At first glance, Twitter can seem like a bunch of random noise. But the people who know how to use Twitter to grow their businesses will tell you that it’s a profit machine, once you know a few important fundamentals.
Optimize Your Profile
Like each of your social profiles, your Twitter profile should be optimized. This means that when a person clicks on your profile, they should be able to understand immediately what it is you do, and what you have to offer. This is why it is important to be literal. This is not a place to be rhetorical and mysterious. Putting “coffee lover” or “rebel” in your bio isn’t helpful either, unless you are a barista or a Hells Angel.
The banner on your Twitter profile is a huge piece of internet real estate. Make it work for you. It should be in line with your branding (same colors/fonts as your website), and it should contain important information like how to contact you, how to opt-in to your freebie, etc. You could even consider using this space for client testimonials.
Your profile picture should be a professional photo. Even if you think the photo you are using is very, very, good, if it’s not a professional photo, get rid of it. Consider wearing a bright color (stay on brand), in the photo. Unless you are Apple Computer or Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, don’t use a logo as your profile picture. People want to engage with people on Twitter, not logos.
Compose a tweet that showcases your freebie or special offer, and pin it to the top of your Twitter profile.
Or create a video tweet and pin that to the top of your Twitter profile:
1. Click on your icon and click Twitter Ads.
2. Go to Creatives and click Videos.
3. You can upload your video by clicking the green button at the right or if you uploaded videos before you can just select one of those and click on the icon of composing a new tweet.
4. Enter the necessary information. Check out how much more text you got to put in each of the field.
Pro Tips
✅ Insert hashtags, so whoever is searching for that hashtag will see your video
✅ Include other people who might be interested in retweeting your tweet, which will result in increased brand reach
✅ Preview your work before tweeting it
You can check this video tutorial for a step-by-step guide.
Grow Your Followers
While you don’t need to have thousands of followers to reach your profit potential on Twitter, you do need followers.
One of my favorite ways to grow a relevant, targeted, following, is with a tool called ManageFlitter. Unlike other similar tools, ManageFlitter allows you to filter accounts by very granular criteria. For example, by setting the Follower/Following Ratio filter to 0.7-2.3, I’m able to tell ManageFlitter to only follow people who are following roughly the same number of people they are being followed by. This increases the likelihood that these people will follow me back.
Twitter only allows you to follow up to 2,000 people initially. When you are being followed by 1,980 people, Twitter will than allow you to follow more. So it’s important to follow people who are likely to follow you back. I can also ask ManageFlitter to follow the people who have “business coach” in their Twitter bios. Business coaches are my ideal clients.
I could just as easily as ManageFlitter to follow the people who follow my competitors/peers. When using this tool, it’s very important to stay within Twitters recommended guidelines of not following more than 100 accounts per day. If you abuse this, Twitter will shut you down.
Compile Twitter Lists
Twitter lists are perhaps the most powerful feature inside of Twitter, and the most underutilized. Lists allow you to segment people into any category you wish. If the list is public, the person is notified that you added them to the list, and the list is displayed publicly. If it is private, they will not know; only you will be able to see the list. It is not necessary to follow someone to add them to a list.
A powerful way to do business on Twitter is with a technique I have dubbed “The Shoulder Tap”. Create a list and give it a provocative name. For example “Potential Podcast Guests”. In the description area, write “people who are perfect for mypodcast.com”. When you add them to this list, they will receive and alert. If the name of the list piques their curiosity, they will click on your profile to learn more. When they get to your profile, they will see in your banner, your bio, and your pinned tweet exactly what you’ve got going on and ideally, they will send you a tweet to learn more.
Lists are also an incredible way to listen in on the freshest news on the planet. People across the world are tweeting every moment about what they are thinking and feeling about an infinite number of subjects. Within those tweets are golden opportunities for you to dial in and receive information that is valuable to you and your business.
For example, you might create a private list of competitors. Whenever you click on that list, you can see exactly what they are saying at any given moment. You might create a list of just local reporters, or another list labeled “ICA” (ideal client audience). When you tap into the list to learn about what people are chattering about, you can also jump into the conversation when appropriate.
Use Advanced Search AKA “The ATM Machine”
The advanced search feature on Twitter is a powerful way to find clients who want to do business with you right now. Let’s use an example. Go to Advanced Search here: twitter.com/search-advanced.
In the field “This exact phrase,” type “I need a graphic designer.”
Notice the tweets that surface that have been tweeted within the last few hours:
Note that you can filter tweets by location, as well, if you are a local business.
Try experimenting with different phrases to see what it is your ideal client is tweeting, and then engage!
Implement Lead Cards
Lead cards on Twitter are incredible because you are able to capture email addresses for free, and your audience needs only to click twice on your tweet…no typing required!
1.Click on your icon and click Twitter Ads.
You do need to have an Ads account set up for this, but you don’t have to pay for it.
2. Go to Creatives and click Cards.
3. Click Create Lead Generation Card.
4. Write a short description
5. Upload an image – 800×200
6. Write your call to action.
7. You need to have a privacy policy. There is a free privacy policy generator. Check it out here.
8. Insert Fallback URL. For me, usually it is just my website.
9. Name your card.
10. Click Agree.
11. Click Create card.
Invest in Twitter Ads
In order to truly reach your profit potential on Twitter, it is important to experiment with paid Twitter ads because you are able to target your ideal clients in very unique ways. Twitter Ads are very straightforward and easy to execute.
Here is an example of some of your targeting options.
Cross-Pollinate with LinkedIn
One of the greatest benefits of using Twitter for business is that, because it is such an open platform, you can connect with anyone, whether they follow you or not. All you need is their Twitter handle. If you want to connect with the Human Resources Director, for example, of a particular company, go to LinkedIn’s Advance Search first.
Here are your results:
Now that you have names of specific people, search for their handles over on Twitter.
Now you can tweet directly to this person. If you really want to make an impression, consider sending a video tweet directly from your phone. (Simply press your compose tweet button within the Twitter app, then select the camera, then select the video camera .After recording your message, click send!).
Because Twitter is so heavily trafficked and the most open of all social networks, there is massive profit potential for your business. If you try some of these strategies, please tweet me @jenrgy and let me know your results.
Want more info on how to generate ROI on social? Download Simply Measured’s Social Marketer’s Guide to Social Media ROI below.