Check out these 5 Twitter tips for sign business newbies.
Twitter has become one of the hottest new ways for businesses to promote their products and services, either by frequently posting links to their web site, or by sending private messages sharing links and information. However, neither one of those will give you a great reception into the world of Twitter. Remember, Twitter is a social networking site. The more social you keep it, the better. How do you manage to advertise your sign shop while shooting the breeze? First, you need to build up trustworthy relationships with the people who decide to follow you. You can do that by putting into practice the following 5 suggestions:
- Be a friend first. Before you start plugging your business on Twitter, you will want to take the time to form real relationships with the people to whom you are connected. Twitter is a giant community; no one will care what you have to say if they don't know who you are. So, make your first steps on Twitter the kind where you are interacting.
- Choose the right time to advertise. When you are first starting to form relationships with people on Twitter, you might be tempted to start talking about your business right away. After all, you are probably passionate about what you do, and the only reason you joined Twitter was to advertise, so why not go ahead and do it? Because you'll turn people off, that's why not. Twitter can be a valuable tool, but if it is apparent that all you care about is your business, no one is going to be interested. Use your profile to link to your web site, and communicate with people well before hitting them with any type of sales pitch.
- Don't say the same thing over and over again. The worst thing about Twitter is the spam. For some reason, there are a great deal of people who think that repeating the same message again and again will get them sales. Frankly though, that is just not the case. If you blast out message after message saying the same thing, chances are your messages will hit the trash bin and you'll be unfollowed in no time flat. If you want to spread the word, post your message and ask people to repeat. If you are advertising a special promotion you might consider repeating a tweet, only after several hours have passed, and only when necessary.
- Be a community player. Have you found other sign shops on Twitter? Follow them. Retweet their tweets. Post stuff up to Digg and StumbleUpon. Share interesting articles you find. Build up a network of people that can work as a little community to garner attention for your business, instead of only concentrating on you and your products. Ever heard of paying it forward?
- Examine your motives. People following you on Twitter are just that: people. They have joined this social network to add a dimension to their social life, so if they decide to include your business in that, its up to them. Just remember your goal should be to help them out, so that they help you out. While your followers may not buy your products, if you give them the promotion and attention they need, maybe they'll retweet a product and get you a sale you couldn't have gotten without them.
Most Twitter users are a little apprehensive about the thought of businesses entering the Twitter world. Come in with the intention to help, network, and form a part of a community, and your business will make more sales on the side. Come in and only promote yourself and your shop, and you'll likely see little success. Your results on Twitter are largely up to you, and how you approach this avenue of social media.
