Tweet your way to the top

transcript

@helenhammondwww.elephantcreative.co.uk

What?!I don’t get it…Isn’t Twitter just for Britney?

The changing face

For those that don’t know…

The facts…

• 140 characters is all it takes• There are over 180million Twitter

accounts today• About 6% of them are in the UK (that’s

about 10million)• There are around 640 tweets per second• 41% of Tweeters haven’t tweeted since

they opened their account… there is hope!

How’s this relevant to business?1. Twitter’s search engine gets around

600million queries every day2. The majority of users are aged 35+

and have a household income of over £50,000

Not convinced yet?

Things you can do with Twitter• Monitor your brand – what are people

saying about you and your profession?

• Develop your brand awareness• Keep in touch• Announce special deals or activities• Promote expertise• Communicate

Isn’t it really just for Britney?• Lawford Kidd @PILawScotland• Wards Solicitors @WardsSolicitors• Thrings @ThringsLaw• CIPD @CIPD• HSBC• Made by Bob @MadeByBob• Cheap Accounting

@cheapaccounting

Ok, convinced… now what?

• Set up your profile and biog– Your biog should include a bit about who

you are and what you tweet about (not just what you do)

– Logos are ok, but people like to connect with people. Try using a photo of you

– If SEO is important, name your profile photo

– Include your website/blog link in your profile

Done that…next!

• Now it’s time to get out there…– Think of Twitter like a networking event –

DM isn’t the best way to start– Use # to find interesting people to follow– Check out the ‘who to follow’ section– First be interested – find people that

contribute good content and follow them– Then be interesting – provide content

yourself and contribute to the conversation

I want my own contacts!

• So, you’re following people but want people to follow you back?– Twitter is about making conversations so

@people that you’re finding really interesting and strike up a conversation

– Join in the chat – many professional organisations have ‘tweet-ins’ – at the least, get talking in response to tweets you’ve liked

– Retweet (RT), if you enjoy a tweet, to share it with your followers

Got the gist… any other tips?1. If something goes wrong http://support.twitter.com2. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but it does have to be you!3. Engage with people outside of your normal

friends/colleagues4. Use link shorteners like bit.ly to make more room5. As hard as it might be, resist the numbers game. If you

tweet good content people will come.6. Start and end your day with a tweet.7. Find your favourite brands/companies and follow them

for inspiration.8. Make sure you respond to tweets if people are kind

enough to mention you.9. Keep it fresh – set up Google Alerts for topics of interest

– you can tweet directly from there and save time10. Check your profile tab regularly – would you follow you?

And finally…

• Balance promoting with sharing expertise

• Schedule tweets if you’ll be away• Find ways to take it from Twitter to

face-to-face… the rest is up to you!

Don’t be restricted by what I’ve said… make it work for

Tweet your way to the top

Business