Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Flipboard 0 For the busy entrepreneur looking for fast and effective ways to build a social media presence, connect with their peers and engage with their target audience in real time, Twitter is the ideal place. If used correctly, the platform can become a true goldmine of relevant industry information, valuable relationships and new customers. To help, here are several strategies busy entrepreneurs can use to up their Twitter game. Name one top strategy for busy entrepreneurs looking to up their Twitter game. 1. Join Conversations Twitter is rich with niche conversations relevant to every industry. Too often, entrepreneurs use Twitter for one-way communication, sharing their insights and accomplishments without engaging in dialogue. To up your Twitter game, research hashtagged conversations relevant to your business and join in. It’s a great way to establish valuable relationships and increase awareness of your brand. – Chris Madden, Matchnode 2. Tailor Your Content Tailor your content so it fits in specifically on Twitter, rather than just copying and pasting from somewhere else, like Facebook. When you make that mistake, only the first 280 characters of your post show up on Twitter, with a link to the rest of the article. Your followers will see through that and view it as lazy or uncaring. Summarize the Facebook post and then include a link, which is much more professional. – Andrew Schrage, Money Crashers Personal Finance 3. Connect With Thought Leaders You’ll find key voices or thought leaders on Twitter who have a number of followers and also provide great information. Follow them, engage with them and try to share relevant content. If you’re able to connect with them, you could leverage the relationship to build a following for your own brand. You may also get guest posting and other opportunities. – Blair Williams, MemberPress 4. Share Industry Content Don’t let your Twitter solely be a mouthpiece for you and your company. Branch out by looking at trending content and news within your industry, and share the articles or tweets that most appeal to you and your followers. Be sure to include a line or two about what you think about the content to spark a discussion about it. – Amine Rahal, IronMonk Solutions 5. Add Value Early One of the best strategies on Twitter to grow your audience is to continuously get seen by the same target audience. You can do this by picking a handful of thought leaders in the industry you are in and responding quickly to their tweets. When you add value or make a point that resonates, you will immediately tap into that person’s audience and get many new eyeballs. This will lead to new growth. – Jared Polites, LaunchTeam 6. Join the Top Twitter Topics Find popular Twitter threads in your industry or field and join the conversations that are already happening. This is the pro way to get engagement and results versus starting your own discussion. For an added benefit, be the person to ask questions of the authority in the Twitter conversation. Consider this a period of discovery and you will likely make new followers from this strategy as well. – Matthew Capala, Alphametic 7. Build Social Proof Consumers on Twitter are all about engagement. If you want to up your Twitter game, make sure you’re building social proof for your business. You can respond to comments, share positive reviews and mentions and generally engage with your audience where they hang out. When you combine all three of these elements, people on Twitter will see your brand as reputable. – John Turner, SeedProd LLC 8. Add Visual Content Who wants to read text day in and day out, especially on social media? Our eyes get tired and it’s natural to want something new to look at. That’s why it helps to add visual content to your Twitter marketing strategy. Users gravitate toward videos, images, infographics, etc. that let them interact with the content directly, instead of staring at walls of text. – Stephanie Wells, Formidable Forms 9. Schedule Your Posts Entrepreneurs are busy, so why not utilize Twitter scheduling? Then, no matter what you’re doing or where you are, and regardless of whether or not you have internet, your posts can still go live on Twitter. When you get back online, you can see what’s been happening while you were out and engage with your followers. This allows you to still be able to post to Twitter even if you’re busy. – John Hall, Calendar 10. Post at the Right Times Different audiences interact online at different times, so it’s important to know when yours is active on social media so you can send them relevant messages they’ll see. Research your target market and their online activity so you can create a social media marketing strategy that posts at the best times to improve engagement and drive traffic. – Jared Atchison, WPForms 11. Utilize Short Links Twitter is supposed to be sweet and concise by respecting the character limit. Sometimes scrolling down the Twitter feed can be overwhelming — many people violate the character limit, use lengthy links and post their blogs. So use short links like bitly, customized to your domain, for converting any hyperlinks. This will also allow you to more easily drive people from Twitter to your blogs and websites. – Kelly Richardson, Infobrandz Twitter Tweet Facebook Share Email This article was written for Business 2 Community by Young Entrepreneur Council.Learn how to publish your content on B2C Author: Young Entrepreneur Council Follow @YEC Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most successful young entrepreneurs. YEC members represent nearly every industry, generate billions of dollars in revenue each year and have created tens of thousands of jobs. Learn more at yec.co.… View full profile ›More by this author:9 Easy Ways to Engage Your Customers With Your Content12 Ways to Breathe New Life into Your Social Media Strategy Next Year9 Tasks Sales Teams Should Focus on During New Year Q1 Planning