The next step in building your social media authority is to create a Twitter account for your business. Currently there are over 288 million active monthly users on twitter and more than 500 million tweets are sent out each day. Of the active users 80% use mobile devices to access their Twitter feed. With these numbers it is easy to see why it is important to get your business on Twitter as soon as possible.
Get Your Twitter Handle
The first step in creating a Twitter account is to choose your Twitter handle or in other words your username.
Your Twitter handle will look like this in the URL http://twitter.com/YourUsername.
Many of the prime domain names, especially those that end in .com have been desirable for a long time and are hard to find and can be extremely expensive. If you do not reserve your domain name your personal brand or business is at risk and once it is lost reclaiming it can be difficult. The popularity of Twitter has made account names on the site similar.
If you do not claim your Twitter handle you can risk having imposters tweeting using your brand, which could become a major issue for your brand. The popularity of Twitter has led to an exchange market where handles can be bought and sold. It is important to get the Twitter handle for your full name as soon as possible. You will also want to claim handles for any company or products that you currently own or that you have plans to create. You will not be able to truly own your personal brand if you cannot access your own Twitter handle.
To create a Twitter handle, simply go to the Twitter > Click your profile > Settings and in ‘account’ > Username, choose your username.
Branding Yourself
The next step to take before you begin actively using Twitter for your business is to come up with a strategy. The first step to take in doing this is to fill out your user profile completely. Gaining followers is one of the main goals of having a twitter account and no one will want to follow an account that does not seem legitimate.
Look over your websites and profiles and use them to draft your Twitter bio. This is how people will find you on Twitter and recognize you from now on. It is important to be honest, do not brand yourself as an expert in an area, unless you are one. You do want to brand yourself based on your skill set and passions.
Once you have filled out your profile focus on your Twitter background. This will provide you with a chance to extend your brand image on the site. There are several sites that will be able to help you develop customized backgrounds for your Twitter page such as http://www.twitterimage.com/. It is a good idea to create a background that is similar to the format, colors, and logo of your company. When creating your background make sure that you add in additional information that is not found in your profile such as contact information, pointers to your websites, or information about services or products that you sell.
Techniques for Branding
When branding your company on Twitter you should always lead with your company. Use the name of your company as your account name, but make sure to use your own personal avatar and biography.
Many companies realize that many of their employees are on Twitter and they can use them to promote their initiatives. Many of the accounts are mutually branded so the avatar will have the person’s photo combined with the corporate logo.
If your goal is to build a strong personal brand then your handle and avatar should be 100% about you.
Become Known as a Resource or Expert
When it comes down to it, Twitter is a shorter form of blogging, so many of the same rules apply. You should constantly write or tweet about your expertise in a specific topic. When you do this you will be known for it and people will begin following you. If you have a blog, use http://twitterfeed.com/ so that you can sync your posts on Twitter automatically.
Many people use Twitter as a filter. A trusted expert is expected to send their followers relevant and interesting links. Subscribe to keywords and blogs using www.Google.com/alerts. You will then be able to act as an arbiter for the topic by constantly pushing out only the best content on your subject. Think about what you want to become known as and then take those interests and establish a Twitter feed to deliver the content to your followers.
Another great way to establish your Twitter authority is to have question and answer sessions with your followers. The more that you tweet about the topic that you want to be known for, the more people will remember you and when they need answers in your area of expertise they will be more likely to contact you.
Establish a Marketing Plan
Twitter Marketing Plan Elements:
- Email signature: chances are that you already place your website URL or blog and contact information when signing emails, add in your Twitter handle as well. This is a free way to promote your Twitter account with every email you send.
- Website: if you currently have a personal or corporate website then you have a platform for promoting your Twitter handle to people that are likely interested in following you.
- Blog homepage: your blog offers a great place for Twitter promotion. Put your twitter address in the side bar and also promote it in your posts every once in a while.
- Presentations: if you give presentations include your Twitter account on the last page of your presentations.
- Business Cards: make sure to add your twitter account to your business cards
- Networking through Twitter: using the @ symbol when you communicate or retweet on twitter will get you responses and more followers.
Just as with any social media network the more people that follow you, the easier it will be to grow your community. As with most social media sites, content is king so you will want to make sure that you are consistently providing your followers with quality tweets.
