8 Ways to Up your Business’s Street Cred on Twitter

Twitter has an estimated

284 million monthly active users.

[Reaching even 7% of them is like reaching every single person living in the state of New York. Chyeah. That’s a ton of people.]

These users send a total of

500 million tweets every. single. day.

Marketing on Twitter can feel like you’re in a crowd of people seeing who can scream the loudest. Don’t waste your breath—use these tips to stand out and get your business some love.

Don't know the difference between a DM and a mention? Go no further*: You aren’t ready to venture into the Twittersphere yet.

*Figuratively speaking, of course. You should keep reading this awesome presentation so you can join the party.

Before you take the plunge and go tweet-crazy, learn how to use the site and its features properly. (Read: So you don’t look stupid.)

For the record, a DM is a private message whereas a mention is a public one.

They say don’t judge a book by its cover, but Twitter users tend to do exactly that.

Make sure your bio is engaging and informative but also an accurate representation of your brand. It’s all about balancing a fun personality with real value and just a touch of swagger.

Twitter is all about networking. Track industry hashtags to see who’s in on the conversation, and follow the people who have interesting things to say.

Find people from industry events and track them down (without being creepy). Follow them and they might follow you back—or, even better, promote you to their followers.

Lastly, observe Twitter’s Golden Rule: follow whoever follows you.

Uhh, rule, not ticket

Users who check out your Twitter are looking for content they care about. Following you means they're essentially giving you permission to reach out to them via your posts,

so don’t blow it.

Shower them with exclusive contests, content, discount codes and other sweet perks.

Are you already killin’ it on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, etc.? Promote your Twitter on them—you’ve already got the audience, so use it. Include your Twitter handle in email signatures as well.

Twitter is largely text-based, famous for only giving users 140 characters to express themselves.

Break up the monotony and grab people's attention with photos, graphics and videos in your tweets too.

Twitter users sometimes send questions, comments or criticism to a brand without actually following the company's account.

7. Respond to people Handle this outreach promptly and professionally, and they'll be more inclined to follow you.

Don’t give people a reason to unfollow you by subjecting them to boring content, negativity, anything too edgy or controversial opinions.

Twitter could be just what your marketing strategy has been missing. It’s fun, far-reaching and effective, provided you know how to use it.