How to Tweet for Success: Twitter Posting Tips

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Business Networking on Twitter can be a huge help for your company. Networking is different from marketing – you’re not here to just sell your product or service, you’re here to sell you; to prove that you are a likeable, friendly, knowledgeable, helpful and professional tweep. The idea is to build relationships, add value to you and your company as a resource and to find valuable tweeps that will be a resource for you. Here are some tips to help your Twitter Networking be a success:

1. Use the Proper Apps: In order to use Twitter to it’s full potential you will need to use some additional apps. Just logging into twitter.com will not cut it! My recommends:

   TweetDeck: Allows you to view up to 10 columns containing friends tweets, replies, DM’s, and keyword searches. You can also filter and get notifications when tweets arrive. Get TweetDeck here: http://www.tweetdeck.com/beta/
   TweetLater: The free version of this app does well for small businesses. You can schedule posts, auto-follow new followers, unfollow when unfollowed, block auto DM’s (helps to eliminate spam). You can also setup keyword searches that sends you an hourly email of those tweets. http://www.tweetlater.com
   Moniterr: Further keyword search stream that also allows you to narrow by location. http://monitter.com/
   Peoplebrwsr: This actually lets you post to multiple social networking accounts. It’s pre-beta so still some bugs, but a very useful tool! My favorite is the ability to search for tweets from users with a specific keyword in their profile. So I can quickly locate and track authors, bloggers, accountants, etc… You can view Tweeps who are also on FaceBook, LinkedIn and other social networks. http://www.peoplebrowsr.com/
   TwitterGrader: Tells you where you grade in the Twitter community. A nifty little tool. You can also look up and follow other tweeps that it thinks may be a good fit to your profile, tweets and location. You can also get TwitSnip here, a URL shortner. http://twitter.grader.com/ | http://twitter.grader.com/twitsnip |
   Twello: Helps you find people who twitter in specific locations or industries. http://www.twellow.com/
   

2. Auto-Follow New Followers: When you get too many followers each day going through one by one can take a very long time. I auto follow, and then make sure that as I get time I go down the list and try to make contact with each. TweetLater has a great auto follow feature. It’s very easy to unfollow if there is a reason to do so later.
3. Automatically Unfollow if Unfollowed: Many spammers out there will follow you, then immediately unfollow once you follow them. Using an auto unfollow feature (such as those on TweetLater or SocialToo) will help keep your network free from these. If you still want to follow someone who has unfollowed you simply go back and refollow.
4. Establish Your Name: Tweet often. Make sure that your name is seen, and in a good way! For this portion anything that may be useful or helpful to others will do. If you are too busy to tweet throughout the day use a service like TweetLater. You can schedule tips, quotes, etc… to be sent out at specified times.
5. Share Information: Share tips, blogs and articles related to your niche. Shorten URL’s and quickly post to Twitter by using an app like TwitSnip, obtained at TwitterGrader. A button can be placed in your toolbar, when you’re on a site you want to share just click the button. It opens a post with a shortened URL, just type what you want to say and hit update!
6. Ask Questions: Get your network involved. Ask for advice, what they would like to hear about, their opinions, even how their day is going. The point is to build your relationships and show them that you care about what they think and feel!
7. Answer Questions: If someone tweets “What did you do this weekend”, tweet your response. Few do this, but those who ask appreciate it! It’s a great way to get noticed as a personable tweep who cares enough to respond and converse.
8. Offer Help: Use an app such as TweetDeck or Moniterr to search for tweets about specific keywords. If you see someone tweeting for help jump in and offer your assistance. Not necessarily for a charge – remember that you’re here to build relationships, not just to sell your product/service. A link to “buy this fix” will NOT accomplish this! Of course if they are seeking someone for a position this is different, but I’m sure you understand what I’m saying here.
9. Retweet: Retweeting is a sign of respect on Twitter, a way to say that you really value what they just said. Don’t retweet just to get a #followfriday mention – that defeats the purpose! Retweet quotes that are good, comments that you think your network would value, tips that are useful, help requests that you can’t handle yourself. Be sure to thank those that retweet you!
10. Recommend: Tweet a recommendation to your network to follow tweeps that you feel would be a value to them. Be sure to mention why! Of course #followfriday is a great time to do this, but don’t limit it to Friday! You can post recommends any time. Another tool to help with this is Twibes: http://www.twibes.com/
11. Check your DM’s and Replies: Be sure to check your DM’s and replies at least once a day, and reply when needed.

I hope that this helps you as you build your Business Network on Twitter. Remember that it’s not all about the number of followers (although quantity is good), it’s about the quality too. I’m here to help you with any Twitter questions you may have: On twitter just send a reply to @kimberlyrsmith or email kim@tftservices.net . I also offer a “ghost tweeting” service and Twitter Coaching for those of you who are really serious about building a presence fast!

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Filed under General Business, Marketing & Advertising, Twitter

Tags: Business, business network, manage, network, networking, professinal contacts, professional, social networking, Twitter, twitter apps