Make Twitter Brand-Smart: 7 Wise Ways to Tweet for Businesses

Businesses tend to struggle when it comes to using Twitter effectively. They can post reliably on Facebook, run a great blog, and send out engagement-building emails, but ask companies to maintain a Twitter profile with that dreaded character limit, and marketing strategies tend to fall short. Most of the time this is because brands are (1) not sure how to use Twitter effectively and uncertain if other social media tactics will work and (2) not able to invest enough time in Twitter to make it worthwhile. Make your Tweeting effective by dodging these common mistakes and choosing wiser methods — like these:

1. Tweet for the Moment: While planning tweets days or even weeks ahead can be helpful for some businesses, on the whole tweeting should focus on the moment, on real-time happenings and current news or information. The short, swift nature of tweets makes them feel like an ongoing conversation. It is best to tweet about real-time events and work your brand into that tweet in a clever way: Keep track of your industry, local news, big international stories, and popular entertainment events. When something buzz-worthy happens, tweet about it with a clever aside about how your product or service could be applied.

2. Focus on Your Tone: Twitter tends to see a lot of posts (2-3 business tweets a day is the official recommendation, but even one will quickly lead to a long list of posts). This quickly establishes a tone among your followers, so it is important to get that tone right. Tweets tend to be more informal than longer Facebook posts, so a more informal tone is appropriate. The character limit makes brevity a requirement, so short and sweet is usually the way to go. Many successful brand tweeters have perfected ways to be snarky, make jokes, or get excited about specific ideas.

3. Make Tweets Repeatable: Use that character limit well. You don't need to make complete sentences or even use proper grammar (typically a must on other social media websites). This gives you the chance to get creative, so use it. Company slogans, mantras or mission statements tend to look good in tweets. Always aim for a saying that gets stuck in the head easily. Use alliteration, brief statements, "visual" words and action verbs. Think about song lyrics or chants for inspiration.

4. Link Up to Meaningful Content: If you are serious about Twitter, it is worth the extra investment to access the business tools that Twitter makes available so that you can directly post things like photos and videos. This is a great way to make a joke, reference a viral event, and, of course, showcase a product. Even if you do not want to pay anything for Twitter tools or Cards, do not be afraid to link to these things.

5. Tweet What Excites You: Avoid tweeting pure marketing content. It will be boring, ineffective and annoying in the Twitter format, so use it very sparingly. Instead, tweet what excites you — particularly you the business. If there is an exciting bit of industry innovation or news, tweet it. If you have reached a company milestone, use some exclamation points and let people know. If something makes you laugh, or makes you especially curious, throw it up on Twitter, too.

6. Use Hashtags with a Purpose: Hashtags should never be a fire-and-forget activity. If you use a hashtag, have a plan. Incorporate it into your social media monitoring to see how others are using it. Create noteworthy hashtags that tie back to brand slogans or deals and have words that will pop up elsewhere in your marketing. Or, latch on to popular hashtags that will help others find your tweets.

7. Answer Questions – All the Time: Encourage followers to ask questions so that you can answer them. Treat Twitter like an ongoing FAQ where you can provide details, clear up misunderstandings, and link to Web pages that provide specific solutions.

Using Twitter effectively is all about finding ways to be fun, engaging, topical and timely on a regular basis. Cultivating that mindset and habit can be a challenge in the beginning, but once you get the hang of it, you'll see your followers, retweets and mentions steadily grow, making Twitter an effective new channel for your brand.

About the Author

Jason Bayless is a professional blogger that gives small business and entrepreneurs SEO advice. He writes for BestSEOCompanies.com, a nationally recognized comparison website of the best SEO services in the United States.