How do we increase our value on twitter?

I posted a question about social media networks about a month ago and got some good feedback here, but we still aren't seeing any production from twitter. What are some ways to improve our revenue and click through rate on twitter? Do we have to develop relationships and have people retweet our stuff or should we concentrate more on how we present the information? Does anyone have any resources that we can look at?

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Cindy Bennett

asked on Sept. 18, 2009

Bonnie Landau

Web Design & Marketing Expert, Landau Design

Posted on Sept. 20, 2009

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Christopher Jablonski

Carroll, I think the answer to your question is both: relationships and content are key.

First, if you're not seeing a lot of return on Twitter, you might ask yourself if Twitter is the right outlet for your business. Not all social media outlets are optimum for all business types. For example, I have a client who is a high-end construction company. They don't work on jobs less than $1 million. Twitter is not for them. The time required to put into Twitter to get the return they are seeking is not worth their effort. That time would be better spent on on outlets where there are meetings of the minds (like group discussions on LinkedIn). On the other hand, I have a client who is a psychologist and the types of tweets she puts out are of great interest to others, so she gets retweeted often and gains new people following her blog based on the information she shares. I don't think she's gotten any actual clients out of it, but she has seen an increased interest in her blog, which has brought her some guest blogging opportunities and even one article. So it gained her PR, which will gain her more attention.

I believe strongly to be successful in any social media arena you must focus on building relationships. Through those relationships you will gain viral marketing without extra effort from yourself. On Twitter you may not make "real" friends, but you can make acquaintances, and those are the people who will retweet your stuff. Following and retweeting people you like will get them to retweet you. And remember every day to search for your name in the search box so you can find and thank any retweets that have been made. Thanking them on Twitter not only gains you a tweet, but makes the person feel good. Also utilize FollowFriday to promote individual Tweeters. For example, don't just say "#FollowFriday recommendations @...". Instead say, "I love following @soandso because every day his tweets make me laugh."

Here's the best blog I've found to learn about Twitter: http://www.twitip.com

Here's a great article that talks about how to write your tweets so people will retweet them: http://www.penn-olson.com/2009/07/30/6-types-of-tweets-that-get-retweeted/

Hope this helps,
Bonnie

Leslie Whittaker

Account Manager, ReachLocal

Posted on Oct. 16, 2009

I agree with Bonnie, first you need to determine if Tweeter is the best social media outlet for your business.

If you decide to continue using Tweeter make sure you focus on building relationships. Do you follow others on Tweeter? If not, you better start. No one wants to start trying to build a relationship with someone who is only out to serve herself. Follow other members, comment on their posts, retweet their content if it is relevant to your industry, etc... And make sure you thank those who do retweet your content.

Can you offer coupons for your business? If so, do so only for Twitter members. Ask questions. Post interesting news stories that relate to your field. Try to be more creative with your postings.

Here is a helpful article: http://www.chrisbrogan.com/50-ideas-on-using-twitter-for-business/

One thing about social media: sometimes it can take awhile and a lot of time before you really start seeing great results. Don't expect immediate results and don't give up. Building relationships takes time.