The Twitter Impact on Business Research

by Nicole Munoz

Twitter is more than a social media tool. It is a search tool in its own right. Businesses can find hot topics and join and conversation so that they stay on top of chat trends, track the habits of their influencers, engage with their followers and also spy on the competition.

Build Brand Management

Don’t leave your branding to chance. Following a plan is more likely to help you quickly attract and secure the minimum 1,000 followers you really need in order to gain accurate tracking results. You can use third-party Twitter tools like HootSuite and Twitalyzer to help manage your brand and find out what people are saying about it, as well as how your brand is perceived – but before this will work, you need to make sure you’ve created a strong Twitter presence. Fill out as much of your profile as possible, using your audience’s most popular search keywords; and brand with your business name.

Register using your name in the “Full Name” field and your company name as the “Username”… unless you are branding individual products. In that case, register as your company name in the “Full Name” field and use your company name plus product name connected by an underscore. This not only makes it easy for you to measure Twitter stats for each product or niche; it makes your product or niche Twitter accounts searchable.

Use common sense and keep your target audience in mind, when creating company Twitter accounts. And since 50% of all customers follow a brand for customer service, be sure to create a customer service Twitter account too, if your business involves more than a handful of clients.

List your business Twitter account in Twitter directories such as Social Brand Index, We Follow and Twellow, making sure you place yourself in the correct category, to increase your chances of showing up in search results for those categories.

Don’t forget mobile users…

Twitter’s own official blog reported earlier high engagement from mobile users in the UK, who find Twitter easier to handle on mobiles than other social networks. The blog study’s conclusion: Mobile users follow brands and almost half these users recommend brands they follow – so if your target market members are mobile users, you can’t afford to be casual about your Twitter presence.

Once you have set up strong Twitter Profiles for your company accounts, researching activity around your own brand becomes much easier, with more accurate results.

Do Topic Research

Face it – finding topics by checking out the “What’s Trending” widget doesn’t often result in a relevant match for your business.

And people who throw references to currently trending celebrities into business blog posts are more often than not doing themselves no favors at all, since they are likely to attract:

Zero business searchers
Annoyed searchers looking for news about their favorite celebrity – only to find one skimpy reference something along the lines of “Lady Gaga has the right idea about marketing”.

To find trends relevant to your business: Use Twitter’s own Advanced Search page.

Simply enter your keywords, and view the results.

Notice the wide, practical and useful varieties of search parameters the Advanced Search function offers:

Words – includes hashtags, exact phrases, any or all of “these words” and “written in”
People – you can search particular tweets to and from specific accounts, as well as searching tweets mentioning specific accounts
Places – use geo-targeting by searching tweets mentioning specific places and nearby locations
Other – you can also specify that posts you are searching for be positive, negative or questions. And you can include retweets.

Other Top Tips for Topic Research:

If you want to be counted among Twitter’s top influencers, you need to know that Twitter itself measures this by the number of retweets you generate. One quick way to increase your retweets: Keep your tweets shorter than 100 characters. And ask your followers to “Please retweet”.

Keeping track of who retweeted you and what they retweeted can not only help you monitor your brand, but give you valuable clues as to which subjects (via your tweets) are “hot” for your followers (and target market); which ones make them interact with your tweets – and which ones leave them cold.

Manage Your Followers

Another thing that can hurt you in today’s online climate: Going for numbers over quality, when it comes to attracting followers. Every spammer you leave on your account will hurt it in Twitter’s eyes.

Get into the habit of also checking for new followers daily through your “@Connect” menu tab.

By all means add people when they follow you – but do it manually. Check them out first to make sure you haven’t inadvertently added an auto-spammer who never personally engages.

Go through your account and get rid of anyone who doesn’t fit your niche or actually engage with you.

Find New Audiences

You don’t even have to leave Twitter to find new audiences. In addition to all the usual prompted ways to connect (searching your email accounts, for example), there are third-party sites and apps you can use, as well as searching hashtags and using Advanced Search.

But there are a few key actions that top Twitter users seem to take. Before chasing off after the latest app, make sure you have these set in place:

Tweet focused, fascinating content.

People are tired of serial retweeters and spammy marketing messages. Make sure that whatever you share – whether or not it is personal or promotional – speaks directly to your target listener, firmly hooking into her areas of interest. Keep your company mission or goal as central to every tweet. Before hitting the button, ask yourself “does this detract from what I want to portray… or is it in alignment?”

Make sure your tweet is unique and personal (in that it doesn’t sound as if it was written by a robot).

This tweet was chosen by Twitter as a “Top Tweet” – meaning that out of all the tweets created to promote (in this case) a particular hashtag, this one was the tweet retweeted most – and, if you remember, retweeting increases your Twitter status.

Now you’re ready to find a bigger, targeted audience – and they are ready to find you.…

Search through authority blogs you regularly read. Look for people who comment or guest-author.

Follow the blog administrator or creator. (Particularly follow the Twitter Advertising Blog, since this tells you what makes money for Twitter – and therefore will be important for your own Twitter research.

Join Twitter Chats. This is a great way to become known and find quality people to follow. There are several sites like TweetReports displaying the latest TweetChat schedules – both multiple subject and niche-specific.

Create a Chat. Don’t just wait to find the right one – create a regular, weekly TweetChat specifically for existing subscribers – and ask them to share it. Don’t forget to put your TweetChat name and hashtag right in your Profile Summary.
Join Groups: LinkedIn Groups for strictly business; Facebook for a wide selection of special interests and Yahoo Groups for hobby niches.

Again, Groups allow you to become known – which lead to “follows”. So be sure to include your Twitter handle in your Profile and posts or post signatures (if allowed).

Join Forums or Membership sites that are built around your niche. Provide quality comments, answers and questions. Be there – daily and regularly.

And – again – include your Twitter handle wherever it’s allowed within those sites.

Searching and using Hashtags

Hashtags can be a powerful tool, when it comes to letting your ideal follower know you exist and allowing you to find quality people to follow

Surprisingly, a recent report released by Business Insider Intelligence on factors affecting follower growth cited the use of hashtags (along with tweeting negative emotions and talking about oneself) as one of three factors adversely affecting account growth.

Who overuses hashtags? Anyone who inserts more than two in a post – and uses hashtags in every post.

Two hashtags should be the maximum you ever use in a post.

Using Twitter as a business research tool doesn’t just mean finding out facts on Twitter: it means that you, your company and your products should be researchable too. The best strategy involves starting out with focused branding. This will quickly allow you to research the impact of your own brand within Twitter, as well as your competitors’ brands.

Twitter for Business Step-By-Step Guide: How to Grow your Following on Twitter

by Nicole Munoz

The number one rule of growing your following on Twitter – one that nobody seems to talk about – is this: If you want quality followers, follow quality people. And don’t just follow…Interact.

What hooks people is conversations – interesting comments and fascinating, wise, witty or provocative responses. No matter how excellent your content, if your feed is nothing but a one-way tweet, with you posting and never bothering to respond to people who reply to your posts or retweet them, you will make the very people who are trying to engage with you feel invisible (and slightly silly, if they’re very sensitive).

Nothing turns people off more than being ignored (it can be embarrassing and annoying).

Granted, we’re all so used to Twitter feeds now that we’re not exactly crushed if someone misses one of our responses. In fact, if we’re honest, most of us will admit to forgetting our own tweets to the point where we have to view the “conversation” to remember what our follower is replying to. But here’s a tried-and-true rule of thumb:

The newer followers are to the web or to a niche, the more likely they are to be put off by being ignored

Another one for you:

If you have tweeted about an emotionally-charged issue (emotionally-charged for your follower, that is) and ignore their response, the more likely you will alienate them

And even the most confident person on the planet isn’t going to waste their valuable time if they respond to your tweets and all they get back is…empty air.

Consistently.

Actively initiating, joining and maintaining conversations is the best way to get started in growing a valuable, active following.

Step 1. Decide on Your Objectives

But don’t just fire off shots at random: First make some conscious decisions.

What do you want your Twitter feed and profile to do for you? For your followers?
How can Twitter improve your branding?
What is your “identity”? Your unique persona and “voice”?

What do you want your followers to do? (E.g. visit your website, buy a product, listen to your talk radio show, etc.)
What can you do for your followers? How can you help them?
What do you love about your business? Your followers? Your niche?
What do your followers love about your niche? Your business? You?
What do your followers care about? Have problems with?
What makes them sign up?
What makes them share and retweet?
What makes them buy?

Taking time to answer these questions carefully and thoughtfully will automatically help focus your own Twitter posts, retweets and responses.

Step 2. Top Ten ElevenTwitter Mistakes

Before we look at ways to grow your following, it’s important to know what mistakes to avoid. The reason?

Most people make them. It’s as simple as that, so let’s start with the biggie that we’ve just discussed…

Not acknowledging mentions, replies, tweets addressed directly to you or retweets. (It’s called “self-absorbed tweeting” when you consistently never respond.)
Posting too many tweets in one day (or even in one hour) so that you jam up your followers’ feeds.
Making inconsistentappearances – People soon give up on tweeters who are there one day and absent for several weeks.
Going dormant. When you disappear off the Twitter grid, people simply forget you.
Not realizing that a portion of your audience most likely prefers Twitter to the point of not using other social networks (especially if they are mobile addicts)

Retweeting the first vaguely acceptable tweet or link you come across, usually just for the sake of posting something
Auto-posting 100% of the time via a social media manager or app
Not remaining on Twitter for at least ten minutes after you post something, retweet or reply to something
Not varying your tweet types or media. For example, always posting links to blog posts. Never posting photographs or infographics
Not leaving room in your tweets for retweets and comments
Not making your posts interactive enough. (That includes using calls-to-action.)

In order to capture a follower’s attention and make them want to respond (or at least check out your profile), it has to trigger that follower to respond.

In the next step, we’ll talk about effective ways to motivate them in engaging.

Step 3. Top Ten Twitter Tactics for Making Friends

As a famous starship captain once said: “Engage!” That’s a word that’s become somewhat overused in the last couple of years, but it doesn’t make the principle any less true.

We’ve spoken about the importance of taking part in the conversation and being present on a consistent basis in the Twitter stream: Now let’s look at some specific techniques to increase follows.

Vary your tweet media, types and content. Your Twitter feed will feel more natural if you mix photos with the odd blog post link with the odd question or offer.
Decide in advance what response you want from viewers. Then actively invite it.
Ask irresistible questions.
Always answer questions. This is one of the most effective steps you can take – and it really will set you apart from the Twitter horde.
Share information your followers will find priceless generously.

And do it for free.

Make it social and friendly.

Never swear or use coarse language. That includes giving yourself permission to have a day “off” from always being polite – after all, the person saying “#$(%*” is you, right?
Use events to generate extra interest in your Twitter profile even while you are using Twitter to generate extra interest in your event. (But remember to seamlessly keep up the connection after the event is over!)
Use tools like Social Oomph to track keywords, create an extended Twitter profile, create a personal Tweet stream in either RSS, XML or JavaScript format, and more

Be positive. Negativity leads to self-absorption (or vice-versa). Either way, negativity kills engagement and triggers Unfollows.

Step 4. Spread the Word

Here’s another point that’s frequently missed: Who do you want to spread the word to? Potential customers or clients, right?

If that’s your objective, make sure you follow:

Potential customers and clients
Positive, enthusiastic competitors (they will share your tweets, if you share theirs)
Focused, relevant peers
Industry or niche experts
Fun, fascinating people
Accredited authority sources

The old maxim is true: Like attracts like.

Once you have everyone in the same room, actively encourage them to spread the word about you to their friends, clients, customers and peers.

Do this by:

Being irresistibly re-tweetable.

If it’s a tip you’re sharing, make sure it’s one they won’t be able to resist passing on (and gaining glory for sharing)

Make your followers look like heroes.

Recognize and applaud their accomplishments. Give them credit, when credit is due. Thank them for tips or services. Recommend them (and say why) on #FF (“Follow Friday” – a Twitter tradition of giving shout-outs about your favorite Twitter people, to help each other grow traffic).

Write for the press.

News media people are more active on Twitter than you might think. (Just look at some of your own radio or TV news channels and take note of how often they lift news from Twitter accounts).

So at least once in every six tweets, sit down and ask yourself the same question you ask whenever you write a press release: “Is it newsworthy?”

No, you may not get your profile promoted on the national news: But you could get your tweet shared on an authority blog or online magazine.

Integrate and share your content.

Another way to attract followers and spread the word: Ensure they see your Twitter tweets (and know you’re available to follow) by integrating your twitter badges, icons, buttons and widgets on other site profiles and especially on your blog or website itself.

Use graphic media to increase shares

Twitter has noted the advantage Pinterest and Facebook provided with their graphics-sharing capabilities, and has gone out of its way to ensure that Twitter users can now easily share graphics and even video too.

Graphics catch attention and create more engagement, so make sure you include a healthy dose of graphic media in your Twitter feed.

Find more followers using apps and online tools

Using tools like Twtrland and ManageFlitter can streamline and fast-track finding targeted peopled to follow – and potential followers.

Don’t rush finding more followers. And above all, don’t blindly follow or encourage spammers. Twitter is not about the numbers, and the only people who really care about how many followers you actually have are statisticians and spammers.

Go for quality, post quality tweets, share and use tools wisely – and your following will grow at a healthy pace.

Top 10 Ways to Grow Your Twitter Following

by Nicole Munoz

Having a strong Twitter presence is essential for your online business strategy. It allows you to quickly respond to real time events, make announcements that people pay attention to, distribute content, build trust and put out fires. Also, the larger your Twitter following, the better your chances are of creating content that can “go viral.”

Growing a Twitter following from scratch can be intimidating. How do you go from zero followers to hundreds to thousands to tens and hundreds of thousands? These are ten of the top ways to grow your Twitter following. Use these to kickstart your Twitter account or help it reach the next level.

#1 – SEARCH YOUR DATABASES

People often underestimate the amount of contacts they already have. Searching your databases and adding followers is a fantastic way to get new followers.

Start with your shopping cart buyer list. Since you’ll always have their first name, last name and email address, you’ll often be able to find people’s Twitter usernames. Also, check out their website and look for a Twitter contact if they provided a website during their checkout process.

Follow anyone who has already bought from you. Since they already know and trust you, there’s a very good chance they’ll follow you back.

Next, go to your autoresponder contacts. Again, search by names and emails.

Finally, search through your existing email contacts. Import your Gmail, Yahoo! Mail and other contact databases and look for people who know you. Follow them. Most likely, they’ll follow you.

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#2 – SEARCH YOUR BRAND NAME AND ADD FOLLOWERS

Look for people who’re already talking about you. Since they’re discussing you, there’s a good chance they’ll be interested in following you.

Search for your brand name, your product name and any other relevant keywords using Twitter’s search function. Then follow them. You can also @reply them to increase the chances that they’ll follow you.

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#3 – FOLLOW LEADERS AND JOIN CONVERSATIONS

Use tools like WeFollow.com, Klout.com and PeerIndex.com to find influential people in your industry. Follow these people and look for interesting conversations.

When people talk about something interesting, join in the conversation. Post insightful @replies and comment on popular relevant hashtags.

This allows you to leverage other people’s brands and other people’s influence to help you build your follower base.

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#4 – BLOG COMMENTING

Find high quality blogs in your industry. Leave high quality comments that offer value to other readers. Provide tips in your comments that other people would appreciate.

At the bottom of your post, sign off with your Twitter handle. People who appreciated your post will come and find you. Some blogs even have a plugin that allows you to include your Twitter name or you may be able to log into Twitter to post.

Note: Don’t spam. Provide real value and only mention your Twitter name.

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#5 – ADD SOCIAL MEDIA BUTTONS

If you have a strong web presence, use it to promote your Twitter following. Add social media buttons at the bottom of each post and in the sidebar of your website.

Make it easy for people to retweet your content. You should have not only a “Follow” button on your site, but an easy button people can click to instantly retweet posts they liked.

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#6 – HOST A TWITTER CONTEST

Contests have a tendency to go viral, especially if retweeting is a part of that contest.

Create a prize that people would want to fight for. Then create a contest that revolves around people retweeting your contest. You can also add other elements to the contest, like video submissions or getting their friends to vote.

Announce your contest on Twitter, on Facebook, to your email list and to your blog or website.

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#7 – RETWEET OFTEN

Retweet other people’s content as often as possible. Of course, you want to make sure that you’re only retweeting high quality, relevant information. If you see a piece of content on the web that you think your user base would like, retweet it. Don’t be stingy with retweets.

Whenever you retweet someone else’s message, you generate goodwill. If you do it regularly, people will take notice. You can then start to build a relationship with them.

Then, if you post something that you think would benefit their audience, you’ll have enough clout to ask them for a retweet. More often than not, they’ll say yes.

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#8 – ADD TWITTER TO ALL YOUR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS

Add your Twitter name to all your promotional materials. Put it on your business cards, your posters, your letterheads, your pens, your website and anywhere else.

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#9 – USE SPONSORED TWEETS

Sponsored Tweets (http://www.sponsoredtweets.com) is a tweet marketplace where you can buy tweets from people who have major followings. Prices for putting out a tweet can cost anywhere between a few dollars to several thousand dollars.

Sponsored Tweets lets you sort feeds by price, by follower numbers and by category. If you only want to target authors for example, you can filter your list so that you only see authors who want to get paid to put out a tweet.

Paying for a sponsored tweet on other feeds in your industry is a fantastic way to gain more exposure. Make sure you check out their user base and level of engagement before paying for a tweet.

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#10 – USE PROMOTED TWEETS

Promoted tweets are paid tweets that show up prominently on people’s Twitter feeds. At the time of this writing, Twitter doesn’t have a self-serve advertising platform. Instead, you fill out a form to get in contact with Twitter’s internal advertising team.

If you have a significant marketing budget, this is a fantastic way to skyrocket your influence. You’ll get your message in front of people who may not have otherwise heard about your brand.

These are ten powerful ways you can build your Twitter influence and gain more followers. If you have money to spend, you can use paid tactics like sponsored tweets or promoted tweets to boost your influence rapidly. Otherwise, you can use organic tactics to steadily yet quickly grow and expand your follower base.

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