Tweeting between business and customer is now quite common. With 100,000,000+ users, businesses have much to gain from twitter for business. As tweeting has become more popular, writing a good tweet has turned into an art form; one that many businesses do not embrace or know.
However, to stand out among the rest, it’s important that your small business employs these best tweeting practices to make the best tweets possible
Two Types of Tweet
- Original – This is created from your own words completely.
- Link – Here the bulk of your tweet is a link you wish to share.
Key Points to Remember
When writing your tweet keep these 5 quick tips in mind:
- Treat it as a mini headline – use action verbs, be bold and keep it short and to the point.
- Tease your followers – don’t give it all away. Direct them to your website, or other company supported online account.
- Cater to them – It’s all about your followers; you, your, etc.
- Call to action – always suggest your reader do something, even if it’s simply to visit your Twitter page again soon.
4 Small Business Variations
Small businesses can tweet numerous versions of the standard tweet. Each of these variations requires different wording and layout, which will affect the success of your tweet. These can be broken down into four main categories.
In the moment
For your fans, it’s interesting to know what you’re doing. However, in the Twitterverse, you’re better off sending out a tweet about the why rather than the what. Randsinresponse.com suggests, “It’s a moment of introspection to transform the boring details of your day into delicious group therapy.”
- Bad: “I haven’t left my office once today.”
- Good: “Tax season = glued to my desk.”
Link Sharing
When you’re sharing a link, there are a few aspects to keep in mind. Your actual words and the positioning of the link will affect your click through rate. According to Dan Zarrella of HubSpot, You want to start the tweet using action verbs, or via and @. He also suggests that you place your link about 25% of the way through the tweet.
- Bad: “Here ______.com, you see Sarah Summerson talks about blogging.
- Good: “Find tips @ ________.com to make your own blogging success.
Deal/Discount
The two vital aspects of any tweet regarding a deal or discount: include numbers and tease your customer. People react to numbers, especially when associated with money. Enticing customers to go to your page for more information increases your traffic and puts them in a place to make a purchase right then.
- Bad: “Check out our weekly discounted lamps.”
- Good: “Lamps 50% off, and much more. Find your best bargain at our website!”
The Hashtag
The hashtag is a great way for small businesses to use Twitter. Not only does it funnel tweets in a way that is easy to read through, but it’s more search friendly. The key here is to choose a hashtag that already has some popularity in the search engines, and one that you know will garner support, about your company or otherwise.
- Bad: “Check out our stock of #premiumsocks at this weekend’s festival.”
- Good: “Come to our festival this weekend and restock your favorite collection of #tubesocks. We <3 the #1960s.”
Tweeting has become an art form. With so many businesses partaking in this form of customer engagement, it’s important that you stand out. Creating an exceptional tweet is critical to your success. Still, if all else fails, remember, it’s about them not you.
This is a guest post from Jessica Canders, an avid small business writer touching on topics from social media to telemarketing. She writes for an online resource that gives advice on topics including medical billing software for lead generation resource, Resource Nation.
