How to Use Twitter for Business: Building profitable relationships in 140 characters or less

If you’ve ever tried to have a real conversation on Twitter then you’re probably quite frustrated.  It can be difficult to get your meaning across, answer a question or even ask a thorough question in less than 140 characters.

There’s so much noise from the personal conversations, online marketers and misc. ramblings that it can be difficult for real conversations to be heard.  Combine that with the shortened format for communication and it’s no wonder that many simply throw in the towel not long after opening their Twitter account.

If this sounds like a familiar problem then consider this…

Have you ever attended a physical networking event?  Have you walked into a room filled with professionals who are all trying desperately to exchange business cards, make connections and identify their next sale?  In most events that I’ve attended I find that the room is buzzing with a wide variety of conversations, it’s difficult to strike up a conversation because of the interruptions from surrounding attendees and there’s very little time or space for real discussion.

Twitter is very much like this physical event.  It’s filled with the buzz of conversations all around and you’ll quickly find that there are some people you’ll want to speak with and others you don’t.  Networking can be time consuming and challenging at times but the bottom line is that networking correctly, in whatever format you choose, is an excellent way to build relationships and increase your business’s profitability.

The key to success when engaging in any networking activity is to have a plan.  This is especially important on Twitter or you may find yourself spending hours shouting messages to the wind.

Before you start aimlessly posting consider these things:

What are your goals?

In order to be effective on Twitter you’ll need to know what your goals are.  Are you looking for clients, referrals or information?  You’ll need to have goals in mind every time you log into Twitter.  How much time do you have to spend there? What do you hope to accomplish once you login?  Are you looking for new people to follow?  Are you trying to get in front of specific people?  Log in with a goal in mind and you’re sure to meet it.  Log in without purpose and you’re sure to come away with nothing.

Who is your target audience?

If you don’t know who you want to speak with then you can waste a lot of time on Twitter just chatting and seeing no results.  It’s important to identify early on the types of people you’d like to connect with so you can cut through the crowd and get straight to the conversations that matter.  That’s not to say you shouldn’t stop periodically and engage in some fun chit chat about your pet or your love of cooking.  It’s fun to find others who have similar interests, even if you’ll never do business with them!  The important thing here is that you don’t spend all of your time in idle chit chat when there’s work to be done.

What does your audience need?

Everyone needs something.  We all have specific pains in our business and when you find that one person who can take away the thing that’s causing you the most grief; you’re going to sit up and pay attention!  Find out what’s causing your audience to worry and you’re halfway to becoming the solution to their problem.

How can I interact in a meaningful way in under 140 characters?

140 characters may not seem like much at first but you’d be surprised at what you can say in such a short amount of space.  Keep in mind that you aren’t trying to give a speech here.  You’re opening the lines of communication and inviting others to participate in a topic chosen by you.

Once you’ve made the decision to utilize Twitter as a networking solution just keep in mind that it’s really not that much different than physical networking.  Your goal is to be interesting, engaging and informative.  You want to stand out from the crowd and get noticed!  A sure way to do that is to provide a good combination of conversational tidbits.  Share interesting links, comment on relevant news items, offer quotes and let your audience glimpse the person behind the profile.  Connect with your audience on a personal as well as a professional level.  Let them see your sense of humor, your wisdom and your wit and there’s no way they’ll forget you!

There is so much you can do in 140 characters or less!  How many characters does it take to compliment someone on a job well done?  How many characters does it take to share an interesting article or the link to a new tool that could help someone else?  Using the right 140 characters can make a huge impression on another person.   Once you’ve made that impression then it’s simply a matter of inviting them to connect with you personally so you can deepen the relationship.

Invite them to Facebook where you can share more information.  If you’ve gotten their attention on Twitter then chances are they’ll connect with you elsewhere as well.  They may be ready to read your blog or even have a conversation with you based on only a few 140 character posts.  It’s typically our first impression of someone that makes the biggest impact and Twitter allows for thousands of first impressions every day!  Create a plan to set yourself up for success and then make your 140 character impression count!

Janice Clark is the owner of BizMSolutions, a full service virtual solutions provider & social strategy firm. Her team of experienced virtual assistants include marketing VAs, copywriters, graphic designers, web designers, Public Relations professionals & more. Together they help businesses across the globe leverage their social media efforts in order to increase their social and financial net worth.

Towards the middle of 2010 BizMSolutions launched a special report entitled "Hiring Out Social Media Tasks: How to Get Help Without Losing Control".  The strategies used to launch this report resulted in an additional 25% in revenue for BizMSolutions.  This report, created by one of the top copywriters in the US, also gained recognition among white paper experts within the industry and was featured in a case study in the White Paper Results newsletter. She continues to use the same systems she created for the BizMSolutions launch to help her own clients gain recognition and bottom line results using social media.

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