Own It Live Chat Recap: How to Build Your Business on Twitter

Live Chat Recap: Building Your Firm of the Future on Twitter

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Cathy Iconis is a QuickBooks Online Expert and the founder of #QBOChat on Twitter. On an O W N I T L i v e C h a t , s h e discussed how to get started as an Accountant on Twitter and presented tips and tricks for using Twitter to support your brand and grow your firm.


These sl ides summarize some of the main ideas Cathy presented. You can read the full Live Chat Recap at this link.

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In advertising on mass media, the information only moves in one direction, from you to the audience. In social media, like Twitter, the information moves in all directions.

Twitter is a Conversation

It’s not about broadcasting your message, it’s about having conversations and creating relationships.


Cathy says: “The majority of my clients for the first year or two of my business came from my efforts on twitter.”


“It was the conversations that I had with people and the relationships I built one-by-one. They just came to understand my personality and liked what they saw, so they would reach out if they needed accounting help. “


When you meet people in person, you want to find something in common with them and make a connection with them. Most of the time, it is a personal connection and not about debits and credits.

Think of Twitter as a virtual networking event.

You can also grow your brand awareness by sharing your knowledge on twitter for people to see. This can definitely allow you to differentiate your firm from others and be known as an "Influencer" in your field.


“If your firm is using Twitter, you can share more about the firm's culture, position yourself as an expert in your f ie ld, and just have fun wi th conversations with people.”


“It shouldn't be a ton of pressure. “

“Don't be the person trying to hand out as many business cards as possible. Try talking to people, first. You really don't have an audience until you listen first.”

Your Twitter Profile

Being very clear and concise about who you are and what you do is important so that others can quickly pick up that information.


You also want to have a good photo of yourself so that people feel like they are really talking to a person and not a logo or icon.


“My twitter profile had my website, which is key. It also tells people what I do. I learned quickly that it is important to explain clearly what you do, because I got a ton of people asking me to do their tax returns but I don't do taxes!“


Retweets and Mentions

“When you highlight what other people are saying by retweeting them or mentioning them, it helps build that relationship with them.”

Hashtags

Hashtags are a great way to search on Twitter. You can search for different industries or what people are saying.

Cathy says “Sometimes, I simply search for QuickBooks and see if I can help anyone out.“

Be a Person, Not a Program.

It’s fine to schedule some content tweets - links to articles or information of interest.


But don’t use autoresponders or other such technology. Cathy also doesn’t recommend outsourcing. “It really needs to be your own voice.“


“All of my engagements are me. You can always look at someone's feed to see how often they engage with people and how often they are just tweeting their own content.”


“Start with reading your twitter feed and what other people are saying. Then you can comment on their stuff and it'll turn personal in no time.“

“Twitter shouldn't be about the numbers, but more about the engagement you have with people. Try to engage in a way that is memorable to other people.”


A great way to find new followers is to start following the people that your friends on Twitter are following.

If you look at someone's profile, you can click to see who they are following and just search through there.

Finding Followers

If people aren't following you, then change what you are talking about.

Finding Followers

1. Be your true, authentic self.

Four Top Tips

1. Be your true, authentic self. 2. Read your twitter feed and engage with people.

Four Top Tips

1. Be your true, authentic self. 2. Read your twitter feed and engage with people. 3. Balance your types of tweets and keep the sales

type ones to a minimum.

Four Top Tips

1. Be your true, authentic self. 2. Read your twitter feed and engage with people. 3. Balance your types of tweets and keep the sales

type ones to a minimum. 4. Take a look at your own activity and see if

people are engaging with you. If they aren't, consider a different approach.

Four Top Tips

Twitter 101Read the entire chat transcript, plus download C a t h y ’s Tw i t t e r 1 0 1 guidelines at this link.

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Own It Live Chat Recap: How to Build Your Business on Twitter

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Transcript of Own It Live Chat Recap: How to Build Your Business on Twitter