The series continues, friends! We have smashed out the basics of Instagram and Facebook, which — let’s face it — are today’s most popular social media platforms. There are 2 more that we are going to touch on in this series that can bring awareness to your brand and product as well as attract potential clients. Today, we are twittering about…you guessed it…Twitter!
Twitter was started in 2006 and outdates Instagram by 6 years. It has 200 million users worldwide, and over 140 million(opens in a new tab) tweets are sent each day. In the last 10 years, Twitter has grown from 8 employees to over 400. So, for those of you that think Twitter’s time has passed, think again. This is still an extremely relevant and usable platform.
Let’s get to the logistics.
@Handle
First things first: your Twitter handle. Since Twitter has gained popularity, it is increasingly difficult to find a handle that is clear and concise while representing your brand at the same time. However, it is still possible, so fear not. Twitter provides a tool that helps you generate a unique name, though beware — this name isn’t always the most professional option. Your handle cannot be changed once you choose it, so make sure to find something that makes sense for your audience. Your handle should make it easy to tell at first glance who you are.
@Photos
You have two photos that you need to post when you start a new account:
1. Your profile picture. This sits next to all your tweets and visually represents your brand. I recommend that you use your company logo here. I’m sure there are a ton of opinions on this out there, but your logo is the most visual representation of your company so why wouldn’t you use it?
2. The second photo is your header photo. This is where you can have a little more fun by changing it periodically to promote products or special offers. To change the header photo, just head over to your home page, click edit profile, and the option to change the background photo will pop up. (See our image example.)
@Bio
This section is for a short and sweet description of your company. Don’t overcomplicate this either, as it’s important in Twitterland to get to the point quickly (hence the restriction on the number of characters you can tweet with). A really good example of a bio is that of @JetBlue(opens in a new tab). It’s not sugarcoated and gives you a sense of what their company’s brand is about.
@Audience
This is an important part of Twitter that a lot of people tend to miss. It’s easy to fall down the “following” hole; as a business page, make sure you’re following only the relevant tweeters in your industry. If you are a tour operator in Canada selling ski tours, following @realDonaldTrump maybe isn’t the best idea, regardless of how newsworthy his Twitter account is. Entrepreneur has a great article(opens in a new tab) on finding the right people to follow on Twitter.
@QuickTips
1. Since Twitter is an active social media space, it’s best to be quite aggressive on this platform. Responding to clients, retweeting others relevant posts, following people back, and engaging with people will really help boost the popularity of your account. Spend a good amount of time being active on Twitter!
2. Link your blog or website in your profile in order to make it easy for people to access your online presence.
3. Add photos, videos, GIFs, polls, and location to your tweets. They don’t take away from your character count, and they are eye-catching. People are so used to scrolling through Instagram that you need something other than the classic Twitter blurb to capture your audience’s attention.
If you have any questions about starting or further developing your Twitter account, you can email my colleague Katalin at katalin@tourismtiger.com.
If you liked this article or found it helpful, check out our other posts in the series, including Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
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