Social media is being used everywhere, with the majority of Internet users accessing Facebook or Twitter on a daily basis. Use this to your advantage by improving business through Twitter, one of the most popular social media networks around. It is great for free advertising and for connecting with your customers.

1. Follow Others

If you only get one piece of advice from this post, it should be to follow others. A big mistake business owners make on Twitter is expecting followers without giving anything in return. However many people on Twitter only follow those that follow them. So by following others, you’re increasing how many people follow you.

2. Be Careful What You Tweet

Since this is your business Twitter account, be kind and respectful when tweeting. Don’t type or re-tweet anything that could be controversial or be against proper etiquette on social media networks. You don’t want to lose your followers for a pointless and disrespectful tweet.

3. Recommend Others

Don’t just make your posts about yourself and your business; help others by recommending their Twitter accounts or businesses. It helps to choose businesses related to yours, as there is a good chance they will return the favor.

4. Offer Discounts and Promotions

Offer exclusive deals, discount codes and promotions to your Twitter followers. This will get you immediate business and if they tell their friends about the promotion, you are bound to get dozens more followers with each promotion. Say you offer mobile notary services – try a Twitter coupon for just 10% off – you could get enough business to make it well worth your time. However, always notify your followers how many discounts you are willing to provide.

5. Make Your Words Count

Twitter only allows you 140 characters for each post which means you need to keep it brief. Over time, you will learn the best ways to get your point across and include links with a very short amount of space. Having trouble? Hire a writer or an SEO professional to help you with your microblogs.

6. Customize Your Profile

The best way to gather attention and work on your brand on Twitter is to customize your portfolio. This means not only changing your icon picture to a logo but also customizing the layout of your profile with colors matching your website page or another eye-catching layout. Every time someone visits your Twitter profile, they will notice and remember your logo as with other forms of branding.

Whether you are a gardener, an accountant or a retailer, using Twitter can help to expose you and your business to more customers. That means better sales and more profits for you.

Citations:

• CC image from Fanie! on Flickr

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•  License: Creative Commons image source