Have you hopped on the social media bandwagon yet ? It’s 2010 and here we are, immersed in social networking. People are practically addicted to checking their Twitter streams, updating Facebook, and the like. So what are you waiting for?
Social media and Twitter in particular is a must-do, especially as a marketer looking to bring traffic to your site. The truth of the matter is millions of users are online everyday telling us what they’re up to. As a marketer it’s almost your responsibility to get active.
Here’s one way to think about it: social media is basically one big conversation that is going 24/7/365. Twitter is the best example of this because EVERYTHING is updated in real time. Just imagine it as a huge networking event – who has the most success in these situations? The people who get active.
To use Twitter, and all social media, to effectively get more traffic to your site, you just need to do one simple thing: be able to listen and communicate with manners in mind. Oh wait, that’s two things….but I digress. 😉
Listen
Most people who use Twitter start out by making a fundamental mistake – they forget they are participating in a global conversation and only participate online in a self serving format. That’s so wrong! While you might find some and I only mean a small amount, of success with this method, you’ll be better off if you listen first to your audience and then develop your messaging strategy.
The below example will not work:
“tweet 1: Hi I’m John I had pizza for breakfast mm so good have you bought my ebook yet….
tweet 2: definitely check out my new blog post omg did you see Jersey Shore last night….
tweet 3: love this product you should buy it now and use my affiliate link please blogged this….”
Simple Manners
The above example is an extreme, but you get the point. Always being self serving isn’t a good idea. What we can also learn from the above is that simple manners can get you far.
A few examples are:
• Don’t be one way with your messaging, help a follower out and RT their stuff.
• Provide valuable content to your followers that naturally engage them.
• Ask questions, and answer questions.
• Put your business branding cap on: don’t be too controversial.
• Avoid: religion, money, and politics.
• Reply to someone who sends you a message whether it be DM or @reply. Now…if it’s spam, no need to response of course.
A Little More Advice
• Put a link to your blog in your bio.
• Add Twitter plugins to your blog.
• Follow back. This may be one piece of advice that others won’t give you, but I always follow back the users who follow me. Again, if they’re spam: no need to reciprocate a follow.
• Make EVERY message you send out short enough for a RT. You’re given 140 characters but if someone tries to RT your message will be cut off. Stay around 100-120 characters in each tweet.
• Be complete in your sentences
• Use short URLs: bit.ly is great. Use it. Love it. Live it.
• Monitor your account on a regular basis. Look to tools like Hootsuite (who just recently got a revamp) or Tweetdeck to help you organize. If you decide to delete all tweets due to tweet spam check out Twitwipe
Remember: Contribute valuable content, connect with other users on a very personal level, and share others information through the use of a RT. These are the keys to using twitter to bring traffic to your blog. Simple conversational etiquette is all it takes to make you stand out!
About the Author
Vern is a writer on a variety of topics including social media and marketing. Vern is also a featured writer on a new expert advice site. Visit YoExpert.com for more information.
Image Credit: Shovelling Son
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