The Tweet Smell of Success

by Hector Cisneros

Don't know a twit from a tweet? Do you think Twitter is a waste of time? Or are you wondering why all the

Image via CrunchBase

 media outlets always seem to mention their Twitter accounts? If you don't understand twitter, then this article is for you! In this article I will discuss many of the benefits that Twitter has to offer any business. I will explain why you want to start using Twitter to help grow your business. On top of that, I will also provide links to articles chock full of useful techniques, tools, pitfalls to avoid and shortcuts you can employ to become a successful Twitter marketer.

Tweets Beat Feet

If you are looking to grow your followers in a hurry, Twitter is by far the easiest social network that can accomplish this goal.  In the first place,Twitter has a corporate culture that is reciprocal. By that I mean that people will follow you back if they believe you have similar interests or have something useful to offer. In many cases these followers are absolute strangers who follow you in order for you to follow them. This is in stark contrast to Facebook which is a much more closed garden where you have to be approved to become connected. On Twitter you can follow someone without them following you back. This makes it much easier to attract a large following on Twitter.

Twitter is No Twit

Tweets are search engine friendly. That means they show up in Google Search, where many other social 

Image via CrunchBase

posts do not. Add to this the fact that Twitter allows for push marketing (messages lead readers to a specific URL) as well as  its innate ability to allow you to search for a highly targeted  audiences, and there is more to Twitter than just tweets. Once you start using Twitter you will soon discover that it allows a person to see what is trending (what most people were talking about). This feature allows you to search tweets to target peoples' interests based on what they are saying.  This is one sophisticated social network.

Once you’re a twitter member you can even use twitter search functions to peruse what other subscribers are saying.  This search function can be carried out based on any keyword you would like to include, such as name, location, subject, occupation, industry, tag line etc. This search function can literally be used to cover anything listed in the twitter subscriber's profile.  

In the past being able to know an audience’s demographic information (age, location, income etc.…) was a 

English: The content of tweets on Twitter, based on the data gathered by Pear Analytics in 2009. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

tremendous benefit for any advertiser. Social networking has advanced this technology by allowing subscribers to search  twitters subscribers psychographic information (personal likes, affiliations, hobbies, interest, favorite shows, books, artist  etc…)  This is extremely powerful and focused way to search for a targeted audience.  

Trick or Tweet?

Once you determine the audience you want to work, the next step is understanding what is and what is not of interest to your audience.  Social networks have a set of unspoken rules of engagement that every networker needs to understand and employ.  Breaching these rules can not only cause you to lose followers, but it can even in some cases cause you to lose your networking privileges.

#1.  It's all about them .  Trying to make it about you won't work unless you’re a celebrity! People don't join Twitter or any other social network except to fulfill something they want.  This usually means  their personal interests, their desired information, and their specific tastes in entertainment or groups they want to connect to. They did not join to see or hear about your advertisements.  If you want people to follow you, be interested in them, be engaging and provide value added useful content.

#2.  Use your grandmother's rules of etiquette to monitor your behavior. Be proactive (be first to help others) be nice, be thankful, be helpful and be courteous. Avoid being short, mean or vulgar. This is a very public and unforgiving  forum. It's extremely hard to take things back!

#3.  Be professional. Understand that people are learning who you are by what you say and how you're saying it. Double check your grammar and spelling. Avoid slang, acronyms, cursing, salacious and derogatory language.

#4.  Provide useful information to a focus targeted audience. Trying to please everyone or to  get everybody to follow you is a waste of time. Target people with mutual interests and constantly provide value added content to win their loyalty.

#5.  Post your information on a regular schedule. Do this preferable once a day at the same time each day . Every audience and interest group has a limit to how many posts they are willing to read each day. If your information is deemed useful, then you can post more often than once a day. Pick a regular time and block out a couple of hours minimum a week to research and make your posts. Make it a fixed calendar item.

#6.  Use tools and techniques' to leverage your time and efforts. Use tools that are approved by twitter. Using unapproved tools can cost you or get you suspended. This includes hash tags, URL shorteners, user management tools (like "JustUnfollow.com")  and aggregating software like Hootsuite and Tweet Deck.  Also don't be afraid to post the same content to other social networks. This is part of creating leverage. You may have to provide some additional format changes but most of your work is already done, so take advantage of the time you have saved.

Below I have included a list of useful articles that can help you become a power user on Twitter.  While Twitter alone is not enough to ensure the growth of your business, learning how to successfully employ it can take your venture one step closer to the sweet smell of success.

Links to other articles and secrets.

Six Cardinal Rules for Success in Social Media Marketing

Six Simple Yet Powerful Rules That Help You Build Your Twitter Flock

Five Powerful Techniques That Attract Twitter Followers

Three Internet Marketing Techniques That Use Leverage To Produce Great Results

Four Principles That Use Leverage to Market Your Business and Produce Powerful Results

Six Clear Reasons why you should be using Social Media to build your Credibility

Trick or Tweet, The vulnerabilities inherent to Twitter and all Social Networks

 The Twelve Secrets of Social Media Success

Seven Secrets of Social Media Magnets

Making Social Media Work for Your Business

What the best Social Media site for a Small Business

Seven Valuable Benefits Social Networks Provide and Social Media Marketers Covet

Social Equity, Businesses use it, here’s how to get some

Social Media and Keeping Up with the Joneses (The Competition!)

How to win friends and influence people in the 21^st Ccentury

How to Win Friends and Influence People in the 21^st Century - Take Two

Success Secret for Social Media Connecting

Three Common Mistakes Business People Make When Using Social Media

Hector Cisneros is CIO of W Squared Media Group, a Jacksnville-Florida based company dedicated to helping clients succeed online.  You can also interface with Hector every Tuesday at 2 pm during his weekly broadcast of Working the Web to Win on Blog Talk Radio.