Business Leads on Twitter: 5 Free Ways to Attract Them

4 min read

January 21, 2016 • Block Advisors

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Twitter has come a long way since Jack Dorsey tweeted just setting up my twttr in 2006. Roughly 307 million monthly active users were clocked in 2015’s third quarter, according to Statista.

Individuals and businesses don’t necessarily visit Twitter thinking that they’re going to learn about a product or service that could help them personally or professionally. They go there for many different reasons. To be educated. To be entertained. To see what people they’re following are saying. To read breaking news and announcements. To discover, and to be surprised.

But they could stumble onto your company in a variety of ways. They might, for example,

• See a retweet that a happy customer posted,
• Read some tweets of yours that intrigued them, even if they weren’t directly related to your company’s offerings, or,
• Have your business come up in a hashtag or keyword that they were exploring.

Of course, they may also come across your Twitter feed when they are looking for a solution to a problem. Either way, you need to be ready for them when they arrive. Here are some things to keep in mind as you develop content.

Optimize your profile. Twitter isn’t LinkedIn. You don’t have the luxury of creating a comprehensive corporate profile that describes your company and its mission. You can’t link to Showcase pages and expand on product and service offerings. You get to designate a name and scant few additional details, add a profile photo (which will appear as an icon in all of your tweets) and a header photo, and write a brief summary (160 characters max).

So you need to make those elements count. Incorporate your keywords in your summary. Use photos that reinforce your brand and your message, and that your viewers will immediately understand – because you only have a few seconds to make an impression. And be sure that your “handle” isn’t overly lengthy or obscure.

Capitalize on trending topics and hashtags. Obviously, you want to get your company name in front of as many Twitter viewers as you can. Don’t force it, but tweet and retweet in areas that honestly interest you. Casual conversations can attract prospects, but don’t spend too much time trying to build random online relationships. Pursue likely leads.

Use effective visuals. Would it surprise you to learn that Instagram has more users than Twitter? That’s how important visuals are to the social media universe. Use photos and videos to supplement your written content so people can see your message, not just read about it. You might consider incorporating Vine videos; their brevity can make them more likely to be seen.

Take advantage of Twitter’s own guidance. The Twitter site offers a comprehensive Help section on using Twitter for business purposes that’s actually quite good. You can also learn here about advertising possibilities and other fee-based ways to promote yourself – or at least increase the chances that you’ll get noticed.

Sweat your content. Jack Dorsey didn’t know what a huge success Twitter would become when he typed just setting up my twttr in 2006. You, on the other hand, know that hundreds or thousands of people could be viewing your tweets. So your grammar, punctuation, and spelling should be pristine, since their accuracy will reflect on your company’s image.

Some experts suggest that you not fill up your character allotment in posts that you’d like to see retweeted. Give your audience a chance to add a few words.

Making the Connection

It goes without saying that you should be providing links to your website content within at least some of your tweets. You won’t necessarily be guiding interested parties to an actual sales page unless your tweet is, for example, a new product announcement. They might be interested in reading a how-to piece or other educational content that you’ve posted on your site. Smart website design will make it easy for them to explore the rest of your site.

It’s easy to get lost in Twitter and spend way more time than is necessary to pick up leads. But you’ll feel less pressed to look for leads on Twitter if your presence is appealing to people who find you.