Twitter is among the five most popular social media platforms. With millions of active users every day, it is a gold mine of customer insights. Additionally, it offers an opportunity to build one’s brand, drive sales and win customers. Most businesses have adopted the use of Twitter topics as part of their marketing strategy.
However, over half a million tweets are sent every day. One tweet has an average lifespan of 18 minutes since over seven thousand tweets are sent every second. A tweet’s shelf life is four times shorter than Facebook posts. This short life span makes it easy for messages to get lost in the crowd. Your messages are unlikely to stick and make an impact on Twitter when you lack a proper strategy.
Twitter unveiled Twitter Topics to make it easier for its users to find and follow trends and topics they are interested in. The reason for this is that Twitter is swirling with conversations about different trends and issues. As a result, the noise on the platform can make it hard for one to find the content they are interested in, with Twitter Topics, it is easier and more convenient.
What Twitter Topics is?
Twitter Topics is a setting on Twitter that allows you to select and follow trends you are interested in from a list of topics. Once you follow a Topic, more news and tweets related to the topic will start showing up in your Twitter feed regularly. Twitter Topics also allows you to follow people who tweet about relevant topics.
The Topics feature on Twitter was created to shift the platform away from one-off comments toward engaging conversation. Twitter has removed the burden of searching for the information you need by following certain accounts or exploring for it. That said, with the new feature, you can see the most relevant tweets about the things you care about, bringing the conversations you need to you.
Twitter Topics are not just helpful for individual users’ experiences. As a business owner, your brand can significantly benefit from this feature. You can use Twitter Topics to boost your brand awareness by focusing on sharing great content. People who follow those topics have a higher chance of finding your content when you post relevant topics related to your industry.
How To Use Twitter Topics?
To access Twitter Topics, go to your Twitter feed and click on the ‘More’ found on the sidebar, left of your feed. Once you click on “More”, several options will appear, including ‘Topics’. Click on Topics. A welcome message will appear. The pop-up message explains the feature. From there, you can pick the Twitter Topics you would like to follow.
Click on ‘Follow more Topics’ to get a list of more Twitter Topics. These topics include entertainment, gaming, hobbies and interests, sports, music, and radio. In addition, clicking on the plus sign will give you a drop-down menu that has more specific topics within the industry you can follow.
Your Twitter feed will start showing posts pulled in from the Topics you follow. Some tweets in your feed will begin offering a ‘See more about this Topic’ pop-up. This pop-up includes a call to action to follow a topic related to the topic you follow. You can also follow more topics by returning to the Topics page and clicking on ‘Follow more topics.’ Alternatively, you can search and follow a Topic using the platform’s search bar.
If you need to unfollow a topic, you can return to the Topics page and find the topic you have followed after clicking on ‘Follow more Topics’ and clicking unfollow.
Ways Businesses Can Leverage Twitter Topics
Twitter topics is a relatively new feature, but you can leverage it in the following ways as a business owner.
1. Follow topics related to your industry to remain informed.
Any time people research products or services related to your service, they would expect to see that you are well-informed regarding current trends in your industry. When you follow Twitter Topics related to your industry, it will ensure that you stay on top of trends that your followers and customers. Being informed keeps you in the good graces of your clients and potential customers and can thus impact your business positively.
Keeping up with news and trends allows you to watch the conversations around particular Topics, which can, in turn, inform you about what delights your prospective audience, their habits, and pain points. This information will help you keep an updated buyer persona, allowing you the creation of better market strategies for your business.
2. Follow accounts and thought leaders in your industry.
Apart from learning about what is trending and what is not in your industry, Topics can help you learn about brands and thought leaders known for having insightful information in your field. If you see certain people consistently show up on your feeds marked with a Topic you follow, checking out their profile could be good for you. You could follow them to see the kind of content they post. Reviewing the profiles of such people might help you learn more about optimizing your tweets to rank high in the Topics tab, in addition to helping you keep up with insights and trends in your industry.
Additionally, seeing tweets from competitors under a topic related to your brand can provide you with details on what they are doing and help you create better Twitter content or campaigns by improving what they post.
3. Create content related to trendy topics.
Pay attention to Topics related to your products or services that people are buzzing about and start coming up with tweets addressing that trend. For instance, if Twitter users are talking about a problem your product or service can solve, tweet more about the issue and advise your audience can solve it. Alternatively, you can create content that mentions your product and how it can solve the problem.
You are likely to grow your reach by responding to your audience’s needs and teaching them what they want to learn about. Additionally, discussing and responding to your audience improves engagement which is ultimately good for your business.
4. Optimize your tweets using trending hashtags
Hashtags are one of the many ways you can optimize your Twitter content. Hashtags use popular keywords and phrases, and whenever someone clicks on them, they will see a feed of the tweets that have also used the hashtag. Therefore, people will not just find your tweets under the Topics tab when you discuss trending issues; they can also find them when they click on a good hashtag you have used. For this reason, scout trending hashtags and create content that naturally include them to optimize your tweets and profile further.
How Organizations Can Benefit From Using Twitter?
Twitter has been the go-to platform when it comes to topical or trend-based conversations. Topics will help you zone in more on what you care about. However, it is not the only way you can get your content to be seen. Twitter, when used properly, can boost your online brand awareness and follow.
To fully benefit from Twitter as a business organization, you need to develop a foolproof Twitter marketing strategy. Below is an explanation of a Twitter marketing strategy, how to create one, and how you can use it to boost your business.
What is A Twitter Marketing Strategy?
A Twitter marketing strategy is a plan centered around the creation, publishing, and distribution of content for your audience, followers, and buyer personas on Twitter. Among the many goals of the Twitter marketing strategy is to;
- Attract more followers
- Generate leads
- Boost conversions
- Improve brand recognition and
- Increase sales
There are many social media platforms you can market your business, but Twitter is unique. It is a great tool to use for marketing because;
a) It is free to use b) It allows you to share helpful content in your industry in seconds c) It enables you to promote branded content d) It expands your reach e) It works as a search engine tool to search for your competitors and their marketing content to have a feel of their tactics. f) Your prospective clients can use it as a search engine tool to find and learn about your business. g) It allows you to hold conversations with your followers h) It enables you to share the latest updates about your company
How To Create A Twitter Marketing Strategy?
Creating a Twitter marketing strategy requires you to follow the same steps when creating a social media marketing strategy. Majorly, creating a Twitter marketing strategy will involve.
1. Auditing your Twitter accounts
If you already have an active Twitter account for your business, you need first to run a Twitter audit. Running a Twitter audit involves taking stock of what is working on your Twitter profile and what is not. You should do an in-depth review of your Twitter analytics to analyze hashtag performance, Tweet performance, and audience. Other information to collect while conducting your audit should include the number of times your Twitter account tweets, its engagement rate, and how many followers you have. Additionally, ensure that your existing account is brand compliant.
Auditing your existing Twitter account will give you your Twitter performance baseline. This baseline will help you when setting your Twitter marketing goals.
2. Setting your marketing goals
A strategy without goals has no direction. The success of any strategy is highly dependent on clear and measurable goals. Your goals must be SMART. The goals should help your business meet the overall marketing goals. Goals for Twitter may be;
- Building an engaged audience to increase brand awareness
- Networking with thought leaders and influencers to create more connections
- Building brand loyalty through exemplary customer service on Twitter
- Generating leads by directing traffic to an email list or offer
3. Researching your audience and buyer personas
You need first to determine who your audience is so that you may be able to target their interests and needs correctly. You can do this by thinking of the people you are trying to reach and why you are trying to reach them. Then figure out how you would classify them. Considering your audience will help you determine the content you can share to attract more followers, maintain engagement and keep them interested in your Twitter account.
4. Checking out your competition
Review the Twitter accounts of your competitors. Analyzing their Twitter presence can help you refine your strategy by avoiding their mistakes and filling in the gaps they have left. This will make your strategy more unique and thus give you an upper hand.
5. Creating unique and engaging content
Having unique and engaging content that stands out from thousands of tweets from your competitors is what will ensure you get a loyal following. A loyal following increases your potential clients since your loyal customers can put in a good word for you to their friends and families. Most people tend to engage businesses they are recommended to by people they trust. Therefore, it is crucial to create engaging content that is helpful to your audience.
6. Organizing a schedule for your posts
You should have a plan for how you are going to post your content. How often and at what times. Posting haphazardly may hinder you from meeting your goals, consequently preventing you from getting the full benefits. You can use social media management tools that can allow you to schedule posts for you in advance. Tools such as Socialays can monitor all your post interactions and engage your followers for you.
7. Analyzing your impact and results
The only way you can know that your strategy is helping you meet your goals is by keeping track of all your tweets and action on Twitter. For example, you can use Twitter analytics which is specific to the social media platform. The most important metrics you will need to track are engagement, reach, followers, profile visits, tags, mentions, retweets, and shares. These metrics can help you know how well your strategy is working in your favor.
Twitter Marketing Tips To Grow A Business
Using Twitter for your business is not just about tweeting. You need to be strategic and conscious about using Twitter to take advantage of its benefits fully.
1. Make sure your business’s Twitter profile stands out
Having a Twitter profile that stands out means that you need to pick the right handle, a unique profile photo, and a captivating header image.
Your business Twitter handles need to be recognizable and easy to remember since this is how the audience finds you on Twitter. Make sure that it is short enough so that people can easily tag you. It would favor you best if it is consistent across your social media.
Your profile picture should also be recognizable and memorable since it appears next to every tweet you make. The best option would be to go with your business logo since it enhances brand awareness. Make sure that you use the correct dimensions for a clear image.
You can also use your header to promote brand awareness. At the header, feel free to be creative with how you show your brand message and personality. Branding opportunities on Twitter should not be an afterthought. Consequently, if you don’t want to miss out on marketing opportunities and gaining new customers. You can use the header image to reflect current campaigns, provide information about your business or offer insight into your organization’s culture.
In addition, do not forget to provide the location of your business. Providing your business location will make your profile have a personal touch and feel more natural to your audience.
2. Optimize your bio
The Twitter bio is capped at 160 characters. Use the bio to showcase your business. Importantly, the bio explains who you are, what you do, and what your business is about. Some things to keep in mind when crafting your bio are:
- Accuracy Keep your bio accurate and tell people exactly what your brand is about
- Infuse some humor and personality Don’t shy away from telling a joke or something original that represents what your brand stands for
- Show off If you have something to brag about, don’t hold back. Let your audience know how good you are at what you do and how.
- Keep it targeted Create a bio that will attract your target audience
- Add relevant hashtags
Remember that anyone who clicks on a popular hashtag will be directed to every tweet that has used the hashtag. Therefore, it is important to use relevant hashtags on your bio will ensure that people find your account whenever they search. Due to the limit in characters, make sure that it is snappy. Be creative and show off your brand personality.
3. Find your Twitter voice
The audiences on Twitter appreciate brands that tweet authentically and stay true to their voice. Your Twitter presence should be authentic and consistent with your brand voice. However, don’t be quick to jump on trends to appeal to the masses and risk losing your brand voice. Ensure that your voice shows a personality. It can be edgy, funny, inspirational, or bold. Whatever your brand’s personality, it should be conveyed in your tweets. In addition, make sure that your tweets sound like they come from a human being. Your Twitter audience wants a human touch. Be original and sincere to help you connect with customers and build trust and attract more followers.
4. Schedule your tweets to post at optimal times
The best time to post will be dependent on your audience. With the knowledge obtained from your research, you can schedule your tweets beforehand rather than posting them manually. Scheduling your tweets can help you streamline the time you spend online. It also allows you to have control and stay on top of your content calendar because you will never miss tweeting something important.
Scheduling your tweets takes advantage of the best times to post, which ultimately boosts engagement. That is to say, tweets posted at the right time generate massive engagement and virality. Knowing the right time to post makes it even easier to schedule and manage your tweets.
5. Get visual
A picture is worth a thousand words. On a platform that only supports 280 characters per tweet, using visuals can spur your message. Visual assets help you communicate better with every tweet. You can also:
- complete an informative tweet using charts or infographics.
- reinforce an inspirational message with a captivating photo.
- choose to use videos to capture and hold your audience’s attention.
Videos are highly ideal for campaigns or product launches. Just ensure that the videos are optimized for mobile devices since most Twitter users watch them on their hand-held devices.
Visuals can also play a significant role in boosting your engagement. The best bit is that any visual item you choose doesn’t count as part of your 280-character limit.
6. Master your hashtag game
Hashtags were born on Twitter and adopted by other social media platforms. They remain the number one tool that can help you boost your engagement and make you more discoverable on the Twitter platform. Tweets with hashtags get double the engagement tweets without hashtags make. Therefore, understanding how to use them and when to do so can be invaluable to your business. To fully benefit from the use of hashtags, you should;
– Find the right hashtags. You want to use a hashtag related to your industry and one that makes sense when it comes to your niche. You can out what hashtags your competitors are using to get insight.
– Create a branded hashtag. A branded hashtag is a hashtag unique to your brand and business. It can be used to collect and organize content about your business. Branded hashtags are important, especially for promoting your campaigns and finding user-generated content.
– Follow trends. Explore current trending topics and hashtags from Twitter’s Explore page. Join trending conversations to get an insight into what hashtags to use and attract new audiences who will discover your posts.
– Avoid overdoing it. Using too many hashtags may counterattack the goal of using them in the first place. Use one to two hashtags for every tweet to get optimal results. The correct use of hashtags will help you reach new audiences and make your content more impactful.
7. Engage your followers
Twitter allows for a two-way channel of communication with your followers. So, you should take full advantage of this feature and create content that encourages your audience to engage with your comments. The engagement of your audience should go beyond responding to those who reply to your comments. Moreover, it is important to make a point of engaging with the people tweeting about your brand at the individual level. Additionally, it is necessary to make timely responses to comments on your brand and replies to your comments. Socialays can help you make sure that you respond to your followers whenever they reply to your comments your brand. Engaging your followers gives them a sense that you care about them as a result, you will earn more followers.
8. Expand your reach by engaging influencers
Reach out to influencers to improve your exposure. It is easier to pitch your ideas to someone with a more significant following than yours as long as they like what you bring to the table. A good influencer can change your brand’s world with a single post. You, however, need to identify influencers who are specific to your industry. Engage influencers you have already been interacting with.
9. Make use of social listening
Posting tweets and engaging followers are not enough. Additionally, adopt social listening into your Twitter marketing strategy. Social listening will help you pay attention to the conversations going on Twitter and provide you with insights into your customers and community. Moreover, you will find out what people think about your brand and the products or services you offer through social listening. As well as learn from the trending topics and discussions. You can use the information you learn from social listening to refine how you put your messages across, build a loyal following, create trust with your customers and address any issues and complaints put forth by your customers proactively.
Twitter has an advanced search tool that can help you find out what people ate saying.
10. Be open-minded
While it is essential to follow the rules, bending them to your advantage can work miracles. Moreover, do not restrict yourself in the confines of what is considered acceptable. Open your mind and think outside the box. The Twitter audience is growing and will adapt to changes as they come. As a matter of fact, don’t be afraid to try unchartered waters as long as you do not violate or infringe upon others. Push your business on Twitter the best way you can.
The Benefits of Marketing on Twitter For Your Business Marketing
Using Twitter to market your business is beneficial in several ways. Below are some of the benefits of selling your business on Twitter.
1. Twitter enables you to monitor your brand.
Twitter makes it easy for you to gather information about what people are saying about your brand. This is because you can track when people mention your company’s name or even your Twitter account in a tweet. Additionally, if you have a branded hashtag, you can also find out who mentions your hashtag providing you with real-time branding data.
2. Twitter can help you drive web traffic.
You can direct your Twitter followers to content on your website. Additionally, you can curate your tweets around the subject of your blog post and attach a link to the same on your tweet.
3. You can post multiple times on Twitter without being considered a nuisance.
On Twitter, you can post several times a day to market your business. Since tweets have a short lifespan, it is recommended to post up to fifteen times. That said, You can take advantage of this opportunity to mix up your content to entertain and educate your followers while keeping them engaged.
4. Twitter showcases your brand voice in the best way.
Twitter is the best platform to develop your brand’s voice and public personality. However, you can choose any voice you wish, depending on the industry you are in. In addition, having a consistent brand voice will have it archived for prospective clients using Twitter to gauge how you interact with your followers.
5. Twitter tags encourage engagements.
The @ symbol on Twitter is the key to sending users a notification that guarantees that your tweet gets viewed. Since Twitter branched into content discovery, users can occasionally see tweets from people they don’t follow by feeding them with content they are interested in. This feature can have your tweets ending up in front of new eyes, increasing reach and engagement.
6. Twitter provides you with follower insights that can help you develop your follower persona.
Twitter provides its users with native analytics within the platform. The analytics are some of the best across all social media platforms. Particularly the Audiences tab, which can help paint you a picture of your average follower. Additionally, it also delivers the data to Audiences. This gives you insight into your followers’ interests and how they interact with your brand. This information can come in handy when launching a campaign.
7. Advertising on Twitter is cheap and effective.
Advertising on Twitter will cost you as low as a dollar a day. In addition, optimization is where Twitter’s advertising real strength is.
8. Going viral is not reserved for special people.
Anyone can go viral on Twitter. As long as you use the platform regularly and post relatable, funny, or newsworthy tweets, they can reach viral status. Your brand can go viral with a single tweet, immediately increasing your reach, traffic, and conversions.
9. Influencers on Twitter can boost your campaigns.
Influencers today have a lot of power as they can sway their followers to follow you or try on your product. The advantage of using influencers is that their followers already trust them, and people tend to make purchases following recommendations from people they trust.
Conclusion
Twitter is a unique marketing platform with great opportunities for brands looking for new ways to reach prospective clients. It has maintained authenticity resulting in a dedicated user base. However, if you want to grow your business, Twitter marketing is a great way to go. The marketing world is evolving, and your need to keep up with it. Open your mind and learn all the ways you can optimize the use of Twitter for the benefit of your business.
