When trying to connect with other businesses on Twitter, there’s a right way and a wrong way to do it. Let’s look at 6 of the best ways to find potential leads and build trust with existing contacts through this social media channel.
1. Follow the Right People
While some use Twitter as a popularity contest, it’s not how many people you follow and follow you, but the quality of those relationships. It’s better to have 100 highly-targeted followers than 10,000 who don’t know or care what your company does.
Start with your existing clients. If you’re using CRM that has social media built in (like withInsightly) you can easily connect with your clients on Twitter.
Next find people who are talking about your industry or your type of product and follow them.
2. Get into Conversations
Every minute, people are conversing about all manner of things on Twitter. Search for keywords that relate to your product or industry and respond to what others are saying in a meaningful way. If someone’s asking about the best CRM to use for small businesses (and you don’t sell CRM, but do cater to that audience), provide them with your tips, or a link to a post about different CRM solutions.
3. Start the Dialogue
As you follow new people, pay attention to what they’ve been Tweeting. Find ways to start new conversations with them individually. Also aim for wider discussion. Asking a broad question like “what’s your biggest headache as a business owner?” can not only get you chatting on Twitter, but also provide fabulous insight into your customer base.
4. Share Content
While you certainly should share links to your company’s blog posts, also share other relevant content. Stay on top of interesting articles and posts so you can become a resource for your followers. Also retweet great links that others share.
5. Don’t Be Over-Promotional
It’s perfectly acceptable to occasionally share a promotion or product, but don’t go overboard. Twitter is more about information and conversation, so you don’t want to come off as spammy or pushy.
6. Dedicate Time
Building relationships on social media takes time, so be consistent in your efforts. It doesn’t take much; even 10 minutes a day can net you great results. Just divide your time between following new people and sharing updates. Using a scheduling tool like HootSuite offers can also be a great time-saver.
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