How to Build a Strong Twitter Profile for Business

Twitter was created as a micro blogging platform that allowed users to send short messages in 140 characters or less to a mass audience publicly or to an individual privately.  It wasn’t long before both B2B and B2C businesses realized the branding and lead generation capabilities of Twitter.  For business, Twitter is used to network and build relationships with customers, prospects, and other stakeholders.  In addition, it works as a brand reputation monitoring tool.  While it’s relatively simple to set up a Twitter profile, it takes time and effort to get any value out of it.

There are a few things to keep in mind in order to create a strong Twitter profile that delivers value:

It’s About Quality

When it comes down to it, the goal should be to attract quality followers with quality content.  20,000 followers may look impressive, but if those 20,000 followers aren’t engaged they certainly won’t become a customer or a client anytime soon.  Post content that will be beneficial and provide value to your target audience.  It’s OK to post links, but be sure to add something to make it “yours”.  Mention why you are posting it, what it’s about, what about it attracted you, etc.  Merely posting links without an introduction is too robot-like.  Social media is about being social and showing some brand personality.

Relationship Building

Twitter wasn’t created to be a push marketing platform.  It’s about communication.  Follow others that you’d like to connect with and support others by re-tweeting their work if it’s relevant to the needs of your target audience.  Respond to tweets in which you are mentioned and direct messages.  Take the time to prove that you appreciate your followers.

Target Audience Behavior

Many Twitter users follow hundreds of other users.  This creates noise and lots of distractions.  It’s important to understand the best times to reach your target audience on Twitter.  When do they check their Twitter account?  What kind of content are they most likely to share with others or re-tweet?

SEO

Incorporating keywords into the user name, bio section of your profile, and post content (when applicable) can attract an audience that had not previously heard about you.  Use relevant hashtags in your posts that target audience members might use to search.

Remain Professional

While Twitter as a whole is an informal communication medium, you need to keep in mind that it is being used for business.  It’s always best to err on the side of caution when tweeting.  What may seem to be an innocent comment could turn into a disaster.  In addition, it’s important to remember that who you follow says a lot about you.  If you want to follow your favorite raunchy, and sometimes controversial, comedian, open a personal Twitter account to do so.

About the Author:

Brick Marketing is a Boston SEO company that offers search engine marketing and search engine optimization services.  For more information please call 781-350-4365 or visit http://www.brickmarketing.com.