Win A Twitter Gold Medal: Tips From The 2012 Olympics

If you’re on Twitter, you’ve most likely noticed a shift in subject matters this past week. The Olympic games have taken over prime time, my go-to news websites, and now, my Twitter feed. Since the Beijing games, social media usage has increased dramatically all-around, which has naturally lead to more online coverage for this year’s competitions. So far we’ve witnessed good and bad practices by athletes and audiences on Twitter- it could be beneficial for businesses to pay attention to these practices to learn how to tweet like champions. See below for tips on how to use Twitter as an effective business tool.

Brand Management

Twitter is just another extension of your business. Although you treat Twitter differently than your Facebook and LinkedIn pages, you still need to maintain your brand’s image and message across all platforms. Some athletes were criticized, and even kicked out of the Olympics, for forgetting to do this. Here are some examples:

Think before you tweet. Voula Papachristou, a triple jumper from Greece, was kicked out for posting a racist tweet (as deemed by her country’s Olympic committee). She has since then made a public apology, but she will not be competing in this year’s games regardless. Switzerland’s Michel Morganella has also been expelled from the Olympics for posting an offensive message on Twitter. One senseless act can ruin your business and its reputation – don’t let this happen to you. Use common sense.

Stay positive. Nobody likes a “Negative Nancy”. During soccer games this past week, U.S. soccer player Hope Solo made remarks on Twitter bashing former U.S. player and commentator Brandi Chastain for her comments regarding this year’s women’s soccer team. Solo has been getting a bad rep for speaking her mind. You should always try to cater to as many people as possible, without being offensive. By staying positive, your business will be more appealing to more followers and potential customers.

Customer Service

Monitoring your followers and what others are saying about your business on Twitter can really help you stay on top of your game and make necessary improvements to your business. During some games this year, many people were unable to purchase tickets when there appeared to be many unused seats at the same games. Olympic organizers responded to the problem by directly contacting people on Twitter who had been complaining and distributing tickets to them. By responding quickly and helping those who could not obtain tickets before, the Olympic organizers built a better reputation. You can do the same for your business. Check out these ways some businesses are responding to tweets.

Promotion

Promoting your company’s content is one of the prime roles of Twitter for businesses. The same goes for the Olympic games. The official Olympic Twitter page shows a variety of engaging tweets that inform and intrigue followers. By using images and embedding links, your posts can serve as CTAs for your content. The Olympics page also interacts with athletes and other followers through retweets and shout-outs. You want your business to be personable, especially on Twitter. Respond to your followers and produce content that they would like to retweet. The more exposure, the better!

This photo on the Olympic Twitter page is interesting, funny, and engaging – look at all of those retweets!

So now you have some tips on how to conduct successful Twitter campaigns, but what about Facebook? View our Facebook Timeline for Business Checklist for ways that you can increase engagement on your Facebook page!