Marketing in the age of social media allows for an open line of communication between businesses and their customers but what should businesses avoid when using Twitter?
- Stop Auto Direct Messages – It’s tempting to generate a “thank you for the follow” type of message. It seems personal but the reality is everyone knows it is an auto-responder; especially when your account does not follow their account back and they will realize that Direct Messaging is limited unless you follow them back. It just comes off as spam and people dislike spam.
- Create Unique Content Delivered with Intention and Moderation – First off, spamming does not work. It takes many forms on Twitter but spam is spam and everyone responds badly to it. Following a ton of people in hopes that they return the favor is a fruitless task. Whenever an account is following several thousand but is being followed by few, it’s a good sign they’re looking to spam their followers. People avoid those accounts. Sending tweets out promoting your blog, newsletter, website, special offers etc. are fine in moderation but do too much of it and people will tune it all out. Mix in tweets and retweets of interesting content, fun stuff, anything informative or of interest.
- Do Follow Back – At least in the beginning, reward new followers by following them back. Over time, as your list of followers grows, you can be more selective but following back not only helps build new followers but gives you content to retweet and curate to share on other social media platforms.
While all social media platforms can be powerful tools for marketing, it is important that you focus on the word “social” more than the desire to get your message and marketing content out into the world. People love to feel connected so find ways to engage with your online audience by creating unique content. Experiment and respond to everyone as positively and professionally as possible.
