Once you join Twitter you want to run out and connect with a ton of targeted people and get your message out there! I know, new networking and business growth opportunities are exciting. I’d like share 5 easy steps to do before you invite your 1st follower.
Let’s talk about how you can get your account ready for all those new followers,
- Complete Bio: When people check out your Twitter profile one of the 1st things they will look at is your bio. You want to be memorable and unique. Always have your most relevant website link as the URL. Last but not least, be sure to add a professional picture of yourself as well, nothing is worse than seeing a new follower with the “egg!”
A few actions to avoid in your bio:- Don’t stuff your bio exclusively with keywords. People cannot connect with just words. You want your personality to be present.
- Don’t use industry lingo. Use words and phrases that your target client or market uses.
- Have at least 20 Tweets on your profile: With a full page of tweets people will know you are serious about twitter. They can get a feel for who you are, what you have to say and if you match what they are looking for. Offer some good content that will benefit your target market.
- A Professional Background: This is a great way to increase brand awareness. Use your logo, tag line, photo and anything else that helps represent your business. Mari Smith is a great example of branding. She changes her background to support her current marketing plans.
- A Giveaway or Link for New Followers: Here is an opportunity to further connect with your new connection. Offer a great resource to them.
This can come in a variety of forms – I use SocialOomph to set this up:
- Share a popular blog post. If one of your blog posts gained a high number of comments and social interactions it must have been extremely helpful to your audience. Share this with new connections!
- A free report. These are generally behind a lead generation form (opt-in form), where the visitor will enter their name and email address to receive your free gift.
- A Custom Welcome to Twitter Page: Setup a page on your website just for new followers. Have a nice introduction video with something they can walk away with, a tip or action step they can do right away.
- Understand the basics of Twitter: When you know a bit about Twitter you can engage much more efficiently and save yourself a lot of time.
I thought we’d add a little fun to our tweets today. Have you seen people tweeting hearts and smiles? These characters can bring out your personality in those short 140 characters.
