As IMA’s social media manager, one of the most commonly-asked questions I get related how to improve social media stats – and rightfully so. However, one question that is a bit more specific is, “How do I make my Twitter account like my favorite celebrity’s account?”
The best piece of advice can best be summed up in a quote from Buddha, “The mind is everything. What you think, you become”. If you think you are something, you can become it. Think like a celebrity and you can become a Twitter celeb!
Thinking like a celeb is just a start when developing your social media strategy. There are few other elements in building up your brand to “Twitter famous” status.
Engage With Your Audience
Build a rapport with your fans, er…clientele. Get on the level of your customers and think like they do.
- What do they want?
- What do the like or not like?
- What are their interests?
- Do you understand their demographic?
The more time you spend engaging with your consumers, the more insight you can gain into what they’re really wanting. You also build relationships with your customers that keep them coming back, as well as referring others to you. Think of engagement as positive customer service – customer service doesn’t always have to relate to negative issues. This is your chance to create a voice for your brand. Make your brand speak in a way that gives customers an impression of what you are all about!
Wait…there’s still more to the benefits of engagement! Yes, there’s more!
You can build your business revenue. You read that correctly; increase sales by engaging with your customers!
An article from BusinessWeek.com stated, “The results of a recent study conducted on July 20 by Wetpaint and the Altimeter Group showed that the most engaged brands on social media saw their revenue grow by 18%.”
“…The most engaged brands on social media saw their revenue grow by 18%.”
So what are you waiting for!? Get to chatting!
Get Personal
When you get on Twitter, it’s always fun to see what everyone else is doing, especially when it comes to your favorite celebrities. One thing you can’t deny is how much you love seeing posts from your favorite celebrity, public figure or band post something that makes them more human. Or even when they share a glimpse into their life that you wouldn’t normally get to see.
Here are 3 examples of celebrities who are doing Twitter right:
Luke Bryan
When he’s not on stage “shaking it” for all his country fans or co-hosting award shows with fellow country star, Blake Shelton, Luke is just like us and enjoys spending off time participating in his favorite hobbies. For him, it’s fishing. We may not have been out on the water with Luke, but he decided to share his big catch with all of his followers so we could share in his excitement!
Luke Bryan Takeaway: What do you like to do when you’re not being your professional self? Do you enjoy fishing like Luke? Or reading books? Maybe even baking? Give your customers a occasional glimpse of what makes you, you!
Britney Spears
Britney is quite the legend in pop music and is currently selling out shows left-and-right in Las Vegas at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. Sure, she’s had her fair share of bad media, but that doesn’t keep Britney away from social media. One thing she does to relate to her fans is show that, no matter what, she sticks with her family. She enjoys taking some time off with her two sons to see concerts herself – and in this case it’s her sister, Jamie Lynn Spears!
Britney Spears Takeaway: If you’ve built a relationship with your clients, share pictures of yourself doing something great for them or a picture showing their success that came because of your product or service. Did you and your family have a special outing or take part in a special fundraiser involving your business? Share a personal side of you that shows not only that you work hard but that you can go out and have fun too!
Carrie Underwood
Carrie Underwood keeps herself pretty busy from selling millions of albums, co-hosting the CMA Awards with Brad Paisley, to lending her vocal talents to other musicians’ albums. In addition, Carrie performs numerous benefit concerts raising awareness for a great cause and volunteers at an animal shelter in her hometown of Checotah, Oklahoma. Even with everything she has going on, she still manages to find time to give others a glimpse into her work.
Carrie Underwood Takeaway: There’s no denying this girl works hard, and she still finds time to give her followers a piece of her life by showing what goes in to her hard work. Do the same! Show progress of a new product or service, post updates of your employees working hard. Not only will it show your hard work but will allow you to showcase your employees and customers hard work!
Focus on Quality, Then Quantity
Now you’ve engaged with your customers (or your many adoring fans, if you will), and shared a glimpse into your personal life, you’ve got a quality Twitter account. Good job!
Now you need to focus on quantity. This is also a very key element in increasing your Twitter status – you need to follow others and like users of your brand. This doesn’t mean to follow everyone that follows you or follow as many people as you can until Twitter considers you spam. Don’t be spammy. No one likes spammers. Plus, you’ve worked hard on making a quality account – don’t get it blocked or reported!
Wikihow has one of the best explanations on how to not be so “spammy”. Don’t go on a “following spree” and follow hundreds of users at once – you may get blocked which will defeat the purpose of all your hard work. Start with 1-200 users and wait for them to follow you back. Once you build up a following, unfollow a few users and then go follow a new group of users. Another tip that they recommend is not to have a large gap between who you follow and who follows you. Always aim to keep your “following” number lower than the number of “followers”. There are various services available to help you with your following if you choose not to do this organically.
Now that you have new knowledge on how to improve your Twitter game, apply it and go out there and show the world how much of a Twitter rock star you really are!
Read more: Four Strategies You Should Be Using With Your Twitter Marketing Campaign