The #sbbuzz community has gotten together to offer some advice to those businesses who are just starting out on Twitter. Like any new community, the community on Twitter can be a little overwhelming when you first join in. So we’ve taken it upon ourselves to lay a few bread crumbs for anyone newly coming down this path, because we realize the more people making this journey, the better experience it is for all of us.
Developing relationships:
- samuraivt: Listen, follow those who interest you, be social and engage in conversation. Don’t just pitch. Don’t automate. Be human.
- yourjobmyoffice: Don’t hesitate to join the conversation. Most welcome your input.
- PatriceRutledge: one of my favorite tips for Twitter newbies is to focus on developing relationships, not on selling
- scoblitz: Don’t just broadcast. Communicate and interact with people (we are people behind the avatars)
- SCOREChicago: Believe your personal opinion is of interest to people
- nrohrbach: Be yourself, be genuine, twitter may be good for advertising, but try to connect with folks, not spam them!
Growing your network of followers on Twitter:
- wvpmc: I see a lot of sm biz neglecting to broaden their follower base – a waste of time to talk to no one
- imaginestudios: Search for people in your field. Those you can learn from & those you can reach out to. Then start building relationships.
- merylkevans: Quality not quantity. Participate not stand by and wait for someone to talk to you.
- joemagennis: Follow ideas, not people ie. Don’t worry about numbers of followers and following… Follow topics found via search.twitter.com
- yourjobmyoffice: Q1 find out where/when are the chats that discuss topics relevant to your biz and then – follow. Like tonight!
- helpbusinesses: Q1 use the hashtags http://hashtags.org/ as well & start off by following a few who peak your interest in a particular category
- gwickes: Q2 follow key words via tweetdeck. Then provide some quick tips, guidance vs. ur company pitch… better to start a dialogue
- imaginestudios: Take advantage of #followfriday to share valuable tweeps with your followers in their field (me = book people for writers)
Developing a plan for your business use of Twitter
- bradfordshimp: Take as much time as you need to figure it out first. Then make a plan for how it can help your business. What will it lead to?
- merylkevans: Know what you want out of Twitter so you can follow the people who best meet that need.
Suggested topics for business Tweeting
- Timberry: I would suggest avoiding twitter clutter. Tweet about posts, sites, ideas, books, etc., never about lunch, dinner, TV, drinks
- bradfordshimp: Businesses should educate and engage – just don’t go in there with a constant stream of sales pitches – big no no.
- merylkevans: Provide advice, share information and resources, answer questions, ask questions and avoid linking to your site too often.
- helpbusinesses: Talk about your profession & what you know well, find article you read & tweet them if u think others are interested too
- nrohrbach: Personally I talk about the projects I’m working on, things I learn, emotions, I think it’s key to show a person there too
- imaginestudios: Promote with links to your blog, articles, free valuable information. Not sales pitches. Workshop announcements, etc are good.
- pmohara: We use Twitter for customer service, user feedback and general cheekiness
- NJinsuranceGirl: Q2: I like to follow people who share their expertise. Will come to rely on them for their point of view.
- allcaughtup: Share what you do know. Answer questions and simply chat too.
- helpbusinesses: It’s great to provide direct links to your blog or use your twitter account for customer service #sbbuzz
- imaginestudios: Ask followers for questions relating to your field. If you don’t know the answer, find it & @ reply it back.
- gwickes: If you have case study info, content other SB owners can benefit from reading, tweet the link to that useful content #sbbuzz
Recommended Tools:
- samuraivt: Use apps not just twitter.com. Look into @cotweet if you’re developing twitter profile for biz. Use Twhirl. Seesmic Desktop etc
- pmohara: TweetChat good for chats. TinyTwitter for Twitter on mobile devices.
- bradfordshimp: TwiTip.com has good beginner advice on Twitter.
- merylkevans: My blog has list of chats, how to do a chat and other twitter tips as do many others.
- SpeakingTech: Self promotion – sorry – we give bootcamps
- samuraivt: @mashable has lots of blog posts on twitter tips and tools: http://mashable.com/tag/twitter/
- imaginestudios: Hash tags confused me to no end at first. So I favorited this link: http://hashmarksthespot.com
- wvpmc: Twitip.com and Mashable.com are packed with great Twitter resources #sbbuzz
- pmohara: @smallbiz trends has good Tweetchat guide http://bit.ly/1XLo0
- helpbusinesses: Twitter Tips and Tutorials for Beginners http://tinyurl.com/dbhgpr
- pmohara: Q3 and a good list of Twitter acronyms explained http://bit.ly/V6BYi
- DIYSiteExpress: I got started with the report from @karenpurves http://havemoreclients.com/twitter.html
- helpbusinesses: If you find someone & you like their tweet DM them they more than likely will help you get your feet wet or call them