Using Twitter in your marketing efforts can have enormous benefits if you do it properly. It's not as simple as creating an account and blasting people with information about your business opportunity. That's the fastest way to "kill off your following." So, to get full value from your Twitter exposure, you absolutely need to keep in mind 2 key concepts: 1) Twitter is a social medium; and 2) Your "followers" are NOT a captive audience.
Twitter is a micro-blogging social network site. Your following has chosen to follow you, not your product, not your company, but you. You have a responsibility to give your following much more than just a sales pitch. The moment your following starts to feel like they're being "talked at," it's over. Kiss your following goodbye because they're switching to another program with fewer commercials interruptions.
In line with those two concepts, here are 5 of the biggest Twitter mistakes your can make which will send your following packing.
1. You Haven't Uploaded A Picture - If you're still using that boring brown and blue generic default image then you're really sending this message to your following: "I'm not serious about Twitter, but it's something I hear will be good for business. Take it or leave it." Don't be surprised if they choose to "leave it." Post a profile picture in your settings and be sure to choose an image that sends the right message.
2. You're Not Using Your BIO To Your Advantage - Write something unique and compelling that makes people want to know more about you by clicking the link (that you were thoughtful enough to provide) to your website.
3. You Haven't Included A Clickable URL In Your Bio - Having a clickable link in your bio doesn't happen by accident. You need to add it to your bio in the correct format. That means using the complete URL (http://...) instead of just the domain name of your site.
4. You Only Check Your Twitter Messages Once Or Twice A Week - Unless you're deliberately trying to send your followers away, tweet regularly and tweet often. You want people to know you're active and that you're interested in creating relationships. Be sure to hop on once a day, preferably around the same time so your following will know when to expect a tweet from you. Use a tool like Tweetdeck to stay on top of everything and make it easier to access your tweets. I also really like the Mozilla plugin and add-ons that make it simple get informed if you get a direct message or an @reply so you can hop on and tweet back while you're online. And finally, the biggest fool mistake you can make on Twitter is...
5. You Constantly Advertise To Your Followers! - Twitter is a place to create relationships not hit people over the head with whatever you're offering. Don't make the mistake of sending out tweet after tweet with product information or company hype. That never works! Use Twitter to announce updates to your blog or website, but don't try to deliver your whole spiel in a mind numbing series of tweets. You'll have better luck if your goal is to direct your following to websites where your marketing message will be more effective.
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