Twitter Marketing – Are You Taking The Road To Failure?
Twitter isn’t a passing hobby, a fun way to share your daily outings, or a tool simply to ignore. Instead, Twitter is a great way to connect up with prospects, and find a whole new venue for growing your business. But like any business, you have to treat it like a business.
Do you have a Twitter marketing plan in place? Do you know why you are Tweeting? Do you know how you’re starting 2010, and how you’ll finish out the year? Take a look at these 7 things to incorporate into your twitter marketing plan.
It’s All About Me
Some people just don’t get that Twitter isn’t about self-promotion. It’s about building a relationship. Sure it’s okay to occasionally send out a Tweet about your new product or service. As long as you’re filling in with quality information and resources that make you a value to the community. 
Bull Horn Approach
Imagine standing on a street corner screaming out your message at 4am on a Sunday morning. Will a few people hear it? Maybe. But you’re missing a huge opportunity. Don’t head out to Twitter once a month and Tweet out six messages in a row. Spend 5 minutes per day adding one or two quality Tweets, and spend some time re-tweeting and making conversation.
A Glamorous RSS Feed
Twitter is more than a resource for you blog posts and RSS feeds. Simply feeding in your RSS is a surefire way of getting your followers to quickly unfollow. Twitter is all about relationships first, content second.
I’m Off To The Store
I’m off to the store. Taking the kids to the park. About to eat a snack. The occasional personal Tweet helps show your human side. But everything needs to be done in moderation. Unless you’re tweeting solely with personal friends and family, keep the personal stuff at a minimum.
Lurking, Not Speaking
I played this game on Twitter my first few weeks. I didn’t know what to Tweet, so I lurked and read what other people were writing. It took awhile, but eventually I developed my own knack. You can’t grow your Twitter account if you remain a lurker. You have to jump in, give it a try, and use it on a regular basis.
Try Something New
If you’re on Twitter and haven’t tried out some of the amazing sites and tools connected with Twitter, you’re really missing out. Head over to Twitter Links to find a list of sites that will help you use Twitter together. Some of my new favorites are MuckRack, StrawPoll and TweetValue.
What’s My Purpose?
What are you trying to accomplish on Twitter? What’s the end goal? If you don’t plan from the beginning, you’ll quickly see yourself wasting hours of time. Stop and write down your expectations, and the Tweet accordingly.
Looking for some help in creating your Twitter marketing plan?
The Rules Of Twitter Follow/Unfollow Have Changed
When you first signup for your Twitter account, the first thing you do is look for followers. But what are the rules for unfollowing? Should you believe all the automatic follow/unfollow rules that people write about? What are the implications of not following someone just because they decided to follow you?
I actually use a variety of Twitter accounts both for my multiple businesses, and as a social ghost writer for a variety of clients. So I’ve tried out various methods, and have watched things change over the course of 2009. 
Here are my rules for following/unfollowing on Twitter:
Look For Quality People To Follow and Ignore The Rest
Twitter is a tool that you are using to try and grow your business. You may find a great resource that can bring in a lot to your business, either in resources and tips, or as a potential contact. Follow them and don’t worry about whether they follow you. Watch what they send out. Retweet them. If they are big on Twitter, they will notice your retweets, and watch what you do. It is possible to eventually connect with great people down the line just by providing quality information and staying steady to your cause.
Don’t Look At The Numbers
Would you rather have 500 quality people that bring potential to your business, or 5000 that just exist because they are on automatic follow? It’s easy to get high numbers. What’s not easy is getting quality people to your follow list that may actually help your business now or in the future. This isn’t “get rich quick” This is about building a quality marketing campaign that helps you now, 6 months from now, 1 year from now, etc.
Follow Because You Have A Desire To Learn
I may really like photography, yet have no interest in scuba diving. You may love photography and want to learn more about it – which is why you follow me. You follow to learn from me. Because I have no desire on scuba diving, and choose not to follow you, is no reason you can’t continue to follow and learn from me. Will we build a relationship in the future? Maybe. And maybe I’ll have more of a desire to learn about scuba diving in the future based on that relationship. Don’t cut off your learning source just for a unfollow “rule”.
Good Reasons To Unfollow
- They spam your account, selling in virtually all of their tweets.
- They are on a mission for numbers – following hundreds in one day to build the account.
- Everything is me-driven. If it’s all about “me”, its time to unfollow.
- Nothing of value in any of their tweets. It’s nice to be personal once in awhile. But if you’re not learning or gaining from a tweet-stream, unfollow.
- Swear just to swear. Talk about offensive material. Adult-content driven. Enough said.
- Direct message or reply again and again with links to MLM opportunities.
- Stop tweeting. If you can’t find anything to say on a regular basis, your once a year post isn’t going to cut it.
You Know You Are A Twitter Addict When …
You know you are a Twitter Addict when:
- You are out networking face to face, you ask people what they are @ instead of what they do.
- You’re in a seminar on social media, and you announce you have more Twitter followers than the speaker.
- You can’t make it through a dinner conversation without talking about your Twitter friends.
- You lie in bed at night thinking up clever ways to get retweeted.
- Your kids introduce you to their friends by saying “she tweets”.
- You run to the television every time Twitter is in a commercial.
- The highlight of your day is Tweetup invitations.
- Tweetdeck is the first application to load on your desktop.
- You use the Twitter bird on your birthday cake.
- You buy a house on Twitter Road.
- You upgrade your phone to Tweet better.
- Twitter t-shirts are the only gift you’ll be giving this holiday season.
- You Tweet the details of your vacation.
- You spend 30 minutes brainstorming ways you are a Twitter addict. (Yes, I must confess…)
Okay, I’m sure you can add to this list. Let’s hear it. You know you’re a Twitter addict when…
My Twitter Strategy: It’s A Rose Garden
I’ve spent the last 18 months or so on Twitter, at first trying to find out what it was all about, and over 2009, trying to keep up. Yes the world has gone Twitter crazy, for better or worse. Being one of the old timers on it, I’ve seen things that work, and things that don’t. People stay, and mostly people go.
So what is it that makes a good strategy? Can you really do business on Twitter? Can it really make you money?
As I use Twitter day after day, I’ve found myself thinking of ways to describe it to people as I’m out speaking. And I finally came up with the Rose Garden analogy.
It’s always about planning for the future
One of my favorite things about summertime is being out 
in my gardens. I’ve got a quarter acre, so it keeps me busy.
When you start with a garden, you have to think about what doesn’t show before you concentrate on what does. Which means you have to have great soil, a ton of nutrients, a sunny location, and a lot of water. You have to have potential even before decide to plant.
Same with Twitter. You have to have potential for growing your Read more
Big Promises For Followers – Are They Really Beneficial To Your Business?
Twitter. It seems you can’t read an article, visit a website, or even watch television without someone mentioning their Twitter account.
So if you run a business, you have to be on Twitter, right?
And if you’re on Twitter, the best thing you can do is get a ton of followers, right?
So when you get an email promising you 5,000 Twitter followers in 5 hours for $50 is a great deal, right?
Think again.
As with anything in the business world, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
First, if anyone is promising a ton of followers for a low fee, your first question should be “How valuable would these followers be to my business?”
Just like everything, the best way to get followers is the good old fashioned way. Go out and find people who you have something in common with.
- If you are a mommy blogger, find moms.
- If you are an accountant for small businesses, find small business owners.
- If you are a realtor, find people who are interested in buying property within your area. (A Colorado realtor can find a ton of people to follow in Colorado very easily.)
And honestly, it’s not difficult to get a large following if you spend some time at it. So let’s say your goal is to add 50 new followers every day. That’s 350 a week. If you add 50 a day for three weeks, that’s more than 1,000 people you’re connecting with every time you Tweet.
And if you’re adding new followers at that rate, and contributing by writing a few times every day, you won’t just grow at 50 per day. Eventually it takes on a life of its own because you’re active and communicating. It works.
So in one month, you can easily have over 1,000 people in your network.
It may not be the 5,000 in 5 hour guarantee. But wouldn’t you rather chat with 1,000 people that you have a strong potential of building a relationship with?
10 Tips For Using Twitter To Market Your Business
Having been on Twitter for well over a year now, I use it daily and understand its relevance. I understand how to use it to attract new clients, and how to use it to build my business. Could I be doing more with it? Definitely. I think there’s always room to grow. But if you’re just starting out and still struggling with the question of “Why do I want to use Twitter?” use these tips to start out in the right direction.
1. Build your Twitter account with quality people that you truly want to follow. Many people say they follow everyone that follows them. After following several people that filled up my conversation with information that didn’t apply to me, I took a different stance. I watch my conversations, and follow people that I have something in common with, or that I want to try and build relationships with. In many ways it is a two way street – I follow them and they follow me. I just use discretion when choosing who to follow.
2. Don’t build too quickly. You don’t want to go from 0 to 2,000 following’s in a one week period. Likewise, you don’t want to be following 500 people and only have 10 following you. Build slowly at first to learn more about Twitter and start developing relationships. Show people you provide quality content, and give them a reason to follow you.
3. Create a theme with your Twitter posts. I like to add links to quality content I’m reading in the blogosphere every day. I’ll purposely head out to find quality links I can share with my followers. A lot of social networking is about having a system and following it every day.
4. Make each post mean something to all of your followers. Remember, they might not be following the people you are communicating with, and can’t see the entire conversation. Give them a reason to find out more about the conversation, and maybe give them a new resource to follow. Posts like “LOL!” aren’t good for developing relationships. Posts like “LOL – I loved your blog post on building relationships” build up curiosity.
5. Don’t over-tweet. Make a commitment to adding quality posts every day. But don’t flood the homepages of your followers. This can often cause deletes if you’re overstepping the communication line, especially if you’re forgoing quality for quantity.
6. Find a few new people to follow every week. Head over to search.twitter.com and type in your niche, or a keyword related to your niche. Check out the profiles that show up, and find some new people to follow.
7. Use a service like Tweetdeck or Twhirl. These programs are designed to make monitoring your Tweets easier, and in the case of Tweetdeck, allows you to categorize and organize your Tweets by type and other features.
8. Sign up with Mr Tweet to gain follower recommendations and get recommended to others.
9. List your Twitter ID in Twitter directories such as Just Tweet It or Twellow.
10. Learn all you can about Twitter. Everyone is talking about Twitter. Head out to the blogosphere, and listen to what people are saying about Twitter. There’s no sure-fire way to use it yet – its still too new to fully understand its capabilities. But you can bet there are a ton of people making money with Twitter. Study what they do, and use it to your advantage.
Yes, sometimes it is a full time job just keeping up with everything that is available. I create systems and conquer. Choose how you want to participate, and do a little every day. A little will turn into a lot over time.
