Craig Moore Computer Consultancy
Advice for website developers and business on how to use social media.
How to use Twitter as a Marketing tool

Twitter used properly will increase traffic and customers to your website
At first I could not see the point in Twitter. Why on earth would anyone be interested in what I am doing? I was very wrong. A project that was coming up used Twitter so I was forced to find out how it worked. I started reading tweets and searching on different work related topics. Then all of a sudden it happened. It was like a light bulb being turned on. Twitter is a fantastic marketing tool that can be used to reach target audiences at no cost, apart from your time. It has to be done properly. That is the subject of this section of my website. There is a lot of rubbish on Twitter and there are some very bad attempts at internet marketing which are nothing more than Spam. I want to show you how to use Twitter correctly to promote your business or website without annoying your potential customers.

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Back to basics - What is twitter!
You only have 140 characters to say what you want. Unlike Facebook where you can write as much as you like Twitter is a social networking micro blogging platform. Users share updates called tweets with people that are following them. It is not just for telling the world what you had for dinner or when you are having a Starbucks.

Many of your potential and existing clients use twitter daily. It is used as an additional means of communication, a tool to seek out goods and services, asking  recommendations, find advice, hero worshipping, getting a job and finding the most up to date news. It is really powerful. You can engage with your client base directly. Twitter is not just a pointless broadcast medium. It is a place where you can develop an online  persona that is interesting, informative and worthwhile. If you can do that people will follow you on Twitter and click on the links in your tweet that go to your site.

This is a revolution. For once customers do not have to be found using Search Engine Optimisation techniques to get a high ranking in Google. You do not need to know the black arts of SEO to get results. You do not have to be a programmer or web developer who knows all there is to know about CSS3 and HTML5. If you have common sense and can talk about the content on your website you can use Twitter as a marketing tool.

Do not be a TWIT when using twitter!
Even if your website is a store do not try to sell stuff on Twitter. Offer advice, information, news or photographs and then link to your site. If Twitter users see a twit that says 'Buy now' or 'free widget with every purchase' etc your tweet looks like spam and are not read. If they were following you then you will be quickly unfollowed which is not helpful. Twitter is a Social media network not a place to dump adverts and ‘sell sell buy buy’ messages. If done properly Twitter can be used to bring new traffic to your site. Once these people are there and like what they see then they may buy something. There is a very subtle difference.

Confused?
Well to illustrate this point I will show you a couple of good examples from The English Fly Fishing Shop. Their main business is selling fishing flies. At no time do they try to sell them directly using Twitter. What they do is try to give fishing advice, information and news in 140 characters. The company projects a helpful knowledgeable persona. They act as flyfishing experts. Potential customers look forward to receiving their tweets as they find them interesting. Because of this they start to accumulate ‘followers’ and tweets are forwarded to their friends by retweeting (RT).

Good Tweet examples:-

Crabs fleeing Permit fish stick their claws up http://bit.ly/dptVHY as they try to burrow under the sand.  #flyfishing

Try a Stimulator. http://bit.ly/fGCmBp It is an ‘attractor’ fly that coaxes reluctant large trout to strike  #flyfishing

Going fishing after Bonefish or permit in deepwater? http://bit.ly/fRk6ob Consider a Xmas Island Special Crazy Charlie. #flyfishing

If you are selling products online, please adhere to the highest standards of integrity. Not only will you be doing your customers a service, but you will build a stellar reputation for yourself. So many businesses try to use cheap devious methods to get customers to their site. They promise discounts or one off deals which just don’t exist. That is not the right way to build up a trusting relationship with your customers. It will not convert into to large sales.

Messages - sorry, tweets - should be spaced at least 10 minutes apart, with a minimum of two tweets and a max of six a day. It is very important to show your potential customer or follower you are human and not an automated software system designed to flood twitter with hard sell marketing promotions. If you want to reach potential customers in Europe and America at the same time then send out your tweets at 1700 hrs GMT. That way you will catch the Europeans going home from work, the Americans on the pacific coast arriving at work and the Americans on the New York coast just about to start their lunch break. There are a number of autotweet systems that can do this for you. www.socialoomph.com is a free service.

These are a few examples of genuine bad tweets that break all the rules. They will not attract lots of clicks and or a big following. Do not fall in the same trap. Many of them are scams.

Bad marketing Tweet examples:-

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The New Followers Welcome Message - What You Should And Should Not Say
When someone notifies you that they are following your tweets write them a very simple welcome message. If you really want twitter users to un-follow you, then try and sell them something with this first welcome message. Very few people like that. Be careful even if you're giving away something for free. The purpose of this message is to say hello and welcome. Most people take a dim view of you when you do any kind of self-promotion with this message. If your message smells remotely like, "Hi, thanks for the follow, now buy my stuff or do something that will benefit me or check out how cool I am," then you really are misusing this welcome message. Don't send what you wouldn't like to receive from others. This advice contains the collective wisdom of many folks who have given feedback regarding what they appreciate in a welcome note, and what they do not appreciate.

Make them Laugh
Everyone likes a good joke or even a very bad corny joke. Keep the Jokes on topic if you can and makes sure they will appeal to your target audience. If your website is about Football then tweet football jokes. If your run a Fly fishing website tweet some fishing jokes. Make sure they are clean otherwise you could get banned. You are giving someone another reason to follow your tweets. Add a link to your home page.