We've written about Twitter for business before, on how to get started, Dos and Don'ts, how to develop your voice on Twitter and even the design of the site.
This week we thought it might be useful to offer some top tips of simple things to try, aiming to increase your reach and therefore influence, as well as add to your presence on the site (and beyond).
1. Reach out to new followers.
One simple thing we try to do is to say hello to anyone who follows us.
Although the people who follow you won't all be relevant to your business, every now and then it leads to an interesting interaction.
It also sets a friendly and open tone to your Twitter feed, which reflects well on your presence, and establishes a welcoming atmosphere, serving to encourage positive interaction.
Example of a welcome tweet
2. Participate - make use of the hashtag
The great thing about Twitter is how inclusive it can be - leading to conversations and interactions that build communities of people.
The hashtag is a great way to harness this feeling of community, and it's well worth participating in established ones or if you're feeling more ambitious, building your own - especially useful if you're holding an event.
There are hashtags connected to various communities (eg #CT = charity tuesdays), and using them will help you become more involved in discussions relevant to your field.
Tagdef is a site that gives information about new, popular or trending hashtags, and provides a definition.
3. Celebrate others
A good way to increase your influence is to establish yourself as participatory and enthusiastic.
No one responds well to Twitter users who only talk about themselves, and as such, the more you celebrate your connections, by recommending them to others, acknowledging their input (always credit your sources!), retweeting them and generally being positive, the more people will feel willing to do the same for you.
An easy way to give something back is to participate in the #FF (follow friday) hashtag.
On a Friday you can use it to recommend people you like or admire to your followers, and generate some positive discussions.
Over to You
If you have any comments or advice, please let us know here or on Twitter, or Facebook.
If you have a Twitter account, please share a link to it in the comments below.
