No matter your personal stance on Twitter, the truth is: You can make Twitter work for your business.
Twitter has about 310M active monthly users around the world, and every single day, users are building relationships with brands, founders, and employees at thousands of companies on this platform.
Not sure how to use Twitter for business? In this post, we’ll go over some concrete ways you can use this social media platform for your
Know the Basics
Before you start tweeting away, it’s a good idea to know a few nuances about this particular platform so you’re getting the most out of the time and energy you invest here. Here are a few quick facts that’ll tell you how to use twitter effectively (and be more realistic about your expectations).
- The average lifespan of a tweet is about
18-20 minutes. - Tweets are limited to 140 characters.
- The average user spends 170 minutes on Twitter per month.
- 80% of Twitter users are accessing the platform from a mobile device.
- 42% of brands posts 10 tweets per day on average.
- Tweets containing image links have 5x higher engagement rates.
- Twitter videos are limited to two minutes and 20 seconds.
Overall, this platform is a
Now that you know the basics, let’s look at some ways you can put Twitter
Build Your Brand
Using Twitter for
For example: Say you own a clothing store that sells
Take a look at another example below fromYour4Walls. Their Twitter
Bonus: They’re using hashtags to make the content easily found through search queries, and they’ve included a shortened link that goes directly to the product featured in the tweet.
Be Social
Twitter is also a great place to have casual
And because users can mention you with your Twitter handle, you can easily keep tabs on conversations that are happening here around your
Helping Rhinos does a good job of this. They use Twitter to promote their supporters who are out fundraising for their cause. By simply retweeting and adding a brief comment about this fundraiser’s efforts, they’re showing how much they appreciate those who work hard for their organization.
Manage Customer Support
If customers need a quick and easy way to get in touch with you, Twitter is a great channel for that. Leveraging this social platform for customer support means you can respond to those questions that may be keeping a customer from making a purchase (like a question about sizing,
Plus, since the Twitter mobile app has notifications that can pop up right on your smartphone, you can field these incoming queries from wherever you may go. It’s almost like having an
Smooth Sailing Co. uses their Twitter account for this purpose on occasion, too. Look at them in action:
See how easy it is to field questions like this one using Twitter? With simple notifications, you can set up your account so you never miss an incoming question that could lead to a sale.
Showcase Happy Customers
Social proof is a powerful
Sharing stories, photos, and videos of your happy customers and supporters is a great way to add validation to your organization and offerings (and it’s a nice break from the constant sales/promotion angle.) It produces some major
Look at the engagements on this tweet: 14 retweets and 22 likes!
The bottom line: Share your happy stories and remind your followers that you’re beloved by those you work with.
Test the Waters With Advertising
You can also test the waters with advertising on Twitter if you’re interested. You may have tried some Facebook ads in the past with success, and so now you’re ready to give Twitter ads a whirl. If so, here’s what you need to know.
You can create ads for various objectives, such as:
- Followers
- Website clicks or conversions
- Engagements
- App installs
- Leads
- Video views
You also have much of the same controls as you do with Facebook ads, such as:
- Target audience
- Run time
- Budget
- Outbound link
- Ad copy and image
- Max cost per click or cost per impression
Aside from this, there are some other basics to keep in mind. It’s not always cheap: Twitter can be about 6x more expensive compared to Facebook advertising, but the
It’s a good idea to start with a small budget of > $250 and do some testing to see what early results you find compared to ads on other platforms. You may find that your audience is very active on Twitter and it’s a fantastic investment, or you might find that your money is better spent elsewhere. Only testing will tell.
Work With Twitter, Grow Your Business
Maybe only one of these strategies is particularly effective for your target audience on Twitter. Maybe all of them together help grow your brand to the next tier of success. The point is: You can use Twitter to make your online store more effective and stronger in its online presence.
Give some of these tactics a try and remember to maintain consistency in all of your social media efforts. Over time, you’ll earn the trust and respect of your following there.
Let’s be friends. Follow Ecwid on Twitter!