How To Use Twitter As A Small Business

Twitter is an effective marketing tool for small businesses and it can make an impactwhen used right. It helps you engage in conversations with your customers, increases the reach of your brand, and promotes your products. Our guide will show you how to use Twitter as a small business.

Set Up Your Account

The first step is to sign up for an account, which you can do at twitter.com. You have to create a password and verify your email at this stage, but the most important part is choosing your username.

Your username is also known as your Twitter handle, and it is usually written as @username. The Twitter handle for iPage is therefore @ipage. This also becomes the link to your page on Twitter, e.g. twitter.com/ipage.

Make your username relevant to your business, and ensure it is easy to remember. It must be 15 characters or less.

At this stage Twitter will prompt you to start following people, but it is best to skip this until you have content on your page.

You should update the rest of your profile though. You will need five things:

1. Bio – you have 160 characters to describe your business, and what people can expect from your Twitter page
2. Profile photo – this is the most important image on your page because it is shown with all of your Tweets. It must be square, ideally 400 by 400 pixels, and it should represent you (a photo) or your brand (your logo).
3. URL – include a link to your website
4. Header image – this is the image that appears at the top of your Twitter page. It is a large image so there is plenty of space to make an impact. It should be 1,500 by 500 pixels. Make sure the image you use is high enough quality so that it doesn’t look blurry or pixelated.

Here is an example of a profile photo:

Here is an example of a header image:

Start Posting

Once your page is set up you can start developing a content strategy that will include your first posts. Spend some time looking at what other people post before jumping in. Try to spot the types of post and the style of content that works, and think about how you can factor that into your page.

Twitter limits messages to 140 characters and there are five types of messages you can send:

1. Tweet – standard message posted on your timeline
2. Reply – when you respond to a tweet from someone else
3. Mention – this is a tweet that includes the Twitter handle of another user
4. Retweet – a message created by another user that you share on your timeline
5. Direct message – a private message to another user that follows you on Twitter

Here are some examples:

Tweet

Reply

Mention

Your content strategy should include a variety of different types of post, including standard text tweets, tweets with links to other content, images, and video. Make sure you let your personality shine through, and remember the 90/10 rule – make sure 90 percent of your posts have no marketing message.

Build Your Following

Now that you have content on your page you can start building your following. This involves telling your friends, family and colleagues about your Twitter account and asking them to follow you. You should also include a link to your Twitter page on your email signature, your website, and on any other social media platforms that you use.

You should also build your following by following other people and businesses. Twitter is about connections, and part of making it successful is reaching out and participating. Remember that the people who you follow will show up in your feed, so restrict this to people and organizations in your industry, your customers, and others related to your business.

Other Things You Should Know

Hashtags are a key part of Twitter. They are a way to identify the topic of your tweet to make it easier for people to find you. Here is an example with the hashtags #ppc, #advertising, #tutorial, and #smallbusiness:

Lists are another useful tool in Twitter. Every Tweet from the people that you follow appears in your feed, making it hard to keep track of those that you are interested in. Lists allow you to group the people that you follow so you can get the information you need faster. Lists can be either public or private.

Twitter has a high learning curve. But if you invest the time to educate yourself, you can deliver substantial returns for your business when you use it right.