Running a small business, it is critical to make sure that you promote yourself to the best of your ability. You probably have a limited marketing budget to work with, and you need to use every tool to your advantage. Luckily, there are resources out there like Twitter that make it possible for small businesses to get the word out. While Twitter is becoming massively popular, there are plenty of entrepreneurs out there that do not know how to use the service. If you’re in the dark in regards to Twitter, here are the basics of how to use it for your small business.
Twitter Basics
The basic idea behind Twitter is pretty simple. You set up an account and then people can follow you. When they follow you, any updates that you post will be visible to them. They can respond to your updates and you can contact people directly if they follow you.
In order to get started promoting your business with Twitter, you’re going to need to open an account. The process of opening an account is simple and straightforward. After you have an account, it is important to fill out your profile. Put as much information as you can, so that people can see what you’re all about. Upload a profile picture and include a link to your website.
Get Involved
If you want to have success with promoting your small business on Twitter, you’re going to have to get involved. Just like everything else in business, you will only get out as much as you put in. This means that you should tweet frequently and try to respond to people as much as possible. If you get a large number of followers, you may have to pick and choose who you respond to in the interest of time.
Custom Searches
One of the nice things about using Twitter is that you can also utilize it’s custom search features. You can search for people talking about certain topics and certain areas. For example, if you are a real estate agent in Tulsa, you can search for the keywords “real estate Tulsa” and all of the tweets that have those words will be displayed. You can then get involved in the conversation as much as possible. This can be an easy way to find people who are interested in what you have to offer.
Network
Another good way to utilize Twitter is to network with other people in your industry or in related industry. Twitter has opened the doors to some great relationships over the years, and it can do the same for you. You could get to know the CEO of a major distributor in your industry. This might make it possible to get your foot in the door with people who you would ordinarily not be able to work with.
Overall, Twitter can be a really solid tool to use in small business promotion. Play around with it and get your feet wet before jumping in headfirst.
