Twitter

[Office Mover]

Hi,
I recently set up a twitter account for the company I work for (Commercial Removals & Storage) and one for myself.
Not sure if I really get it.
I've started following some organisations, but not getting much response from posts I've made.
Any ideas of how to get more followers would be appreciated.

 

[fisicx]

Why do you want followers? Their value is almost zero. What you should be doing is joining in other conversations. However, the number of leads you will get is going to be miniscule so it's probably not worth the effort.

 

[WebshopMechanic]

Hi @Office Mover, welcome to the time-consuming world of social media. (joke)

OK, the important thing to realise about any social media platform is that they 'are not direct sales tool'. They are 'conversation tools' that will help you build exposure for your brand.

In my opinion, you should never promote offers, deals, exclusives unless you are a retail business and that's what your audience wants. Even then, I'd limit what sales messages go up there because people switch off from sales deals.

From your perspective, you want to identify people/companies who are your target audience, partners and competitors. Follow them and aim to have a conversation with them by replying to their tweets and tagging them in comments and questions.

For example:

- If a target customer tweets about a problem then you can reply with a helpful answer. Don't just say 'we can help, call us'. Actually offer detailed advice on the platform. If you are seen to be helpful you will attract business people you seem more approachable.

- If a partner tweets about a contract you have worked on together then you can chip in with a nugget of information about how you saved them money or were more efficient.

- If a competitor tweets about a piece of news or legislation then you can chip in. You can agree or disagree with a debate but don't slag each other off because it doesn't look good. Whilst they are your competitor, there is plenty of work to go around and sometimes it helps to have these people on your side because they could be a useful ally further down the line.

If you want to promote discussion then you can post comments about news stories that your audience might find interesting. It's up to you to provoke thought and discussion.

To be honest, it will take time to build. It's not an overnight thing but, if you are active and quite creative it can work well. You can share client wins but people really want to know solutions to problem. That's where you will gain the most reaction.

Another thing to remember is that it's not about the numbers. It's about reaching the right audience.

It might people worth using a virtual assistant with experience on Twitter to get you started. You could probably find someone for £200 a month on People Per Hour or Upwork.

Good luck

Matt

 

[Ashley_Price]

Hi,
I recently set up a twitter account for the company I work for (Commercial Removals & Storage) and one for myself.
Not sure if I really get it.
I've started following some organisations, but not getting much response from posts I've made.
Any ideas of how to get more followers would be appreciated.

First question, do you really have time for this?

It may sound quick and simple, until you read @WebshopMechanic and see how time-consuming it can be.

I used to "live" on social media, but I stopped using Twitter last year (at least for business purposes) and I found I have had more work through "traditional" advertising by using the time I would spend on Twitter, contacting prospects direct.

With social media it is probably best not to start at all, rather than to start and then let it die off, so you're not doing any posts and all people see is an account that hasn't been used for months.

 

[Bruce.D]

You can buy some adverts initially at Twitter by providing valuable tweets to your potential customers. Then the users will follow your account.

 

[KindaichiShota]

There is an article and you can find 50 tips there for twitter.
The title of the article is "50 Free Ways To Increase Your Twitter Followers"
In google in the search box type the article title and you will get it.

Read the article and hopefully you will get many tips to improve more followers.
Good Luck.

 

[alex360]

Hi I agree with lots of comments here, social media take lots of time, if you have a blog ( with Wordpress platform) you can feed your social media with your blog content which save you time, now I am not expert in this field so you need to dig further with this.
Alex

 

[Office Mover]

Thanks to everyone for the helpful comments on this. I must admit I don't have that much time for social media (just dipping in here now on lunch break!) I will say, personally I don't read what I consider to be blatant advertising on twitter but will have a quick look at any article that's interesting.

 

[Website Design Ltd]

With social media it is probably best not to start at all, rather than to start and then let it die off, so you're not doing any posts and all people see is an account that hasn't been used for months.

I'm not entirely sure I agree. I think having some kind of presence is always going to be better than not being there at all. Whilst Twitter is time-consuming, your industry isn't going to dictate any kind of fixed schedule for your tweets. All I would say is that as & when you have something to say, say it.

As most of the other responses have said, try not to focus on numbers too much. Whilst building your audience is only going to be positive, it isn't the be all and end all.

Check through relevant hashtags and try and engage in the conversations going on surrounding your industry and you should start to see things pick up. I also wouldn't expect to attribute any set conversions to Twitter activity, but it should help bring in a little bit of traffic here or there. It's still not worth writing off.

 

[Highland Spring]

The advantage of twitter is that you can #tag and the tweet then has a potential chance to appear for those searching for the same keyword. It takes bit of practice and effort, I know people who have done well with it but for me social media is a bit like mobile phones - a younger persons thing!

 

[Xerxes]

Start by following relevant accounts (as mentioned above) and spend time listening. See how Twitter works before you dive in creating your own content and potentially making Twitter mistakes that the established users won't like. Again, as mentioned above, it takes time to understand it, and then to build your own presence on Twitter.
Make sure your company's website and email signatures have a link to your Twitter account. Don't focus on using it for advertising, especially in the beginning, be more focused on providing informative and interesting comments, answers and relevant links. And be prepared to respond to your customers once they know you're on Twitter.
Hope that helps.

 

[Lisaresnick]

To get more followers on twitter,
1. Follow who people they are looking for your services
2. RT and Like tweets of other people who have in your industry
3. Get follow back who follow you

 

[Createanddirect]

Hi,

Twitter is a great platform to provide information and customer service to your target audience. Make sure your not selling but provide value.

1. Give advice and news on your industry
2. Communicate with those you follow and those who follow you.
3. Don't make it all about business, show the human side to your brand and just share thoughts and ask interesting questions that will get people to engage with you and build a relationship with you outside just business talk.
4. Twitter can be time consuming but the best way I manage twitter for my clients is with a scheduling tool such as Hoot-suite. Every Sunday I would schedule 5 tweets for each day and then throughout the week when I have time I can log in and retweet, engage and add to the scheduled tweets. If I don't have time I know that at least my twitter is still active.

I hope this was helpful.