5 Beginner Twitter Tips for Businesses

These five beginner Twitter tips will set you on the right track to creating a meaningful presence on the network. Bookmark this page to help you keep the engagement going when your audience isn’t actively on your site.

1. Set Up Your Profile

Of course you’ll need a Twitter profile if you’re going to start building a community there, but when we say “set up your profile,” we really mean it. Leave no bio blank, no picture unloaded, no Twitter stream empty. Completely fill out your profile so the new people you start engaging with know exactly who you are—which is a foundation for engaging with you. Social Media Examiner has a great post that goes over the different ways you can maximize your Twitter profile for mobile users

2. Start Following the Right People

There’s no better way to quickly learn “Twitter etiquette” than by following the right people. Start searching for brands you admire, people/influencers in your space, even friends in your contact list to start making your new Twitter presence known. Find new friends by searching for keywords related to your areas of interest and business space. But before you hit that follow button, check out their Twitter activity. See if they’re actually Tweeting content that’s relevant to you; if you’re opening a Twitter account for your business, you don’t want to follow people who’ll never post anything you can’t engage with.

3. Engage With the Right Content

This is where many new Twitter users may hesitate. Be encouraged to favorite, retweet, and reply to posts in which you have something you can contribute. A silent Twitter account is not an effective one, so be brave and start talking to other users. You won’t have a huge following in the beginning, so now’s the time where you can experiment and “be out there” to get noticed. Just remember: Twitter’s value is in real relationship building, so don’t comment just to comment. Think and contribute. The more you can add to someone’s experience, the better value you’re building for yourself in the Twitterverse.

4. Tweet!

Not only am I going to have you replying to other users’ Tweets, I’m going to encourage you to Tweet your own. Got good content on your blog? Tweet it! See an interesting article that’s relevant to your audience? Tweet it! Have a cool picture from your last event? Tweet it! Have some discretion when posting (understand it’s your brand’s image you’re building) but don’t hesitate to the point where you’re totally silent or hardly sounding human at all. Twitterers want to engage with other Twitterers that are funny, smart, and resourceful. Be that all the time.

5. Promote Everywhere

Although engaging with users right on Twitter is one of the best ways to get your new Twitter profile noticed, take this time to promote it on your site and other communication channels (like email) that you may have. And get creative! You can host contests with prizes, Tweet chats, and other events on Twitter to encourage your existing audience base to come over to your Twitter stream for some fun engagement.

Have any other tips you’d add to this Twitter starter guide?

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