As a business owner, one should see as Twitter is more than a simple social media platform or distribution channel. A Feb 2016 report shows that there are 320 million people that use Twitter. Of this 320 million, 100 million actively use Twitter everyday. This phenomenal number not only demonstrates it as a powerful tool for communication but also as one of the forefronts of social media. In short, given the number of people on Twitter, small business owners can benefit by creating and communicating through it.

While Twitter has the exposure numbers, as with any tool, it only works if you use it the right way.
Originally, created for people to tweet 140 character updates on their phones, it became a tool where people shared what they were doing at the moment or what they ate. It became where society shared their mundane moments.

Fortunately, with its usage in maturity, Twitter has become a powerful platform to share news, voice opinions and grow ideas. It has been useful enough to report world events and shape society. In fact, a just simple tweet between two people was instrumental in creating the successful company called UBER.

Twitter and Engagement

The image below shows how Twitter can be used for Digital Marketing:

Twitter Content Tactics

Below are some tips that can help guide you with Twitter Content:

Give Things for Free
People are happy to receive free things and will not hesitate to share where they got something of value to others. Give out good advice, free videos, free e-books and webinars. If you can give free products via contests, go ahead and do so. Share value to your followers and there is a higher chance that valuable exposure will go back to you and your site.

Use Photos / Images in Tweets

Lyrics from an old song say that “A picture paints a thousand words’. Apparently, this works on twitter as well. According to a various studies, Tweets with images get 2x engagement versus normal text tweets.

Stay away from using stock imagery. As with any social media, people are looking for something new, unique and interesting. Stock images are the complete opposite of that.

Create your own images, infographics and use your own photographs. Your users will know the difference.

Share Interesting Links
Entertain and educate your followers. Share interesting facts and infographics. Create stories that engage users. Data from a report notes that sharing links helps increase retweets of your posts.

Your tweets do not have to be all about your company. Remember that Twitter is like a conversation. As a rule of thumb, as with in any conversation, do not let it be one-sided or purely self-serving. As much as possible avoid tweeting only about yourself or your company all the time. Mix it up with interesting topics that will interest your target market.

Yes, you can tweet links about your company, but try to keep it at a minimum or at a good mix. This will help build your credibility and avoid losing followers.

Less Words has More Impact
According to studies, less is more when it comes to character count in Twitter. Tweets under 100 characters have greater engagement rates. While this also depends on the message that you are communicating, it can be beneficial to note that people scan tweets quickly.

For instance, if you have a long topic to discuss, make a series of tweets instead. As the data suggests, keeping it short and simple as much as possible is beneficial in the long run.

Use Hashtags
Hashtags are powerful because they allow users who are engaged to a certain topic access to similar twitter posts. Data from a study on them suggests that there is higher interaction if hashtags are used in a tweet. However, the study also points out that limiting their use to 1-2 hashtags is more beneficial for engagement. Likewise, using appropriate hashtags for topics will be more meaningful and helpful to followers.

Twitter and content
Twitter is a powerful platform that can easily distribute your brand and your message. While success in digital or social media marketing takes time, there is always the possibility overnight fame as well as instant failure.

No matter what communication platform you use, what you ‘say’ is what matters. At the end of the day, it is important to create, post and retweet quality content.
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Sources:

http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/march-2013-by-the-numbers-a-few-amazing-twitter-stats/
https://blog.bufferapp.com/10-new-twitter-stats-twitter-statistics-to-help-you-reach-your-followers
http://www.linchpinseo.com/infographic-twitter-tweet-cheat-sheet
http://www.businessinsider.com/how-a-tweet-turned-ryan-graves-into-a-billionaire-2015-3

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