How Twitter Works
Since its creation in 2006 Twitter has grown in less than five years to be the number 2 social network (second of course, to Facebook). To become active on Twitter you must open an account and start your own Twitter page. These pages can be customized with themes found on Twitter or you can download your own logo and style. Messages that are no more than 140 characters are sent to your followers, these are called Tweets. People who follow you see your Tweets in their message streams and anyone who finds your page can see them. Anyone who searches for you can also find your Tweets making your exposure very large.
To get followers, you can search for people and businesses that have the same interests as you and add them to the people you follow. Hopefully, they’ll follow you too. On your profile you need to list your free Flash website’s address so people can get there from inside Twitter.
How Twitter Can Help Your Business
Twitter can be a powerful tool to promote your business, but don’t just use it as a billboard. You can build contacts, network with fellow business owners and develop relationships with clients and your contacts. It can be easy and challenging at the same time to fit everything you want to say in just 140 characters. Plan your Tweets well so that you get the most out of the space you are allotted. Always have a “Follow us on Twitter” button or link on your Flash website to build your followers. It’s easy to add this with a widget found in your website builder.
Don’t just Tweet about your business, Tweet in response to other’s posts, share interesting links you find on the internet, share new content on your website, and comment on other’s links. Be active and visible, this is the one big secret of Twitter. If you just sit back and read other’s posts it may be interesting but does nothing for the visibility of your business. You want to give people a reason to follow you so be creative with your Tweets.
One way to create a dialogue with your followers is to ask open ended questions. This can start a conversation and keep people in your sphere of influence. This is where hashtags come in handy. When you start a new conversation add a hashtag at the beginning of it. Then you and anyone who wants to join in can easily find all the posts that have that particular hashtag.
For example, you have a website that offers DVD’s and streaming movies. You could start a conversation about people’s favorite movie or actor. Your hashtag could be #ilikeseanconnery. Then when people click on that hashtag at the end of your posts they will be taken to a page that lists all the Tweets that are associated with that hashtag making staying in the conversation easier. You can even post a list of current hashtags you are using on your site and invite people to join in.
You can also have a conversation in real time with a Tweetup. People meet up on Twitter and have real time conversations using Tweets, sort of like a chat room. This is a great way to hold a mini-conference of hold a question-and-answer session. Be sure to promote your Tweetup on your website and Facebook page. Twitter is a great way to connect with clients, future customers, network with colleagues and keep people in your loop. With some creativity you can use Twitter to promote your business and your free Flash website.
