin Twittering about:
• What you are working on
• Successes you are having
• Challenges you are thinking through
• Links to interesting posts and articles
• Links (in moderation) to your own blogs and articles
All the time keeping and eye toward your services keywords and quality (value) of each Tweet. You are going to build a following based on your Twittering, assuming it is interesting. If you keep your Tweets focused and keyword rich it should draw you a nice stable of potential clients.
Help Others Get Business Referrals
Also, within you following will be other people with complimentary skills and services. These are people that can help you on larger projects, as vendors, or simply as referral partners. To maximize this part of the Twitter opportunity make sure you are quick to refer someone if you see an appropriate inquiry.
Listen for Twitter Opportunity
The combination of a compelling profile, value added to the community, and reciprocity of giving out referrals will bring you opportunities. Tune your alerts and keyword triggers to listen for and highlight these inquires and you will see significant business opportunity flow from your Twitter network.