Naturally, every business wants a piece of the action on Twitter, but on a platform with that many eyeballs, every business better have a strategy first. From a company perspective, this initially makes sense. A business envisions Twitter as yet another marketing platform from which it can blast forth corporate messaging, advertisements and, occasionally, customer support
Unfortunately, many fail to realize that Twitter is not, at its core, a business tool.
While a company may feel it is being innovative by reaching out to a new audience on Twitter, that same audience often feels that the business’s tweets are spammy, phony and even creepy. The alternative is not to keep businesses off of Twitter, as there is a lot of good that comes from engagement on this platform. Instead it’s important to show off your company and brand in a way that paints both in a positive light, making followers eager for that next tweet.
To do that, here are four faux pas that companies should avoid, and some basic tips for crafting an approach that appeals to fans.
1. Think Quality Over Quantity
A business pursues leads on Twitter because it thinks prospects are more likely to engage with them on this platform. So why do businesses think it’s acceptable to tweet every five minutes about their products, services and new releases? Twitter has a 140-character limit for a reason.
Rather, publish engaging snippets that will spark a conversation. Have you seen the people who take the alternative approach and post a flurry of tweets in a short time to get “exposure?” They get exposure, but not the kind they want. Guess what happens next? Unfollow.
Phil Rampulla, founder of The Materials Group, believes that “brands need to resist the urge to be a fire hose of content.” On Twitter, the quality of the content carries much more weight than the quantity. Remember, if you are just pushing for sales, you’re limiting your exposure and hurting your brand. If you are posting something valuable and interesting, it will get retweeted and reach a wider audience.
2. Be Clear About Who You Are
One of the coolest things about Twitter, and about social media in general, is that it lets you have a real conversation with people who might not otherwise be able to reach you. However, when followers don’t know who you are, it can be difficult to find common ground. A basic concept that a surprising number of businesses miss is to include the proper amount of information on their Twitter profiles.
“Many companies forget about a customer’s first impression when they stumble upon a business Twitter page. Company Twitter [profiles] and backgrounds should contain detailed information on the business and what the business actually does,” says Nicole Minadeo, senior account executive at Resolute Consulting. But that’s not all. Twitter bios and profiles should also contain information such as the community manager’s name.
If your company has a high-profile and social media-savvy CEO, it is not unreasonable for that person to handle tweets. Of course, this might not be feasible. In that case, there is nothing wrong with putting a face to a name and giving your social media specialist some room on the company Twitter page. When it comes down to it, fans like to know they are talking to a real person, not a robot.
3. Don’t Play Robot Stalker
Have you gotten those annoying robotic messages? They come in the form of scheduled tweets with generic information or auto tweets with useless messages. These can turn off fans and discredit your social media efforts extremely quickly.
If you are not going to personally respond to a follower who messages you, then don’t bother with an automated reply. It will ultimately lead that follower to believe he’s dealing with a system instead of a real person, and he probably won’t try contacting you again.
4. Definitely Be Useful
Sometimes, keeping an eye on users and targeting responses can be effective, but only if the information you send is useful. “For instance, I tweeted that I had not seen the movie Bridesmaids,” says Leslie Richin, social media strategist for Low Maintenance PR. “@TiVo responded that Bridesmaids was appearing on HBO, and cc’ed me in the tweet. Because of that, I did in fact watch Bridesmaids that night!”
Just remember, people will be put off by any kind of targeted messaging that seems inauthentic. As you craft your company’s Twitter strategy, keep in mind that people want to talk to people on Twitter. Keep it fun, keep it interesting, and above all, keep it real. Your followers will thank you for it.
by Curt Finch
http://mashable.com/
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