The whole purpose of using Twitter for your business is to gain new contacts and find new target markets, but how do you make this tool work for you? How do you get the right traffic and followers?
Any form of marketing takes effort and commitment to an end goal; social media is no different, and in fact has the highest rewards in the shortest time for those who master it. Generating incoming traffic has to be your number one priority as this provides you with:
- A stream of prospects and subscribers
- New customers and increased sales
- Branding opportunities
- Broadcasting your message to mass markets
So how do you get the right kind of traffic and followers to your site? Here are a few ideas to consider.
- You must know who you are looking to attract – know your ideal audience. Just getting followers is almost pointless. You need to know what kind of people want and need your service and then use tools like search.twitter.com to find those people. You also can’t just launch into a pitch; you must follow and engage with them. Remember the basics; nobody wants to be pitched to when first meeting you.
- Get the right type of follower – it’s not a numbers game. Quality not quantity is the key. You want people to read and be interested in what you are saying, this way they re-tweet to their contacts and so the opportunity grows.
- Add a “Follow me on Twitter” button everywhere, on your website, your email footer, any marketing info you send out, invoices, etc.
- You must engage with your followers. Re-tweet, DM (Direct Message), reply to their tweets by asking questions, encourage feedback and then hold conversations – you are trying to build a relationship one to one so don’t be a robot – show your personality.
- Tweet out some valuable links. You need to be seen as a giver and so if something interests you, shrink the web link and send it to your followers – they almost certainly will find it interesting too.
- Measure performance of articles and tweets posted. Vary the times and see if this has an effect on response. Good times are between 8 am, and 9 am, lunchtime and 6 pm – 8 pm. Change the time and see when your followers and tweeting as well and try to map this pattern.
- Once you find a formula that works, keep doing it but more. Always test and change headlines, calls to action and style to see if any results improve.
- When you publish an article, always add a TweetMeme button to make it easy for your followers to share your content – again you are after your fans, followers too and making it simple to share will increase your popularity.
By doing these few things, your following will grow with the right type of member and improve the results you will see. The main thing is to get a strategy formed and action it. Do not just give up on this valuable marketing tool. Better still contact JCK Marketing on 01635 886522 and let us provide a strategy for you and help you achieve the goals you want.