But if you already know what you need to work on, feel free to skip ahead: The evolution of Twitter The world according to Twitter Branding and the type of content that works on Twitter Step 1: Decide the purpose of your account Step 2: Design your profile Step 3: Build a content strategy Step 4: Explore Lists and engage with Twitter communities The evolution of Twitter If we really want to understand what makes Twitter such a powerful marketing tool, we need to consider how Twitter became the platform it is today. The answer is… Branding and the type of content that works on Twitter You should be making the right type content for your business. And this is where we start addressing the importance of branding if you want to be successful on social media. Are you going to start creating short-form content or create long-form content? First, your Twitter @name. Even if this isn’t your first time creating a content strategy, this process can feel overwhelming at times. Step 4: Explore Lists and engage with Twitter communities Assuming that you’ve followed all the steps above, you might be asking yourself “Okay, well all that’s great for keeping followers, but how do I get those new targeted followers?” Don’t worry; this section is for you. Keep in mind that while all of these steps are an important part of finding and attracting targeted followers, the only way to keep them is by being an active user on Twitter. As if that wasn’t enough, the best part is that these new followers are all from industry specific hashtags and Lists. The real secrets behind this technique are creating a strong Twitter account, following the marketing fundamentals, and having a social approach to social media.
Twitter still matters if you expect your business to become an online authority.
If you’re looking at social media from a purely outreach-focused perspective, there’s no getting around the fact that, with over 300 million monthly active users, Twitter has plenty to offer.
Just take a look at some of the recent stats on why Twitter is such a powerful tool for marketers everywhere, courtesy of Hubspot.
Having access to a massive audience that’s distributed among several social media platforms increases the likelihood that your business will end up becoming an online authority. It’s as simple as that.
Beyond the focus on outreach, there’s another great reason to focus on Twitter. By design, Twitter lends itself to audience interaction that’s quick, consistent, and impactful.
This means that you shouldn’t just hope to get random followers. You should end up with targeted, engaged followers.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.
If you want that level of engagement, you’re going to have to work for it.
Fortunately, I’ve already done most of the heavy lifting by putting together this blueprint for you.
This article will walk you through the step-by-step process of building and maintaining an engaging, conversion-driven Twitter account.
In other words, get ready to run circles around your competition.
Below is the list of what we’ll be covering.
I’d recommend reading this from beginning to end (you’ll get the most out of it that way). But if you already know what you need to work on, feel free to skip ahead:
- The evolution of Twitter
- The world according to Twitter
- Branding and the type of content that works on Twitter
- Step 1: Decide the purpose of your account
- Step 2: Design your profile
- Step 3: Build a content strategy
- Step 4: Explore Lists and engage with Twitter communities
The evolution of Twitter
If we really want to understand what makes Twitter such a powerful marketing tool, we need to consider how Twitter became the platform it is today.
If you’ve been a member of the social media marketing community for some time, I don’t have to remind you that Twitter has changed quite a bit over the years.
Of course, not all the changes have been cosmetic. Since its creation in 2006, Twitter has added the retweet function, launched its own photo sharing service, and much more.
Why is all of this important? Because when you consider the development of this platform, one thing becomes clear: this is a decidedly unique social media experience.
On the surface, it’s easy to find similarities between most social media platforms.
Pinterest and Instagram both rely heavily on visual content.
Facebook and Snapchat both have their own version of video and photo content that disappears after a certain amount of time.
In an industry that seems to be leaning more and more in the direction of consolidating services, Twitter sticks out.
That’s because Twitter was built with a different focus in mind.
The world according to Twitter
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.
Two marketers walk into a bar and try to figure out whether or not they should be creating short-form or long-form content.
One marketer says that short-form content is the best type of content to grab people’s attention and offer the most value in the least amount of time.
The other marketer says that long-form content is the best because it’s more likely to provide meaningful value to users, which is what will keep them coming back for more.
It’s one of the eternal arguments of social. And, while I have my own take on this whole situation, it’s clear that certain platforms want to appeal to one type of content or the other.
To date, Twitter still enforces its 140-character limit.
It’s not a massive leap of faith to assume that the platform focuses on providing short-form content for users.
Which makes perfect sense, once you consider the kind of platform that Twitter is.
Twitter is a platform that revolves around speed.
Sure, most social media platforms are good for keeping up with current events. But Twitter is constantly focused on breaking news.
For example, you can choose any city on the planet and find out what’s trending instantly.
Twitter wants to provide its users with an uncluttered experience, which is something that short-form content does best.
But that still doesn’t answer our question. Should you be creating short-form or long-form content on Twitter?
The answer is…
Branding and the type of content that works on Twitter
You should be making the right type content for your business.
No, seriously. That’s the answer.
I can tell you all about how long-form content is more likely to lead to increased engagement and conversions.
But none of that’s going to matter if your followers don’t respond to your long-form content.
Maybe your content is the exception to the rule. Maybe your community has a unique preference for short-form content.
It doesn’t matter.
What matters is that you’re giving the people what they want.
As long as you’re experiencing consistent growth through your marketing efforts, keep doing right by your audience.
And this is where we start addressing the importance of branding if you want to be successful on social media.
Think of it this way: branding is the path to those targeted followers. You can’t have one without the other.
Platforms like Twitter give business owners the chance to engage in a meaningful conversation with their consumers. Emphasis on the word ‘conversation.’
There’s a productive back-and-forth that occurs when a business understands how to manage its social media profiles.
For one, you as a business owner get to address your audience’s concerns, share in their excitement over industry developments, and essentially get real-time feedback 24/7.
But think about what this does for users. By starting this dialogue, you’ve become more than just a faceless corporation.
With strong branding, your business develops a personality, which then leads to brand loyalty.
Why does brand loyalty matter? It’s what helps turn those targeted followers into paying customers.
Step 1: Decide the purpose of your account
For whatever reason, people tend to ignore the ‘goal creation’ step of most social media marketing strategies.
I have no idea why. I’m guessing it’s because the goals might seem obvious at first glance.
But there’s more to setting goals for your account than just wishing for better engagement.
There’s a method to the madness.
If you’re building a Twitter account from scratch, setting goals accomplishes two things:
- Starting with goals from day one helps you develop the good habit of tracking metrics. Take my word for it: The sooner you start this process, the better.
- Setting goals for your business gives you definitive chunks of time that you can analyze to gain a better understanding of how well a strategy worked.
Even if you’ve…
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