By: Ryan Miller
So you’ve got your Twitter account created, but now what? You’ll want your tweets read and your account followed of course! It can be a little daunting trying to figure out where to start, but asking yourself a few questions before starting off will help get you moving along.
Who is the audience for your account? Will it be a targeted niche that has a smaller but more dedicated and engaging base or are you looking to get as many followers as possible who may not be that interested in your messages? Are you building up a product as a brand account or your name as a “brand”? Keep these questions in mind as the foundation of your account.
Get Your Profile Fully Filled Out
Are you establishing your account as an individual or as the “voice” of a brand or product? This will play heavily into the choice for the actual name on the account. Also, consider that your name will become part of the title of your Twitter account within search engines.
Choose an avatar picture that will accurately represent you. A face picture should be used for personal accounts, while a snappy logo or something that represents your brand should be used for business accounts. Keep in mind how small the picture will be when seen by most twitterers as well, and crop the picture so that it is still recognizable at 50×50 pixels.
Start Tweeting!
Start tweeting immediately! You’ll want to start using your account and establishing a timeline of continuous activity, even if at first you don’t have any followers. You should try to discipline yourself to tweet 3-5 times a day. This way when your account starts to be discovered, potential followers will have a sense of what to expect from you.
Put an emphasis of your tweets on the niche you want to be known for including statements, links to interesting content, and retweets. If your account is more focused on a persona rather than brand, you’ll want to include personal updates as well. Also, tweet about any trending topics that you may find interesting or have an opinion on to give your account that real-person-behind-the-scenes appearance.
Think about What You Tweet
Give some thought to your tweets. Remember, you only have 140 characters to get your message across in a clear and concise way. Twitter is often referred to as a microblog, and you should approach your most important tweets as you would a regular blog post.
Follow and Interact with Those You Want to Follow You
Twitter has over 175 million registered users. With such a vast ocean to swim through, you can’t wait for people to notice your new account, you have to jump up and down and scream “Here I am!” (metaphorically, of course). To that end, start finding and following the users that you would like to follow you back. Find out if friends, family, co-workers have accounts and follow them and start following important accounts within the niche you want to be known for.
Once you have found and followed 10-20 accounts, you’ll want to start interacting with these accounts by retweeting their tweets you find of value, replying to their tweets, and mentioning them in tweets you initiate to begin conversation. Twitter users will be notified of these actions and may take notice of your account such as replying back to you and (hopefully!) deciding to follow you back.
Interact with and Follow Those That Start Following You
Once you start accruing your own followers, it will be important to forge relationships with those accounts. Pay attention to those that are following you without you following them first. If they seem to be genuinely following you for you (and not just some spammy robot account) follow them back and begin interacting with them.
Doing this will do two things for you. First, those accounts may be more likely to retweet and mention your account which will get you further exposure. Secondly, it will show other Twitter users that by following you they have a good chance at being followed back. Twitter is all about the conversation, and Twitter users will find your account more attractive if they know you’ll interact with them, and will be more inclined to follow you.
Use Common and Niche Specific Hashtags
Hashtags are a way for many Twitter users that may not be directly connected to tweet about a specific topic or idea and bring greater attention to this. A great example of the power of the hashtag was the protests in Egypt at the beginning of 2011, where you had tens of thousands of people around the world all using #jan25 to share information.
While this is an extreme example, using hashtags can get your tweets seen by users that may not otherwise be aware of your account. Watch the Twitter accounts you follow within your niche for commonly used hashtags that you can also use. Additionally, sites like http://trendistic.indextank.com/ can provide insight to both currently trending hashtags and the overall popularity of hashtags you may want to use.
Remember to use hashtags sparingly in your tweets. As a guideline, limit yourself to one or two hashtags per tweet to avoid appearing too spammy.
Twitter Directories and Apps
There’s a great assortment of directories, apps and tools out there to help you manage your own account and get found by Twitter users that may be interested in what you have to say. Here’s an assortment of great websites to get you started.
Directories:
Following / Follower Analysis Tools
Rating Tools
Account Management
Live Tweet Events
Because of Twitter’s format of real-time updates, portability (if you have a laptop, smartphone, tablet, etc), and quick easy-to-digest information bites, it lends itself incredibly well to live tweeting events that are of interest to your targeted niche.
Find an event (it could be anything – a press conference, keynote speech, convention, sports game, etc) that is relevant to the niche you want to build an audience in. Do some research beforehand, such as the main twitter accounts that are associated with the event (speakers, brands, companies) and see if any official hashtags have been created in anticipation of the event. Reference this list while tweeting about the event.
Publish Your Twitter Account Everywhere Online
Make sure to add your Twitter account name anywhere your name or brand is published. Add it to:
- Your website
- The signature of your emails
- Online biographies
- Social networks such as Facebook or LinkedIn
Basically anyplace where your brand or name is mentioned is an opportunity to promote your Twitter account.
Get Your Twitter Account Seen Offline
At this point, just about everyone knows that the @ symbol, followed by an account name is a call to follow them on Twitter. Use this understanding to your advantage and get your Twitter account out into the real world! Put your Twitter account on:
- Your business card
- Material that would be distributed to those within your targeted niche
- Print advertising
- Prominently display it in your business
- A tattoo (#notmeantasafactualstatement)
And don’t forget good ol’ fashioned word of mouth! Telling people you are on Twitter can be a very direct tool to get people to follow you.
Let’s Go Exploring!
Following these strategies will help get your account well underway toward achieving a dedicated and engaged group of Twitter followers.
Remember these steps for Twitter success:
- Fill out your profile completely
- Start tweeting 3-5 times a day
- Follow 10-20 accounts and interact with them
- Engage with users that follow you Use hashtags
- Promote your Twitter account online and offline
You’ve got a blank Twitter canvas. Now, let’s go exploring!
Ryan Miller is the SEO Manager for Advance Internet and an obvious fan of Calvin & Hobbes. You can follow him on Twitter @cromiller to see him practice what he preaches, and add him to your circles on Google+.
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