Unless you have been under a rock in the deepest abyss of the ocean for the last few years, you’ve heard plenty about Twitter.  Unavoidably, you’ve probably heard that a lot of businesses use Twitter for marketing purposes.  In fact, the only way that you don’t know that many businesses use Twitter as a marketing tool is if a big rock fell repeatedly onto your head recently.  Twitter is everywhere and is as much of a marketing tool as it is a medium on which to share random thoughts.  Despite your knowledge of the existence of Twitter and its marketing potential, you might still be fuzzy on how to use Twitter for your business.  Never fear, due to the brave souls who have already used Twitter, the business marketing use of Twitter has been fully explored.

1.      Get a Twitter Account

Hopefully this already occurred to you.  Without a Twitter account, you are highly unlikely to reap any benefits from said social media network.  Many of us, me included, have no interest in using Twitter for personal verbal diarrhea purposes.  Nevertheless, if you want to survive in today’s business world, Tweet you must.  Go make an account and customize an attractive Twitter page.

2.      Follow the Right People

The first thing to do after setting up a Twitter profile is to start following people and organizations.  However, even though there is nothing wrong with following The Price is Right Twitter feed, it probably won’t help your business.

Decide who you need to follow:

• Start with any clients who you can find on Twitter.  Clients want to know that the people they hire are participating in the same social media activities as they are.
• Next follow the other people in your industry with whom you could potentially work.  You need to let your presence be  known.
• Finally you should connect with professional organizations within your industry.  For instance, as a writer I follow the National Association of Independent Writers & Editors on Twitter.  Not just because I am a member of that association but because it is a professional association within my field.

3.      Organize the People You Follow

Now that you have a list of people whose Twitter feeds you stalk, you need to decide who you should be monitoring more intensely.  On your home Twitter feed page, you will see massive amounts of Tweets from everything and everyone you follow.  The Tweets from The Price is Right will be mixed right in with your favorite professional organization and your highest paying client.  Luckily Twitter provides lists so you can organize different categories of Tweets into sections to avoid getting overwhelmed.  Therefore The Price is Right, Let’s Make a Deal and Wheel of Fortune’s Tweets can be read and left uncorrupted by those pesky clients and professional associations.  Also, you can organize the clients and associations into as many different lists as you like.

(Lists can be found under the settings drop-down in the Twitter header menu)

4.      Link Your Website to Your Twitter Page

Logically you should add a link to your website.  However, I don’t mean just slap up a link to your homepage.  Build a new page on your website.  That page should be the page that links your Twitter account with your business site.  On that page, talk about your business and how you use Twitter with your business.  Place the link to that web page on your Twitter profile.  Viewers of your Twitter link page can then hop to the other pages of your website.

5.      Tweet, Tweet and Retweet

Making a profile and following a multitude of people and organizations is not the only thing you should do with your Twitter.  Sharing is not only caring but also advertising.  Those hashtags (or number signs with words after them for those who are not Twitter savvy at all) are ways for people who do not follow you to connect with your posts.  If you type into the Twitter search bar something awesome like “#doctorwho”, you will be presented with all of the tweets belonging to people who have written “#doctorwho” in their tweets.  Consequently, if you are a company that specializes in making personalized, handmade greeting cards, a tweet from you saying “#birthdaycards” will result in anyone searching “#birthdaycards” on Twitter in finding your tweet.  Retweeting other people’s tweets can both share an idea of someone else’s with which you agree and will give you an ally who might be willing to share your tweets in the future.

6.      Shut Up and Read

Just like with in-person human relationships, your social media relationships with your clients and associates takes two way communication.  You cannot throw information into the world without absorbing some.  Read the Tweets of those you follow.  Search Twitter for your company’s name.  If someone is talking about you, don’t miss it because you are not listening to others in your network.

7.      Get More People Involved

For larger businesses, the big wigs all need to participate on Twitter.  As much as Twitter can be annoying, the beauty of it is that Tweets are a maximum of 140 characters.  All high level managers, CEOs or whoever else is running around leading a company can spare a few moments to share 140 characters.  Not only is there time, but a conversation on Twitter involving the leaders of a company is a great way to spread and market your business.  A conversation among several Twitter accounts dedicated to the same business will generate a lot more traffic than one account and is appropriate for a large company.

8.      Promote Other Mediums

Twitter is made for sharing links.  Blogs, Facebook posts, articles, press releases and more are all able to be Tweeted.  Whenever I write a new blog on my business website, I post it on not just my Twitter account but also my Facebook, Google + and Linkedin.  Not only should you share blogs you write and pieces about your company, you should also share other blogs, articles and whatnot that are relevant to the industry.  The more you share and hashtag, the more you will be found.

9.      Talk About Events

Let the people in your network know what is happening.  If you are having a sale, blast that Twitter out.  If you just rolled out a new product, shout it from the Twitter tops.  If you just started offering a new service, Tweet it to the heavens.  Even such things as hiring a new employee can be shared on twitter.  People want to know what is happening and they especially need to know if it somehow concerns them and their relationship with your business.

10.  Throw Coupons to the Birds

A great way to keep current Twitter followers and find new ones is to offer coupons and special deals to those who follow you.  Not to bring up a game show again, but sometime you should watch at least the end of Let’s Make a Deal.  As the credits roll down the screen, the host and co hosts ask people from the audience if they are carrying specific items and give the individual cash if he or she produces the item.  How should those people know to carry these items?  The person who works the Twitter account for Let’s Make a Deal Tweets information about what live audience members should bring into the studio for that taping.  The person who does follow Let’s Make a Deal on Twitter feels brilliant for knowing to carry a feather in his or her shoe and the person who does not follow on Twitter decides that it is time to start following.  Offering coupons and deals to your Twitter followers will create the same phenomenon for your business.

Like it or not, Twitter is a part of the present business culture.  Those who do not take advantage of the marketing tools that Twitter offers are as foolish as someone who runs a business without using the internet at all.   Not only is the use of Twitter necessary for business, but the proper use of this popular social media network can bring a boom to your company.