As many of you already know, Twitter is catching like wildfire in the business community and becoming more and more mainstream. According to Nielsen, there is an estimated 14 million people who are active on Twitter, and that only includes the United States.
With that being said, if you want your voice to be heard, you must distinguish yourself from the other 14 million-plus people who are active on Twitter. Here are a few tips that will help you master Twitter and become an effective microblogger:
Be concise, yet creative.
You only have 140 characters to connect with your audience. That said, cut the fluff and be straightforward with your message. Like any effective headline, your tweet must stand out and be interesting in order to capture the attention of your audience.
Abbreviations are your friend.
You want to save your characters for the “meat” of your tweet, and if this means abbreviating or using acronyms, that’s okay by Twitter standards. If only we were able to “roll over” unused characters for future tweets!
It’s not all about you.
Many on Twitter are promoting a product, service or client. However, there is a fine line between increasing awareness and losing customers/followers. There is nothing more irritating than people who are constantly plugging. To maintain an audience of followers, it’s necessary to know your audience and tweet information you think they’d be interested in. Communication is always two-sided. Two brands that lead by example are: @southwestair and @zappos
Utilize hyperlinks.
Hyperlinks do exactly what the name implies – they link to more information about your company or product. Hyperlinks are an effective way to drive people back to your website, blog or desired destination with a simple click. If you do incorporate hyperlinks, make sure to explore tools such as www.tinyurls.com that help shorten URL’s and take up less characters.
Double and triple check.
Just because Twitter is a microblog doesn’t mean spelling and grammar are any less important. If I notice a company or person is constantly dropping typos in their tweets, the less likely I am to read their future messages. To avoid making yourself or your company look bad, spell check and carefully craft each Tweet.
Emily G
