The next stop in Gary Vaynerchuk’s “Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook,” is the fast-paced world of Twitter.
Twitter can’t be treated as an afterthought-a place where you copy and paste your Facebook posts. The Twitter audience is unique and has certain expectations for how the platform should be used effectively. Here are four simple steps you can take to better connect with your Twitter followers:
1. Focus on Context
Twitter is a space of instant news and information. This presents a unique opportunity for businesses to capitalize on trending topics and current events in real time. The key here is to remix relevant news into your business’ own signature style in order to help tell your story.
Now bear with me through this example. Drake released a music video that everyone was talking about online for at least two weeks following. Maybe this doesn’t seem relevant to you and your company at first thought, but what if you spun it in just the right way? Say you’re in the pizza business, and you filmed an employee tossing pepperonis on a pizza in the style of Drake’s now-famous dancing. Add the hashtag #pizzabling, and you’ve just gotten a laugh, or at least a smile, out of your followers. Next time they’re craving pizza, they’ll think of you first.
Hotline Bling jokes won’t work for everyone, but taking news that your audience is interested in and remixing it to fit your brand is the real takeaway here.
2. Listen and Give
There has never been a more direct way to access and engage with customers than on Twitter. Instead of just using you business’ account to tweet out links to your website or to advertise current promotions, consider taking a step back and just…listening.
What is your target talking about? What are they interested in? What are people saying about your company? Use Twitter to reach out to your audience and have actual conversations with them. It’s too good of an opportunity to miss out on!
3. Limit “Birdy Bragging“
It can be tempting to retweet every great thing that people say about your business, but this is a dangerous trap to fall into. In moderation, patting yourself on the back can be valuable (if executed tastefully), but don’t forget that your followers want to see quality content.
If a customer has mentioned you in a a particularly interesting and positive tweet, it may be appropriate to share. However, 10 retweets in a row of you responding “Thank you!” is only serving to clutter peoples’ feeds, and is basically begging for an unfollow.
4. Don’t take yourself too seriously
The Twitter audience values a sense of humor, and the 140-character limit has created the perfect environment for your most clever jabs. Making someone smile or laugh with such limited space is a challenge, but keep in mind what people on Twitter appreciate.
Hashtags are the name of the game (especially funny and ironic ones). You can write out a great tweet, but slap on the perfect hashtag that serves as a witty punchline, and you’ve struck gold. The Twitter-verse also rewards brands who are charming, have a personality and acknowledge their humanity. I know brands aren’t human, but there are humans behind them, so embrace that!
Leave a comment about a way you’ve learned to better resonate with your Twitter follower that’s not already mentioned here!
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