While there are some obvious pointers that work across any channel, from the phone to a letter – relevance, value, engaging style – the social networks can\u2019t all be approached in the same way. It\u2019s not just that most of us have used them for personal reasons and it can come as a shock that all that experience sometimes adds up to not much when you have to use them for business. It\u2019s that they have their own identities – their own cultures, ways of doing things and their own etiquettes.<\/p>\n
When you set out to communicate with customers over social media, you can\u2019t treat the business-oriented, longform-friendly Google + (Soon to be Streams) the same as casual Facebook. And Twitter is just as individual.<\/p>\n
Twitter is the \u2018quickfire\u2019 social channel. A tweet is just a few words, so if you have news, often that\u2019s where it goes. It\u2019s a busy channel, and a noisy one, and your tweets will sink without trace if you\u2019re not careful: a tweet has a half-life of less than 20 minutes.<\/p>\n
So how should you utilize this channel?<\/p>\n
1: Speak the language<\/p>\n
Speak the language of Twitter, by using native features: likes, retweets and favorites. Don\u2019t try to use Twitter like Facebook. Retweeting is the Twitter equivalent of curating content on your blog, so find suitable brands to follow and retweet often. But you need to speak the language of twitterers too. Learn it by reading tweets so you\u2019re prepared to fit in!<\/p>\n
2: Show appreciation<\/p>\n
While this isn\u2019t Twitter-specific as such, it does need to to be done in a Twitter specific way. Offer deals, discounts, special content, to your customers via Twitter. Yes, you\u2019re showing customers that you appreciate them, but you\u2019re also incentivising following you on Twitter, and your tweets are far more likely to be seen, liked and retweeted by followers.<\/p>\n
3: Showcase your work<\/p>\n
Twitter is really well suited to posting pictures with the tweet serving as a caption, using hashtags to widen appeal and searchability. If your business doesn\u2019t result in many photo opportunities, that\u2019s not a big problem. Your twitter followers will understand that, so use the channel to boast of problems you have solved for clients. This works best when you retweet your customers\u2019 comments, which you\u2019re far more likely to see if you follow them, so don\u2019t forget to follow in return!<\/p>\n
4: Don\u2019t tell: ask, and listen<\/p>\n
Twitter is the channel people turn to to vent. Ask customers, either in groups or specifically, to comment on your service or recommend improvements. People love doing both these things, and you get retweetable recommendations and feedback from the exercise.<\/p>\n
5: Tweet often – but not too often
\nBecause Twitter is noisy and fast-paced people think the best way to use the channel is to pour tweets constantly,but actually just 2-4 tweets a day is best.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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