No longer a platform just for sharing news and views, Twitter has transformed into a powerful marketing tool. With an average of over 300 million monthly users, advertising on Twitter gives businesses a huge opportunity to engage with their customers in real time.
But with around 6,000 tweets being sent every second, equating to roughly 500 million tweets per day, how can you ensure your target audience sees your message?
In this exhaustive Twitter marketing guide, we’ll show you how to use Twitter for marketing, including an overview of Twitter ad campaigns, how to set your Twitter account up for success, and top tips for making the most of advertising on Twitter.
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Why Should Your Business Use Twitter for Marketing?
Aside from being an excellent platform for engaging with customers and building relationships, Twitter is also a proven way to gather insights into your target audience. As a business, this information is invaluable for creating relevant marketing campaigns that resonate with your audience.
Considering the number of active users, you should see this free-to-use platform as an open-source research tool. By tapping into what your ideal customer is saying on Twitter, you can learn what topics are trending, discover new leads and even receive feedback about your product or service.
Twitter is also a fantastic way to build brand awareness. With every tweet, you have the opportunity to connect with new people and introduce them to your business. Not only does this allow you to curate how your company is perceived, but it can also increase your reach if people find your content valuable and share it with their followers.
Twitter allows businesses of all sizes to level the playing field and compete with more prominent brands. With a bit of creativity, you can use Twitter to reach new heights for your business.
With that being said: if you’re new to using Twitter for marketing, where should you start?
Using Twitter as a Business
Maybe you’re new to the world of Twitter for marketing or are hoping to add to your existing knowledge by reading this Twitter marketing guide. Whatever your level of expertise, we’ll start with the basics – creating a Twitter profile for your business. This Twitter marketing guide covers all the relevant aspects of using Twitter for marketing. If you are already advanced and just looking for some tips, you can skip the first section.
Create an Account for Your Business
Your Twitter profile is very much like a virtual business card. It’s one of the first things people will see when they come across your brand on Twitter, so it’s essential to make a good impression.
Here are some tips for creating a compelling profile:
Choose an Appropriate Twitter Handle
If Twitter is not your only social media platform, you should ideally use the same handle for consistency across all channels. However, if that’s not possible, try using a handle close to your business name. An easy-to-remember username will make it easier for people to find you on Twitter.
Use a Professional Profile Picture
Your profile picture could be your business logo or a headshot of yourself if you’re the face of the business. Your profile picture accompanies any tweets you send out, so be sure to pick something that will be easily recognizable.
Write a Compelling Bio
Your Twitter bio is limited to 160 characters, so make them count! Use this space to give people an overview of your business and how you can help them. You should also include a link to your website.
Add a Header Photo
Your header photo is like a banner or cover image, and it’s another opportunity to make a good first impression. Be sure to choose an image that’s on brand and visually appealing. You can also use your header photo to show your company culture, highlight a recent event, or promote a product or service.
Include Your Location
If you’re a local business, be sure to include your location in your profile. Doing this makes it easier for people in your area to find and do business with you. Even if you’re an online business, sharing your location can add a touch of realness to your business.
It can help remind users that there are real people behind the screen and may allow you to connect with others in your area.
Use Twitter Lists
You may never have thought about using Twitter lists, but they can be a powerful tool for marketing your business on Twitter. Any Twitter user can view your public lists, giving them insight into what is important to you and your business.
By creating lists, you can organize the people you’re following into groups. For example, you could create a list of customers, a list of prospects, or a list of influencers in your industry. Doing this helps you focus on the most relevant tweets and makes engaging with those who matter most to your business easier.
You can also ‘subscribe’ to lists curated by others by clicking on the ‘Lists’ tab on their profile page.
How to Create a Twitter List
- Go to the navigation and select lists
- Click the create new list icon – top right corner on the desktop website or bottom right on the Twitter app
- Add a photo to represent the list (optional)
- Create a name for the list – e.g., Influential people in the advertising industry
- Add a description for the list – e.g., a list of people to follow for advertising inspiration
- Choose whether you want the list to be public or private
- Click next
- Start adding members to your list by searching for their Twitter handle
Once created, you can update your list as often as required by:
- Adding or removing members by going to their profile and selecting add or remove from lists
- You can also add members to your list directly from a tweet by clicking the ••• icon and selecting add to list
Apply Twitter Hashtags
This wouldn’t be a Twitter marketing guide if we didn’t mention hashtags! Hashtags are a way to get your tweets seen by more people and to join in on conversations that are already happening. Hashtags are simply words or phrases with a “#” in front of them. For example,
#TwitterMarketing or #Advertising.
When you use a hashtag, your tweet appears in a stream of tweets containing that same hashtag. You can also start your own conversation by creating a unique hashtag for your brand. Either way, using hashtags is a wonderful way to get more eyes on your content.
Utilize All Twitter Functions
Aside from hashtags, Twitter also offers a few other ways to engage with your audience. Of course, sending tweets is the most basic way to use Twitter, but other functions can be beneficial for marketing your business.
Start Retweeting
When you retweet someone, their tweet appears on your profile with a little RT icon. Retweeting the content of another profile shows your support for other users. It is also a quick and easy way to generate additional content for your account.
Consider Replying
Replying to tweets is a reliable way to engage with other users. It’s also important to show your followers that you’re active on Twitter and replying does just that. Plus, it shows that you’re interested in starting conversations with other users.
Like Other Tweets
Liking a tweet is a quick and easy way to show your support or approval. It’s also a great way to let someone know that you’ve seen their tweet and are interested in what they have to say.
Monitor Your Direct Messages
Direct messages, or DMs, are private messages you can send to other Twitter users. It is crucial to monitor your direct messages so you can respond to your customers promptly.
Look Into Twitter Moments
Twitter Moments are curated collections of tweets on a specific topic. They’re an excellent way to catch up on the latest news or trends in your industry and may also be a source of inspiration for your own tweets.
You may also want to create your own set of Twitter moments. Using this feature shows your followers what’s important to you and your business and gives them a look into you as a brand.
Start Twitter Chats
This feature allows you to schedule a dedicated time for a ‘live’ Twitter chat on a particular topic using a specific hashtag. Twitter chats will enable you to connect with other businesses or customers in real time and generate some buzz around your brand.
Twitter chats can also drive engagement to your Twitter account. Increased interaction and engagement equals your brand in front of more people.
Create Twitter Polls
Polls are a fun way to engage with your followers and get them involved in your content. You can use polls to ask questions, get feedback, or even just put a smile on your follower’s faces.
Whether you want to use polls as a fun but sneaky way of gathering market research or you just want to understand your followers a little better, they’re a great way to add some interactivity to your Twitter account.
Start Advertising on Twitter
Advertising on Twitter goes hand in hand with reaching new customers and growing your business. Twitter ads come in two different forms, and they can be targeted to promote your tweets or to focus on a goal, such as growing your followers.
Twitter Ads
When creating a Twitter ad, you can choose what style of campaign you wish to run. So, before setting up Twitter advertising, it is important to consider your goals.
You can use these campaigns to define your Twitter Ads to help you achieve certain targets, such as:
- Grow your follower count
- Increase engagement
- Generate more leads
- Drive traffic to your website
Promoted Tweets
A promoted tweet is a tweet you pay to have to appear in the timelines of users who are not already following you. You may use a promoted tweet to promote a special offer or to spread valuable information and increase brand awareness.
Once a tweet has been promoted, it will be visible on:
- Promoted trends pages when using the relevant hashtag
- Your intended audiences timeline
- At the top of a topic or hashtags result page
Advertising on Twitter should not be a tool your business ignores. While running paid ads may not be on your radar when you are just starting Twitter for marketing, it is a proven way to grow your presence on Twitter.
Utilizing advertising on Twitter is also a brilliant tool to add to your Twitter marketing strategy.
What Is a Marketing Strategy on Twitter?
Any successful business will have a solid marketing strategy, and Twitter is no different. Your Twitter marketing strategy should be built around your business goals, whether that’s driving traffic to your website, generating leads, or growing your brand awareness.
Having goals for your business provides a clear focus and allows you to measure your success. Without set goals, tracking your progress and whether your marketing efforts are paying off can be difficult.
You may have heard of SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound) But, what about PACT? PACT is a helpful yet simplified framework to use when setting your goals. Your PACT goals should be:
P – Purposeful: Each goal should have a reason which connects with your business values.
A – Actionable: Your goals should be something that you can take immediate action on.
C – Continuous: To avoid overthinking, your goals should be something you can work on consistently.
T – Trackable: You should be able to measure your progress, no matter how big or small.
Now let’s look at how you can create a Twitter marketing strategy to help you achieve those goals.
How to Create a Marketing Strategy for Twitter
There are many things to consider when creating a Twitter marketing strategy, such as:
- Who is your target audience?
- What content will attract your ideal customers?
- Is there a specific tone you want to strike with your tweets?
- What are your main business goals? (PACT)
With all these questions in mind, let’s take a look at how to create a Twitter marketing strategy step-by-step:
Audit Your Existing Twitter Account
You may be at an advantage if you already have a Twitter account for your business. Even if you haven’t had any success with Twitter for marketing, having data to analyze is always helpful. Auditing your existing account allows you to assess what’s working well and identify any areas that need improvement.
Twitter offers a handy tool called Twitter Analytics which provides data on your tweets, followers, and audience. This data can help you understand what content performs best and allows you to adjust your strategy accordingly.
To access Twitter Analytics, simply login to Twitter and click on the ‘more’ tab. From here, select ‘Analytics.’ You will then be presented with an overview of your account for the last 28 days, including impressions and profile visits. Twitter Analytics also provides a summary of previous months.
If you don’t have an existing Twitter account for your business, don’t worry. You can still create a successful Twitter marketing strategy from scratch!
Know Your Customer
Your customer should be at the forefront of your Twitter marketing strategy. Keep them in mind when creating tweets, as well as any images or videos that you share. Ask yourself, what would my ideal customer want to see? What kind of content would they engage with?
Creating content that appeals to your target audience will make you more likely to achieve your advertising goals.
You can get to know your customer in several ways, such as:
- Analyzing current customer data
- Conducting customer surveys or interviews
- Researching your target market
Find the Right Tone for Your Brand
The voice you use on Twitter should be in line with the rest of your marketing communications. If you have a light-hearted brand voice, then your tweets should reflect this. Alternatively, if you have a more formal tone, then your tweets should be consistent with this as well.
Remember, people use Twitter to connect with friends and family, as well as brands and businesses. Striking the right tone will help build relationships with your followers and make your tweets more relatable.
Consider a Content Calendar
A content calendar can be a valuable tool for planning your Twitter marketing strategy. Having a content calendar helps you to stay organized and ensures that you are regularly sharing fresh, relevant content. You can create a content calendar using whichever tools you have available, or you can look into using a specific scheduling tool, such as Sprout Social or HubSpot.
When creating your content calendar, consider the following:
- What kind of content will you share?
- What are your key messaging points?
- How often will you tweet?
You may want to include a schedule in your content calendar to manage how often you will tweet and when. Doing this is especially important if you target a global audience, as you must consider time zones.
There are no hard and fast rules regarding how often you should share content on Twitter. The best thing you can do is consider when your ideal customer will be online and aim to tweet during these times.
Once you have sent out a few tweets at various points of the day, you can then check your Twitter analytics to see when your tweets received the most engagement. From here, you can adjust your tweeting schedule accordingly.
Analyze Your Competitors
Any marketing strategy should include marketing research. Not just for your customers but also for your competitors. Understanding what your competitors are doing will give you insights into what’s working well for them and how you can improve upon it.
When conducting competitor research, look at the following:
- Their Twitter followers
- The type of content they share
- Their level of engagement
- Any hashtags they use regularly
You can use this information to understand what you’re up against and how you can stand out from the competition. Plus, you may even learn what not to do!
Do Keyword Research
SEO and using keywords are not just for your website! If you want people to find your tweets, then you need to use the right keywords. That’s why a Twitter marketing guide wouldn’t be complete without talking about keywords. While searching for a particular topic on a search engine such as Google, you may have noticed that tweets can often come up in search results.
Using keywords in your tweets, Twitter bio, and paid Twitter ads can help your Twitter account reach a wider audience.
The more relevant the keywords are to what people are searching, the more likely your tweets are to appear in search results. For example, if you own a sneaker shop in Los Angeles, some relevant keywords may be ‘shoes to wear in LA,’ ‘best sneakers for walking,’ or ‘LA sneaker store.’
Top Twitter Marketing Tips
Now we have covered the basics of how to get started with Twitter marketing, here are some extra tips to help you make the most out of this social platform:
- Use images, videos, infographics, and GIFs in your tweets. Imagery does not count towards the tweet 280-character limit, but it can easily catch someone’s eye as they scroll through their timeline.
- Run Twitter contests and giveaways. Twitter users love free stuff, so this is a great way to increase engagement and grow your following. Just be sure to follow Twitter’s guidelines!
- Carry out A/B testing on your tweets. This means creating two versions of a tweet and sending them out to see which one performs better. You can test different elements, such as alternate keywords, images, or call-to-action.
- Analyze your Twitter analytics. As we mentioned earlier, Twitter provides users with valuable insights into their tweets. Always keep track of your analytics and use this information to build upon your marketing strategy.
Final Thoughts on Twitter for Marketing
There you have it, everything you need to know about using Twitter for marketing. By following the tips in this Twitter marketing guide, you can start to build a strong presence on Twitter and reach a wider audience for your business. Just remember that success on any social media platform takes time, so be patient and keep at it!
