Instead of traditional client appointments or networking meetings to spread word of a business and its products or services, modern internet marketers rely on communication via social media sites. And the most popular site is the still rapidly growing social network – Twitter.
As well as using this networking site for businesses, it also enables companies to keep in touch with their current customers as well as cultivating new clients.
There is no faster way to get the word out about your business than the free opportunities provided by a social networking site like Twitter. Here we look at how to make the most of Twitter for maximum marketing benefit.
Using Twitter For Marketing Messages
Twitter has many features, one of them being that it leaves no room for empty promises. As long as a page is set up for public viewing anyone is able to browse the profile for past and present postings. Tweeters are even able to share others’ sales pitches and conversations via retweets, making each posting’s accuracy imperative for the company’s reputation.
It is argued that Twitter’s biggest weakness doubles as its greatest strength, being that each message, or tweet rather, has a 140 Twitter character limit. This forces businesses to provide clear and succinct information instead of posting messages with excessive banter and filler conversation. With short, sweet, and to the point tweets, you give readers the information you want them to know while keeping them interested and coming back to read future tweets.
Think about retweeting before you write your micro-blog post. You want to post a message that others find interesting enough to share; that is the best way to market through Twitter and obtain the deepest reach.
How To Make The Most Of Twitter While Keeping It Short
The question is how to make the most of Twitter? Convey a large amount of information in a very short space! Here are some tips…
Perhaps the best way is to post links to content on your website or blog. Write a short teaser about the content then use the bit.ly URL shortener or another URL shortening service to give you the maximum amount of space. Don’t just reference your own material; provide links to news stories and articles that will be of interest to your followers. You don’t want to be marked as a spammer because all of your posts promote your own company.
Online shorthand is an excellent tool. Most avid Tweeters already know the lingo, so posting “R U ready 4 the holidays?” is easily understood while taking up minimal space. Some find that to be a pet peeve, though so take your target audience into consideration before using texting lingo and even then, keep it to a minimum to ensure the vast majority understand you.
Focus on a single message you want to convey. Don’t jump around on topics but keep each post relevant to one particular subject. If you’ve got a lot to share, post more than one message but refrain from flooding your follower’s home page with several posts all within a short span of time.
Using Twitter for internet marketing is all about building relationships and extending reach. The challenge is obtaining these goals in 140 characters or less and many Twitter users are doing just that!
See you at the top of Google!
Sean Rasmussen
SEO Australia Pacific
AussieSEO.com © 2007 - 2010
Twitter is definitely becoming more used by mainstream businesses. I keep an eye on @virginblue waiting for specials and today they asked us where we would like to go (I chose Perth). Being interactive and keeping it short really does get the message out.
.-= Tania Shipman´s last blog ..Internet Marketing Competition – Win Cash and Prizes =-.
You emphasize some good points here. Twitter users need to give some forethought to their tweets for maximum effect. I know I am annoyed by those that blast random tweets every few minutes. Eventually, I will un-follow them because it too much work to find the gold nugget among all the stones. Well composed and targeted tweets make a much better impression. I have just started to utilize social media to promote my IM blog so I am a little behind the curve. Thanks for the tips.
.-= Richard Stephen´s last blog ..10 Costly Search Engine Mistakes to Avoid Now =-.
Hi Sean,
To date I have not done a lot of tweeting so far, but I do see the benefit , I am only just learning how to make the most of Twitter.
.-= RitaPepper´s last blog ..Learn and Earn =-.
I don’t think twitter would work as well if it’s character limit was over 140 characters. It forces people to cut out the waffle and get to the point. And that’s exactly what you need to do to make the most of twitter. I’m also a user of bit.ly. I heard recently that Twitter is about to launch its own url shortening service, so watch this space.
.-= David Moloney´s last blog ..Creating a Website For Your Business =-.
G’day Sean,
As I wade through the gigantic amount of info in the IMPOTY package, I haven’t got to the Twitter part yet, although I’ve watched the webinars and forum videos about its’ use. Got about 700 followers and done about 500 tweets or Retweets so far.
I do like the idea of the 140 characters as a means of getting to the point in a most succinct way. I remember you telling of either a fire or accident in Bunbury where the message got through faster on Twitter than through the usual communication methods.
There are plenty of other communication methods if you wish to have an extended message sent.
Cheers
Harry
.-= Harry Lynn´s last blog ..SEAN RASMUSSEN’S ” LEARN AND EARN ” COMPETITION. =-.
Hi Harry,
Reminds me of the story of the pedestrian who took a photo on his mobile phone of the jet landing on the Hudson River in New York and then posted it on Twitter before any mainstream media could report on it. Word spread and before long, reporters were logging on to Twitter to access the picture. It just goes to show how powerful not only Twitter but social media in general is and we should all be using it to our advantage.
Hey Sean,
I did have a Twitter account about a year ago, and started following a few prominent Internet Marketers. Obviously, from following them, I gained exposure and gained more followers, and then suddenly found that I was being inundated by a sea of tiny urls and sales pitches from all over the place. I thought the whole idea of using these media/mediums was to build up a relationship? Or don’t I get it? *grin* It seemed like the moment I started following people like Mark Victor Hansen, Joel Comm, Mike Filsaime, I’d become awash with affiliate marketers pushing items, and a lot of it was the same as what everyone else was pushing.
Cheers,
Pete
.-= Pete Boyer´s last blog ..peteboyr: @bullhunter Thanks, Sean. Just reviewing the webinar, and will get to your blogs after that. Big night ahead, pizza on the way! =-.
Many people don’t see the social side of social media Pete. Many people just promote, in my opinion, this won’t get them too far over the long haul.
interesting! Peter’s comment revives my skepticism Sean, as mentioned in an earlier comment.
I agree, there’s just too much business in some social profiles that you get so bored of even logging on. I rarely send out a “sales pitch” and even then it’s a light message that I would be proud to send to friends and family (as I am doing just that).
Facebook has an excellent feature that allows you to hide some of your “friends” so that their constant advertising doesn’t appear on your main page. That way you can go to them when you need them, ignore them politely when you don’t and still remain friends.
.-= Sarah Butland´s last blog ..The Magic of Believing Review =-.
I like that line of Sarah’s “…you can go to them when you need them, ignore them politely when you don’t and still remain friends”
For me the main problem I have with Twitter is that the page formating is so “busy” that it looks a bit like a bulldog’s face after dinner. There’s so much crap in their and it’s all over the place that I find it difficult to sort out the good stuff from the spamy comments that my eyes glaze over quickly and I tend ot not rread very much at all.
One thing to consider Ray, is that you are only seeing content from people you are following. If you see too much “crap” you can always stop following particular users.
Thank you, Ray. I like it when I’m successful at being liked with my writing. It’s what I strive for with each and every word.
Sean’s right – you can easily make Twitter or any social networking site your own. See as little or as much marketing as you want. It’s a very good tool to use for your own “must work on” or “Must avoid” ideas too. What you find annoying you more than likely annoys someone else so you know to reuse what you respond to.
.-= Sarah Butland´s last blog ..The Magic of Believing Review =-.
Thanks Sean,
Some really useful tips here. I have been using twitter for a while now but it always is good to refresh and pick up a few pointers. I’m of the old school and it does grate my nerves a little to see too much texting language. When I can’t understand what has been written on twitter within a few seconds I loose interest and move on. I think that your tip to keep the texting language to a minimum is right on the money and also to remember that people of all ages and different levels of understanding of the English language are likely to reading your tweets.
.-= Bev Langford´s last blog ..Internet Marketing Competition – Win Cash and Prizes – Learn and Earn Free =-.
Hi Sean,
Thanks for the great tips on how to best use twitter to utilize the available 140 characters, & to connect with others. I’m also a user of bitly and some of the other great tools available, as the can be a real time saver.
Twitter is definitely a site that if you can write great eye catching titles/micro-posts, can really be a powerful tool to communicate to get the message out to your followers, which is an area I would like to improve.
.-= Cade´s last blog ..Learn & Earn from Aussie Internet Marketer Sean Rasmussen for free. =-.
Hi Sean,
Thanks for the great tips on how to best use twitter to utilize the available 140 characters, & to connect with others. I’m also a user of bitly and some of the other great tools available, as the can be a real time saver.
Twitter is definitely a site that if you can write great eye catching titles/micro-posts, can really be a powerful tool to communicate to get the message out to your followers, which is an area I would like to improve.
.-= Cade´s last blog ..Learn & Earn from Aussie Internet Marketer Sean Rasmussen for free. =-.
Hi Sean
Yes twiiter is a good place to get your business out there with short quick attention grabbing phrases with links to your main blogs or websites. If you have written somethig that has grabbed there attention they will no doubt check out your blog or website for more in formation and they will keep following you on twitter and retweet if they like it.
Tiffany
I can see how being direct and to the point can be a massive advantage to someone who is deciding to buy a product/service. It cuts through the cr#$ and let the consumer decide if they want to look into it more. I know I don’t like reading heaps to decide if I might be interested. Some good tips above for keeping it short for us Sean. 140 characters aren’t many.
I personally much prefer tweets which show the literary talents of said tweeter. Using actual words instead of abbreviations is a challenge and makes the tweet much more readable. Yes, it makes you think about which words and what statements are important but in this fast paced society isn’t that what Twitter is all about?
.-= Sarah Butland´s last blog ..The Magic of Believing Review =-.
Hi, Sean. I use Twitter to announce a new piece of jewelry added to my online store, or when I post a new blog. It definitely keeps me focused on saying the most with the least amount of words. Thanks for the tips on how to use it best.
Hi Sean,
I agree, Twitter is getting more and more mainstream and more and more important.
What I really like about the 140 character limit is that it is the best training to write a great headline. And that does help in other areas of Internet Marketing immensely.
.-= Renee´s last blog ..Self Improvement Books – What Are Your Favourites =-.
I’ve found the 140 character limit just right for me when I’ve tweeted, as I haven’t had much to say in my tweets so far. I can however, see it becoming more important to write concise tweets as I develop my online reputation and have a lot more to offer my followers in the future.
.-= Colin´s last blog ..Gratitude =-.
It also helps to use hashtags when you tweet, as these ‘group’ tweets into categories that others may be monitoring. For example, all my travel stuff I send out to twitter, I add #travel at the end. This means that all people filtering tweets for keywords for travel will see this, separate to their normal twitter stream. I found this helps targeting tweets to people who are interested.
.-= Anthony The Travel Tart´s last blog ..How To Ride A Bike – With an Ox =-.
Anthony, this is a great tip. Thank you for sharing this with your comments on twitter.
Cheers Cath
I’ve never really known how to make the most out of twitter and have often felt it to be a waste of time. But taking a second look I can see the benefits of it to get your message out there quickly without having to spend a lot of time typing out a post.
.-= Jackie Stenhouse´s last blog ..Falling Pregnant =-.
As I have never used Twitter and have 0 followers, this was a great insight in how to best utilise Twitter. I like the fact that you have to get to the point – and now I understand what the bit – url shortner is too…. now i just need to give it a go.
Cheers
.-= Nateele´s last blog ..Hello world! =-.
Good to hear Nateele, get stuck into it and have fun
I joined Twitter last week and have to admit I don’t really know may way around it. This article has cleared up a few points. I have an abhorrence for text speak and agree with the other comments. If I have to decipher it, I’ll move on to the next thing.
If you don’t like text speak you may find Twitter is not to your liking Tori. As there is only 140 characters, many people will shorten words to fit their message in, not something I like to do, but many people do
If people can write whole stories in six words (Ernest Hemingway’s For sale: Baby shoes, never worn) think how much we can write in 140 characters.
I like Twitter precisely because of its brevity. In times of information overload, it is refreshing to get a short message and be able to assess whether it is worth clicking onwards. I have automated my Twitter as well and have built up over 7000 followers – which I need to focus on more as I move on.
I love twitter because it is short and sweet. I love a quick read, I think it is very powerful.
.-= Melanie Braggs´s last blog ..Building Chicken Coops =-.
In response to Jackie. I was the same. It really depends on what you want to use it for. It is as Elizabeth says a great way to launch a new product. This is mainly what I use it for; to create interest around What’s on, announce competitions and offers. As Sean says using Bit.ly is fantastic, especially as our URL’s are quite long, it is also a very good tracking tool. If you don’t want to use Twitter to launch products or announce things, then another way it to just monitor what people are saying about your company or product. I recently wanted to get my money back, I was having no luck over the phone or email, so I wrote a Tweet to them. I got my money back the next day!
Once again thanks Sean for more important and useful information. Must admit that I have not used Twitter to date, however can now see the benefit of using and becoming familiar with this social media tool. Off to investigate further.
.-= Cheryl Griffin´s last blog ..Generating a ‘moderate’ monthly income from your stock portfolio =-.
Hi Sean,
l must admit to not really knowing as much about Twitter as l should either but after reading the article l can begin to understand its’ importance. l have had an account for a little while now so hopefully this will encourage me to use it more in the future.
One other benefit of bit.ly, other than for tweeting, is that you can use it to gather statistics on hits to pages etc. This is handy especially in conjunction with Google analytics and if you are tracking adsense income.
I am increasingly learning the benefits of keeping things short and sweet, through writing essays for uni! Twitter is no exception then! It helps people to effectively understand your message, and also is a useful tool to help you learn to convey your message clearly and concisely.
Sean, I really appreciate your posting this blog. I have only just joined Facebook and still dealing with getting around that. I fundamentally agree that social media is where the future is (for media and networking) but there are obviously learning curves, traps, and maybe some www privacy issues. This blog has created some excellent mixed feedback (which I will come back to later to read more thoroughly). I will be taking a look at Twitter in due course. Right now, I need to digest!! thanks heaps for what you have done for us already. GH
Thanks Sean – I definitely have to get on board with the Twitter automation tools as well.
Do you have a different emphasis on twitter updates -vs- facebook status updates?
The same basic best practices apply to both Twitter and Facebook ( and almost all social sites)… be yourself, provide useful content, don’t spam and have some fun in the process
Thanks Sean. I have tired Twitter, given up, tried again, given up and now have reached my 2001 limit of following and wonder if it’s all really worth it.
However, with this prod and push and am going to see if I can find a way to think in shorthand to I don’t exceed 140 characters before I get something said.
I will do my best thanks to you and your help.
Dobbs
.-= Dobbs Franks´s last blog ..Today’s Most Vexing Question Is Which Brandy? Armagnac, Cognac or Calvados =-.
Good article for me as I am one of those ‘too wordy’ people.
I don’t like text message type language, and I do like a well written article or message. What I keep getting from all these articles I have been reading lately on internet marketing is that it is important to:
1. Capture a persons attention
2. Keep the message short and to the point
3. Keep the persons attention long enough to read the message
Because there is such an infusion of information on the web nowadays people want to know/learn facts fast. Definitely the KISS system.
A very valuable lesson for successful internet marketing Sean
Thankyou and kind regards
Elly
.-= Elly Wilson´s last blog .. =-.
Interesting isnt it. When I first joined twitter I thought how boring and simple is this. Now that I have added ppl I have found thats is very short and sweet and i love the idea of tweeting your point straight up
Twitter has been a slow and steadily growing process for me. I think the 140 character limit is great, as it means that people have to think smart in order to get their message across.
Nice points, but examples would have been better. Am now following Sean on Twitter. Maybe I’ll see some good examples there.
Even messages on Facebook usually have less than 140 characters. I think users are becoming very good at getting their message across in just a few words….and, like you say, there are internet marketing abbreviations and URL cloaking to make the task even easier.
.-= Jan Littlehales´s last blog ..Bread Crumbs – Handy Tips =-.
Srah makes a useful point above re being able to hide “friends” if their messages are just all about advertising and so on – didn’t know that – shows how much i have explored Facebook!
I did see a suggestion (from Ewen Chia) to not just occasionally single tweet, but rather send a series at a time e.g. general comment, a re-tweet, a joke, general comment, tweet with sales pitch – figuring this was a better way to get noticed. Repeat 3 times at different times of the day.
If time is a factor – and it is sometimes for all of us – consider automation – of messages and follow/unfollow. SocialOomph is a good one to try – it allows you to have automated messages sent to new followers – best though to make it a greeting or the like, rather than a sales pitch.
SocialOomph is a great service Peter and one that I highly recommend and use often
I love social oomph too. I used to to set automated tweets – 1 per day for 40 days. 40 Tips For A Healthy & Happpy Life. All I did was sit down for an hour or so, well worth looking into!
Just signed up and plan to make up a schedule tomorrow – thanks guys and girls
.-= Sarah Butland´s last blog ..The Magic of Believing Review =-.
An hours work can go a long way with these services Tara. Time well spent
I find that I use Twitter like an RSS reader. I follow interesting providers of news and they keep me updated throughout the day. Not really leveraging the technology yet. Hopefully Sean will teach us some great ways to use Twitter to improve our Internet Marketing.
.-= Lincoln Mah´s last blog ..Olympic Park =-.
Peter Damien Ryan
Thanks for the information concerning SocialOomph. This is a new one for me, but so is a lot of the world of the internet. I will take your advice and have a look and see how I can make it work for me.
Thanks again
Dobbs
.-= Dobbs Franks´s last blog ..Today’s Most Vexing Question Is Which Brandy? Armagnac, Cognac or Calvados =-.
Here is an article on Using SocialOomph For Twitter for those interested
Re Franks’ comment above. There are a lot of apps that can help with automation. Tweetdeck is another goodie – go to my website and I have listed some – though haven’t checked on them all for a while – http://www.affiliatemarketingcentral.net/free-resources-and-tools-1/twitter-resources
There are links – again I haven’t updated them all for a while
cheers
Hi Sean,
I first heard about Twitter from you at a seminar and have been building a following since and without really knowing why.
Knowing the information in this article that, Twitter is used for Internet Marketing purposes is very beneficial to my learning how to be a successful Internet Marketer.
Thank-you, Sean.
.-= Jill Brown´s last blog ..Common Law Marriage – What is Common Law Marriage? =-.
Peter
Thanks so much for your reply and information. As soon as I finish what I am trying to absorb at the moment I will check out your website and continue flooding my poor brain with the necessities of this venture. I just hope that when it explodes there is someone around to tidy up.
Thanks again
Dobbs
.-= Dobbs Franks´s last blog ..Today’s Most Vexing Question Is Which Brandy? Armagnac, Cognac or Calvados =-.
Twitter is an interesting beast. I know it gets a lot of traffic but what I’d really love to know is what percentage of the links actually get clicked? and of those that do click, what percentage will actually stay on your page and read your offer. I suspect that the click through and conversion rates are very low.
only just joined twitter and admit to not knowing anything about it. I see how useful this will be . Im visual so seeing how works better for me . Should get better at writing concise messages with practice.
Many are now saying that Twitter has lost it’s effectiveness and that other Social Media tools will take over. Twitter still has the potential to increase your customer base, interaction with people and communication, you just need to know the secrets to using it.
Bit.ly is a fantastic tool. Not only to shorten URL’s, but also for the analytic features provided to members.
.-= Cemil´s last blog ..Scribe SEO Plugin – Making SEO Easy =-.
I must admit that I’m as curious as Ray as to how many links in the Tweets get clicked on. I know that I will occasionally click on a link pertaining to a news article but hardly ever follow a link promoting a product. In fact, I’ll frequently unfollow someone who is flooding me with Tweets. Personally, I sometimes find the way people are using Twitter for marketing to be quite annoying. I must confess I prefer the environment I find on Plurk. There the social network is used more for “socializing” although there are some there with the sole purpose of marketing.
.-= Don White´s last blog ..I Learn to Play Guitar – Part 1 =-.
I’ve never heard of Plurk Don. I’d better check it out.
I agree that Twitter can sometimes be too much and yet too little. Facebook is my preference as I am connecting with long lost friends and able to keep up on the important news. As I don’t subscribe to a newspaper or tv I’m able to still see what’s happening in the world without facing constant negativity about every little thing.
To only see marketing tweets is mind numbing and turns me off but if I’m able to read an inspiring quote or a positive message I’m revived.
.-= Sarah Butland´s last blog ..The Magic of Believing Review =-.
I must admit I have a twitter account but wasn’t sure what to do with it. This post has really helped my thinking on the subject, especially from a marketing point of view. An earlier commenter makes a interesting point about a lot of marketers not really including the ‘social’ part in their tweets. I guess keeping it social and relevant is really the challenge if we are going to be successful in the long run.
.-= David Pearse´s last blog ..Learn Internet Marketing For Free!!! =-.
It’s amazing what little nuggets of gold are in this – I like Anthony’s suggestion about using the hash # to target – something I have not done as I have left my tweeting mainly to automation. When I do tweet I just put it out there, yet I know there are people who follow me because of certain interests e.g. my gardening tips etc.
Hi Sean, I have not bothered with Twitter up to now, but now I realise how it can be used for marketing I’ll check it out,
thanks,
Jean
After attending a seminar previously, I set up a Twitter account and followed a number of people. Then I started receiving lots of followers and now have almost 2000 followers and following. However, I need to learn more obviously on how to make use of this to generate traffic…Have been using tinyurl but bit.ly looks shorter so will check it out. Thanks.
Hi Sean,
Wow! There’s been a huge response to this post already. I agree with just about everything that’s already been said. The only thing that I would add is to put some keywords in your Twitter updates.
I often see my tweets showing up in the Google search results.
.-= Jazz Salinger´s last blog ..Learn and Earn – It’s a Marathon Not a Sprint =-.
Great tip there Jazz, keywords are definitely something to consider
That I like too! When I have done it – it was purely accidental! And you have the proof – with dear old Google.