Ways to Use Twitter for Business

Twitter is a place for people to connect, share opinions and keep abreast of happenings around the world. In addition to this, Twitter can also be used as a powerful tool to market your business because there is a prevalent discovery mindset in people when they are on Twitter, which makes them open to interactions.

Jumia Travel, in this first part, shares 8 ways you can leverage Twitter to drive traffic to your business and bring new life and 'renewed business purpose' to your Twitter efforts.

First, the name of your twitter handle should help people easily find your business. Also, your profile photo should visually represent your business brand and should be consistent. You shouldn't constantly change your business profile photo.

Your profile bio should let people know all they need to about your business and why they should follow you. It should contain useful information about your business and a link to your website.

Your header image should basically be considered as a 'billboard for your business'. You can use twitter to feature products, highlight your employees or spotlight events, promotions or product news. In addition, pin an important Tweet at the top of your timeline and use the feature to ensure visitors to your profile don't miss out on the latest news, products, offerings or events about your business.

Lastly, make sure you tweet regularly. Regular tweeting is a sign of an active profile and it helps you stay relevant on the Twitter medium. Daily postings and engagement is recommended to help you remain 'top of mind' on a consistent basis. Be sure to Tweet relevant, useful and engaging content.

You can use a 'Twitter Search' or a tool like 'Topsy' or 'Followerwonk' to discover these influencers and experts by searching keywords that relate to your industry. You should then follow and interact with them regularly. In your interactions with them, try to be casual and helpful, rather than promotional. Build a relationship with them first, before seeking for ways to collaborate with them. Remember to be wise and prudent in this pursuit, as much as you are to interact with them and build a relationship, don't overdo it. Manage your interactions with them properly so they don't end up seeing you as a pest or stalker.

Try to create tweets that incite conversations and keep your followers, visitors and audiences engaged. You can do this by keeping your tweets short and focused on a specific message. If you have a longer message, include a link to your blog or website on the post. Also try to use visuals (images, videos or GIFs) in your tweet. Visual posts are usually more engaging and help to increase Tweet engagement rates.

In addition, try asking questions and running polls to interact with your audience, bring readers into the conversation and understand people's opinions. Polls will help you to survey on specific responses.

Marketing your business on Twitter doesn't have to be a 'one-man' or 'one-department' effort; you should try to get your co-workers involved in the process. Encourage them to follow your business Twitter handle and tweet, retweet, like and engage with the business' Twitter content. This will help to further build your business brand and increase your visibility on Twitter.

Offer discounts and special deals to your Twitter followers. Do this from time to time, alongside 'Twitter contests' to drive traffic to your handle.

From time to time, ask for some 'Twitter love' and ask followers to retweet, mention and like your tweets. Track brand mentions and keywords about your business to know what is being said about you. Respond in a polite and professional manner to replies and mentions, especially because many customers now post complaints and queries on Twitter.

You can also set up Twitter searches for terms relevant to your brand, and follow relevant trends/hashtags to monitor conversations relevant to your business brand. Try to occasionally jump into these conversations when appropriate. For example, if your brand is a hotel booking brand in Lagos, you can type in relevant search terms like 'hotel booking Lagos'. Then, when you see a tweet there like, 'Is there any good hotel booking portal that I can use to get a nice hotel for my sweetheart and I this Valentine, at an affordable price?", you can jump in with something like, "Of course there is, visit [insert your website link] for the best and most affordable hotels in your area. You are guaranteed 100% satisfaction!"

In addition, retweeting and liking the tweets of some of the influencers and experts you follow, including some of your own followers, can go a long way in help to build good relationships with them. You can also tag your posts with one or two relevant and trending hashtags to help you increase your visibility and reach out to new users. But only use this sparingly, because overdoing this can be seen as 'Twitter Spam'

Twitter analytics can help you grasp what is and what is not resonating with your audience. It helps you understand how the content you share on twitter grows your business. The analytics dashboard gives you information that can help you determine the best days to tweet, the type of content that's more favoured by your audience and the demographics of followers that are interacting with your posts. This can help you determine and replicate what's working for your business brand, and revaluate and rework what isn't.

There is no rule that says your Twitter marketing efforts must stand alone. Twitter marketing efforts are much more effective when integrated with other marketing efforts. For example, you can occasionally let your email subscribers know about Twitter promotions and contests that you are running.