Are you participating? If not, I must be the one to tell you that you are missing out, but you don't need to take my word for it. Nielsen reported that in a 12 month period from February 2008 to 2009 Twitter grew their unique visitors by 1,382%. This brought their user base to 7 million, so let's put this in perspective. There are 7 million people out there that you could be prospecting to. Interested? I knew you would be, so let's talk about how to follow proper Twitter etiquette and start finding those prospects that have an interest in your products or services.
Let's talk about etiquette – and be prepared. If you do not follow proper etiquette, you could very well offend and lose prospects.
- Establish yourself as a person who is willing to share knowledge in your area of expertise. You do this by providing valuable information on Twitter on a consistent basis. This doesn't mean you can't be yourself or show your personality, please do. It does, however, mean that if your tweets are all filled with fluff, nonsense and no value, it will turn off most followers and not allow them to see you as a person who can be trusted and equipped with a solution to their problem.
- Don't just be about plugging your products and services. You will find that followers will find this annoying and, as a result, unfollow you quickly. It's like seeing the same commercial multiple times during the same television show – before long, you simple tune it out.
- There are no secrets on Twitter. That's right. You say it - it will always be there, so use common sense when tweeting and realize that what you say can always be found and can, in fact haunt you in the future if it's inappropriate or derogatory. This can deter prospects from purchasing your products or services.
- No repeats! Don't post the same message multiple times. This is viewed as annoying, repetitive and space-consuming. It also appears as spam when the same message is seen multiple times.
- Social media is about interaction. It's not just a vehicle for self promotion and plugs but, rather, it's a place that you can interact with customers, colleagues, and prospects.
Now, that we've covered the basics in etiquette, let's talk about how to find prospects on Twitter.
- The most valuable tool that you can use to find prospects on Twitter is the Twitter search tool. Search for terms and keywords that represent your customers. By doing this, you will have a starting point that will represent a list of individuals that may have an interest in your products or services. Start following them! You'll be surprised at what you will learn that will help you in targeting your selected market for your products and services. You will also find that many times the follow will be reciprocated and they will start following you.
- Take the time to share information regarding your industry, not just your products and services ,and watch those interested in that industry follow you.
- Locate those in your industry who are influencers on Twitter and follow them. You will gain a great deal of insight and you will also see who they are talking to that may be of value to you in promoting your products and services.
- Create a Twitter profile that draws the interest of your prospective market. Make it informative and interesting, so that it draws in your potential customers and makes them want to follow you.
- Finally, pick a Twitter name that represents you or your business. If you are babycakes345, I doubt I'll – or anyone else - will have much interest in what you have to say.
