How to Use Twitter for Business a Beginners Guide 2011-05-06

8/4/2019 How to Use Twitter for Business a Beginners Guide 2011-05-06

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ABeginnersGuide

http://www.HubSpot.comor@HubSpot

http://Twitter.Grader.comor@Grader

WanttolearnmoreaboutusingTwitterforMarketingandPR?

Downloadthefreewebinarforlotsoftipsandtrickstodriveyourinboundmarketingtoincreasetraffic

andleadsusingTwitter.(http://hubspot.me/?Twitter)
http://twitter.com/HubSpothttp://twitter.com/Graderhttp://hubspot.me/?Twitterhttp://hubspot.me/?Twitterhttp://hubspot.me/?Twitterhttp://hubspot.me/?Twitterhttp://hubspot.me/?Twitterhttp://hubspot.me/?Twitterhttp://hubspot.me/?Twitterhttp://twitter.com/Graderhttp://twitter.com/HubSpothttp://hubspot.me/?Twitterhttp://hubspot.me/?Twitter


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Page2of25 www.HubSpot.com

TableofContents

Introto

Twitter

InboundMarketingandtheNewRules

Twitter101

BasicTwitterVocabulary

TwitterFromaBusinessPerspective

SettingUpandOptimizingYourProfile

Step1:SignUpforTwitter

Step2:PersonalizeYourProfile

Step3:StartTweeting

Step

4:

Find

People

to

Follow

Step5:GetPeopletoFollowYou

Step6:EngageWithyourNetwork

UsingTwitterforBusiness

UseTwitterforMarketing

UseTwitterforPublicRelations

UseTwitterforCustomerService

TrackandAnalyzeYourCampaigns

ConclusionandAdditionalResources


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PartOne:IntroductiontoTwitter


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InboundMarketingandtheNewRulesThemajorityoftodaystraditionalmarketersuseoutboundmarketingtoreachtheiraudiences.For

messagedistribution,theyuseprintmedia,radioandTV.Forleadgeneration,theyusedirectmail,cold

calls

and

email

blasts.

These

methods

may

have

worked

in

the

past;

however,

by

using

tools

like

TIVO/DVR,emailspamblockersandcallerID,consumersblockmessagestheydontwant.Peoplenow

controlhowtheyconsumemediaandwhatmessagestheycaretohear.

Butallisnotlost!Consumersstillwanttolearnaboutthebestproductsandservicesfortheirneeds.

Thekeyistheywanttofindthisinformationontheirown,mostoftenbyusingtheInternet.For

example,someonemightperusetheblogospheretoreadfirsthandexperienceswithaparticular

product.Maybethatpersonwillalsosearchforreviewsonlineorengagewithothersinsocialmediato

learnotherviewsandopinions.

Insteadofcontinuingtopushmarketingmessagesout,effectivemarketersadapttothisconsumer

behaviorby

creating

marketing

campaigns

that

pull

people

into

their

business.

This

strategy

is

called

inboundmarketing.Inboundmarketersofferthepublicusefulinformation,toolsandresourcesto

attractpeopletotheirsite,whilealsointeractinganddevelopingrelationshipswithconsumersonthe

web.Inboundmarketingtoolsincludeblogging,contentpublishing,searchengineoptimization,social

mediaandsocialnetworks.

Twitterisoneofthemostpowerfulsocialnetworksforyourbusiness.

Twitter101So,whatisTwitter?

Quiteoften,peoplesgutreactiontoTwitteris,Nooneneedstoknow

whatImdoingorIdontcarewhatotherpeoplearedoing.

Whilethismaybethesurfaceview,Twitterisalsoagreatwaytoexpand

yournetwork.InthewordsofChrisBrogan,Twitterisausefulcommunicationtoolthatallowsyouto

interactwithpeoplearoundtheworldinthreedifferentways:

1) Sendashortmessagetoabunchofpeoplepublicly2) Sendashortmessagetoaspecificpersonpublicly3) Sendashortmessagetoaspecificpersonprivately
http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/4416/Inbound-Marketing-the-Next-Phase-of-Marketing-on-the-Web.aspxhttp://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/4416/Inbound-Marketing-the-Next-Phase-of-Marketing-on-the-Web.aspxhttp://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/4416/Inbound-Marketing-the-Next-Phase-of-Marketing-on-the-Web.aspxhttp://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/4416/Inbound-Marketing-the-Next-Phase-of-Marketing-on-the-Web.aspxhttp://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/4416/Inbound-Marketing-the-Next-Phase-of-Marketing-on-the-Web.aspx


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Twitterisalsoreferredtoasa"microblogging"service,meaningyoucanpostshortupdateslimitedto

140charactersorless.Why?Originally,thelimitationwascreatedtomakeTwittercompatiblewith

mobilephonesandtextmessaging.Now,itsausefulcharacteristicthatallowsuserstoreceiverapid

fire,conciseinformationfrommany,manypeople!

BasicTwitterVocabularyTwitterHandle:Alsoknownasausername.Thisisthenameyouselecttorepresentyourself.

ToFollow:TosubscribetosomeonesupdatesonTwitter.YoudothisbyclickingtheFollowbuttonon

thatspecificpersonsTwitterpage,whichcanbefoundathttp://twitter.com/USERNAME.(Insertthe

specificpersonsusernameintotheURL,likehttp://twitter.com/HubSpot).Whenyoufollowsomeone,

theirupdateswillbedisplayedonyourTwitterpagesoyouknowwhattheyaredoing.

ToFollowBack:Tosubscribetotheupdatesofsomeonewhohasrecentlystartedfollowingyou.

Wheneveranewpersonfollowsyou,youreceiveanemailalertfromTwitter.Intheemail,therewillbe

alinktothatpersonsprofile.Byclickingthelink,youcancheckoutwhotheyareanddecidetofollow

thembackornot.Itisnotrequiredtofolloweveryoneback,butmanypeopleliketo.

Follower:Apersonwhohassubscribedtoreceiveyourupdates.Youcanseeyourtotalnumberof

followersonyourTwitterprofilepage.

Update:Alsoknownasatweet.Theycanbenolongerthan140characters.(Laterwewilltalkaboutdifferenttypesofupdates.)YoupostyourupdateinthewhitetextboxunderWhatareyoudoing?@Reply:

A

public

message

sent

from

one

Twitter

user

to

another

by

putting

@USERNAME

at

the

beginningofthetweet.

DirectMessage(orDM):AprivatemessagesentfromoneTwitterusertoanotherbyeitherclickingthe

messagelinkontheirprofileortypingDUSERNAME.

TwitterStream:Alistofapersonsrealtimeupdates.Everytimeyoupostanupdate,itgoesintoyour

Twitterstream,whichisfoundonyouraccountpagealsoathttp://twitter.com/USERNAME.

Tweetup:AneventspecificallyorganizedforTwitteruserstomeetupandnetwork,usuallyinformal.

Hashtag(#):Atooltoaggregatetheconversationsurroundinganeventortheme.Createdbycombining

a#with

aword,

acronym

or

phrase

(#WORD).

Retweet(orRT):Torepeatwhatsomeoneelsehasalreadytweeted.Peopledothisifsomeonehassaid

somethingespeciallyvaluableandtheywanttheirownnetworktoseetheinformationtoo.

(Example:Retweet@USERNAME:Checkoutthiscoolresource).
http://twitter.com/HubSpothttp://twitter.com/HubSpot


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TwitterfromaBusinessPerspectiveInshort,Twitterisarelationshipbuildingandrelationshipmaintenancetool;themostobviousbusiness

useofTwitteristomeetpotentialcustomersandleadsthesamewayyouwouldatnetworkingeventor

tradeshow.

However,youcanalsouseitto:

1) Developandpromoteyourbrand2) Interactwithyourcustomerbase3) Trackwhatpeoplearesayingaboutyourcompanyandbrand4) Createbuzzaroundupcomingevents5) Helpindividualemployeesactasliaisonstothepublic6) Promoteothercontentyouvecreated,includingwebinars,blogpostsorpodcasts7) DevelopdirectrelationshipswithbloggersandjournalistsforpotentialPRplacement

ThiseBookwillfirstexplainthestepstogetinvolvedinTwitterandthenexplorehowtofullyutilizeit

fromabusinessperspective.


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PartTwo:SettingUpandOptimizingYourProfile


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Step1:SignUpForTwitterSonowyouneedtogetsignedupforTwitter!

Beforesigningup,considerifyouwantapersonalorabusinessTwitteraccount.Botharegoodfora

companyto

have,

but

serve

different

purposes.

Companyaccount:Representsthecompanyasawhole.Usethistypeofaccountto:

Keepyourcustomerbaseuptodateonyourevents Promoterecentblogarticlesornews Updateyourconsumersaboutproducts/services Giverealtimeupdatesatconferencesandevents

Personalaccount:Usedbyanindividualemployeeatthecompany.Thisaccounttypeismore

personalized,canbeusedtotalkaboutnoncompanyrelatedthingsandisbetterfordirectrelationship

building.Usethistypeofaccountto:

Actasaliaisontothepublicforyourcompany Updatepeopleonwhatyoureworkingon Sharetidbitsaboutyourpersonality Expandyourcompanysnetworkandmakeconnections

ForthiseBook,wewillwalkthroughthestepsforcreatingapersonalaccount.Thesetupforacompanyaccountworksalmostexactlythesame;however,thenameoftheaccountshouldbethenameofthe

companyandthecontentofitsupdatesshouldnotincludeindividualorpersonalinformation.

Togetyourownaccount,goto

http://twitter.comandclickthe

Jointheconversation!

button.

Clickingthisbuttonwillbring

youtoapagewhereyouwill

selectyourusernameand

password.


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Yourusernameisveryimportant.ThisnamewillbehowpeoplewillrefertoyouonTwitter,and

potentiallyhowpeoplewillacknowledgeyouifyouevermeetanyofyourTwitterfollowersoffline.

ThinkofyourTwitterhandleasyourpersonalbrandname.Thatshowimportantitis.

IdeasforTwitterHandles:

1) Yourfullname(JamesDean)2) Avariationofyourname(JDean)3) Acombinationofyournameandyourcompany(CompanyJane)4) Acombinationofyournameandyourindustry(MarketingJane)

MakingyourTwitterhandleasclosetoyournameaspossiblewillmakeiteasierforpeopletorecognize

youataconferenceorevent.However,sometimespeoplewillputtheirTwitterhandlesontheir

nametagtoavoidconfusion.

UsingyourrealnameonTwitterhelpsyoulooklikeareal,authenticpersonifsomeonestumblesupon

yourprofile.


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IfyouwillbetheonlypersonrepresentingyourcompanyonTwitterandyoudonotplantomakea

companyTwitteraccountwhynotusethethirdoptionandmakeitacombinationofyournameand

company?Dontfeelobligatedtodothis;youwillhavetheopportunitytoputyourcompanyinyour

profile(explainedinthenextsection).Twitter

Handle

DONTS:

1) DontmakeyourTwitterhandlesomethingcompletelyrandom(TigerMan).Thisisalostbrandingopportunityforyouandyourcompany.

2) Dontusenumbers(Joanne123).Unlessthereisareasonforthespecificnumbers,itlooksjuvenile.ItalsoconjurestheoldAOLchatroomdays.Itgivesyoutheappearancethatyouarent

puttingthoughtintoyourusername.

3) Dontuseanunderscore(PR_Max).Usinganunderscorewonthurtyou,butbeawarethatitgenerallyisneverdone.Useatriskofseemingunawareofthesocialnorms.

AfteryouchooseyourhandleandclickCreatemyaccount,itwillbringyoutoascreenaskingtocheck

ifyouremailcontactsarealreadyonTwitter.IfyouhaveaGmail,HotmailorYahooaccount,feelfreeto

seeifanyoneyouknowisalreadysignedup.(However,thisisnotarequiredstep.Feelfreetoskip.)If

youdodecidetocheck,bewareofthepromptaskingifyoudliketoinvitethemalltoTwitter.Thiswill

sendamessageallyourcontacts.Onlydothisifyouwantto.


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Step2:PersonalizeYourProfileNowthatyouhaveyouraccount,youneedtopersonalizeit.Itisimportantthatyoupersonalizeyour

accountbeforeyoubegininteractingandfollowingpeople.Beforeyouaddinformation,youraccount

looksboring.Ifyoustartfollowingpeoplewithoutapersonalizedprofile,itislesslikelythatpersonwill

followyouback.Youmayevenbemistakenforaspammer.

Yourprofileiswhereyoucan

referenceyourcompany,

yourblog,talkaboutyour

interestsandlistyour

location.

ClicktheSettingsButtonat

thetoprightcornerofyour

screen.

Thefirstiteminyourprofileisyourname.AlwayslistyourrealnamewhenusingTwitterforbusiness.

Youwouldntintroduceyourselfwithafakenameatatradeshow.Whyshouldyoudoithere?

ForyourURL,orwebaddress,itsbestpracticealwaystoincludealink.Putalinktoyour:

Companywebsite Blog Personalwebsite LinkedInProfile

IntheOneLineBiosection,beasdescriptiveaspossible.Thisisyourelevatorpitchyouropportunity

toconvincepeopletofollowyouback.Consideritasnapshotofyourbackground.Youcaninclude:

Yourcompany Yourposition Yourhobbies/interests Yourspecializations Yourrecentprojects


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Alsomakesuretolistyourlocation.Manypeoplefollowbackthoselocatedintheirgeographicareato

expandtheirlocalnetwork.PutitinstandardCity,Stateformatsoitcanbepickedupbylistsforyourarea.Dontloseoutonthisopportunity.

ThelastoptioninprofilesettingsistheProtectmyupdatesbox.Byclickingthis,yourTwitterstream

willbeprivate,andnoonewillbeabletoseeyourupdateswithoutfollowingyou.Wedonot

recommendclickingthistoprotectyourupdates.Manypeoplejudgewhethertofollowsomeoneback

throughthetypeofinformationtheytweet.Youareasvaluableasyourupdates;dontkeeppeople

fromgettingapeek!

Ifyoureworriedaboutrandompeopleorstrangersseeingyourupdates,rememberthatyouarein

completecontroloverwhatyousay.Butfeelcomfortablebeingyourself.


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Afteryoufilloutyourprofile

information,itstimetoaddapicture

ofyou,alsocalledyouravatar.Its

importantto

put

aface

to

your

name.Forthisstep,visitthePicture

Tab.Thenpickanice,smileyphototo

representyou.(Ifyourecreatinga

companyaccount,useyourlogo.)

Tofurtherpersonalizethelookof

yourTwitterprofile,gotothe

DesignTabtocreateacustomized

themeorbackground.Playwiththe

differentcolorsthatrepresentyour

companyslogo,oradda

backgroundimagethatyoulike!

Step3:StartTweetingEvenbeforefindingpeopletofollow,werecommendtweetingafewthingsthatwillgivepeopleanidea

ofthetypeofcontentyouwillbetweeting.Yourmostvaluableassetistheinformationyouprovide.

Sowhatcanyoutweetabout?


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Typesoftweets:

1) Anobservation:Tweetaboutwhatyouredoing,thinkingorfeeling2) Whatyourereading:Postalinktoaninterestingblogpostornewsarticle3) Whatyourewatching:PostalinktoacoolvideofromHuluorYouTube4) Whateventsyouregoingto:Sharealinktothenextconferenceyouplantoattend5) Promoteyourcontent:Postalinktoyourmostrecentcompanyorpersonalblogarticle6) Promotesomeoneelsescontent:Postalinktosomeoneelsesblogarticleasahelpfulresource7) Chatwithsomeone:Sendmessagesusingan@sign(tobeexplainedlater)8) Retweetwhatsomeoneelsehassaid:Retweet(usingRTorRetweetinthebeginningofthe

message)torepeatwhatsomeoneelsehassaid

Ifyourprofileisallsetup,clickhereforagreatfirsttweetaboutwhatyouarereadingrightnow!

(http://hub.tm/?WPXOU)

Rememberthat

everything

you

say

is

public!

Dont

say

anything

you

wouldnt

say

at

anetworking

event.Evenifyoudeleteatweet,itmightstillbearchivedontheInternetandcouldbefound.
http://hub.tm/?WPXOUhttp://hub.tm/?WPXOUhttp://hub.tm/?WPXOUhttp://hub.tm/?WPXOUhttp://hub.tm/?WPXOUhttp://hub.tm/?WPXOUhttp://hub.tm/?WPXOUhttp://hub.tm/?WPXOUhttp://hub.tm/?WPXOUhttp://hub.tm/?WPXOUhttp://hub.tm/?WPXOUhttp://hub.tm/?WPXOUhttp://hub.tm/?WPXOUhttp://hub.tm/?WPXOU


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Step4:FindPeopletoFollowBuildingyournetworkisthemostchallengingandtimeconsumingpartofusingTwitter.Expandingyour

networkdoesnthappenimmediately;youneedtocommitandtakethetimetouseTwittereffectively.

Byfollowing

people,

you

will

receive

their

updates

on

aregular

basis

in

your

Twitter

stream.

This

is

your

chancetolearnabouttheirlives,checkouttheblogpoststheyarereadingandmeetthepeoplethey

interactwith.Followingagoodsizedcommunitycanbevaluableandfun!

Butwherecanyoufindpeopleyouwouldwanttofollow?1) TwitterGrader(http://Twitter.Grader.com):ThisisafreeresourceofferedbyHubSpot.You

canuseittodiscovertheTwitterEliteofyourcityandsearchforpeoplewithinteresting

informationintheirprofile.Forexample,findpeoplewholistsoftwaredevelopment,a

specificcompanyoralocationintheirTwitterprofile.

2) TwitterSearch(http://search.twitter.com):ThisfreeresourcepreviouslycalledSummizeisasearchfunctionthathelpsyoufindpeoplewhoaretweetingaboutspecific

words.

For

example,

you

can

find

people

who

have

tweeted

about

public

relations.

Follow

peopletalkingaboutthetopicsyouenjoy.Also,useTwitterSearchtoseewhohastweeted

aboutyourcompany.
http://twitter.grader.com/http://search.twitter.com/http://search.twitter.com/http://twitter.grader.com/


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3) FollowPeopleYourFollowersareFollowing:Onceyoubeginreceivingupdatesfromahandfulofpeople,[email protected]

personwouldbefuntofollowaswell!

4) FollowThoughtLeadersandBloggers:SeeifanyofyourfavoritebloggersareonTwitter.ManybloggersincludealinktotheirTwitteraccountintheirsidebarorpersonalinfosection

ontheirwebsite.

5) CollectPeoplesTwitterNamesatEvents:Likewesaidbefore,manysocialmediasavvypeoplewillincludetheirTwitterhandleontheirnametagatanevent.Writedowntheir

namesandfollowthemlater.YoucanfindtheirTwitteraccountbyaddingtheirhandleto

theend

of

http://twitter.com/USERNAME.

For

example

ifsomeone

tells

you

to

follow

HubSpot,youcantypehttp://twitter.com/HubSpotinyourbrowsersnavigationbartofind

us.IfyouarenotsureifsomeoneyoujustmetisonTwitter,ask!

6) FollowHashtags(#)atEvents:Atmanyevents,theorganizerwillestablishahashtag(Ex:#IMS08wasthe2008InboundMarketingSummit),soanyonetweetingattheeventcan

includethehashtag(#)intheirTweet.Followthosepeoplewhoareatthesameeventas

youwhoyoumaynothavemetinpersonyet.(Thisisabitmoreadvanced,andhashtagswillbeexplainedinmoredetaillaterinthiseBook.)

Following

Donts:

Dontfollowtoomanypeopleatonce:Bestpracticeistofollownomorethan2550peopleaday,becausetherewillbeatimegap

betweenfollowingpeopleandhavingthemfollowyouback.Ifyour

profilesaysyouarefollowing2,000peopleandonly30followers

havefollowedyoubacksofar,itappearsthat1970ofthosewhoyou

followedchosenottofollowyouback.Thisunfavorableratiomakesyoulooklikeabadperson

toaddtoonesnetwork.Waitalittlebittogivepeoplethechancetofollowyoubackbefore

findinganewbatchofpeopletoaddtoyournetwork.

Dontfollowhundredsofpeopleatonceandremoveallwhodontfollowyouback:Althoughmanypeopledothisinordertohaveavaluableratio(ormorefollowersthanpeopleyoure

following),itisartificialnetworkbuildingandnotabestpractice.


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Step5:GetPeopletoFollowYouFollowingpeopleandreceivingtheirupdatesisgreat,butinordertohavevaluabletwoway

conversations,youneedpeopletofollowyoubackandreceiveyourupdatestoo.Thisiswhyitisso

important

to

get

your

profile

fully

set

up

before

reaching

out

for

new

connections.

If

you

follow

someonewhodoesntalreadyknowyou,youneedtohavesufficientinformationaboutyouinyour

profilesothatpersoncanmakethedecisionwhethertofollowyoubackornot.

Havingfollowersisimportant,becausetheyareyournetworkwhowillseeyourtweets.Thinkofyour

totalnumberoffollowersasyourTwitterreach.

1) MakeyourcompanysTwitterusernameseasytofind.CreateapagethatlistsalltheTwitterhandlesofthepeopleinyourcompany.Bygivingyourcustomersaneasywaytointeractwith

individualpeople,ithelpsthemgettoknowthetypeofpeoplewhoworkatyourcompany.It

alsogivesinsighttoyourbrand!

HubSpothasapageshowingourpresenceonTwitteratwww.HubSpot.com/TwitterandZappos

isanotherexampleofacompanywithanexcellentTwitterpage.


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2) Makeyourtweetsusefulresourcessopeopleneedyou.Youarewhatyoutweet.Peoplewillwanttofollowyouiftheythinktheywillgetvaluefromyourcontent.Youwanttoavoidmaking

yourTwitteraccountpurelyapromotionaltool.Wouldyousubscribetoanewsletterifitdidnt

haveanything

useful

to

say?

What

specialty

knowledge

do

you

have

that

you

can

share?

3) Interactwiththosepeopleyoufollowwhodontfollowyoubackyet.MakesuretomonitoryourTwitterstream,andcommentonwhatpeoplearesaying.Givefeedback;compliment

people.Thekeyistoengage.

Step6:EngageWithYourNetworkHowdoyoutweetataspecificperson?In

order

to

send

amessage

to

another

person

on

Twitter,

you

need

to

use

an

@

before

the

persons

name.Thinkofitastheaddressoftweet.Rememberthatthistypeofmessageisstillpublic,viewable

byanyoneintheworld.

HereisanexampleofhowyouwouldsendatweettoHubSpot.

Example:@HubSpotWhatsup?

Byputting@USERNAMEatthebeginningofyourtweet,Twitterknowswhotosenditto.Thistypeof

tweetisalsocalledareplyor@reply(Pronouncedatreply).Allofthe@repliesyoureceivewillgo

intoyour@RepliesTab.


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Ifyoudontput@USERNAMEattheverybeginningofyourtweet,itwillnotgotothatpersonsreplies.

Example:TheotherdayIcheckedoutTwitterGraderby@HubSpot

TheabovetweetwouldnotgointoHubSpotsReplyTab.Alsonote,anytimeyouputan@infrontof

someonesusername,itautomaticallybecomesalinktothatpersonsprofile.Thisfeaturemakesiteasy

foryoutocheckoutthosepeoplesprofilesandengagewiththemaswell.

ItisalsopossibletosendsomeoneaprivatemessageonTwitter.Thesearecalleddirectmessagesor

DMs.Sendadirectmessagebyeithergoingtothatpersonsprofileorclickingthemessagelinkonthe

righthandsideofthepersonsprofileorbytweetingDUSERNAMEandthenyourmessage

Example:DHubSpotDoyouwanttomeet

tomorrow?

Thiswillbeaprivatemessagethatwontgointo

thepublicTwitterstream.Youwillreceivean

emailwiththedirectmessage,anditwillalsogo

intoyourDirectMessagesTab.However,youcan

onlyDM

people

ifyou

follow

them

and

they

followyouback.


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PartThree:UsingTwitterforBusiness


21/25


UseTwitterforMarketing1) UseTwittertodrivepeopletoyourcompanyswebsite.Tweetaboutinterestingresources

youremployeeshavepostedonyourblogorwebsite.Haveyourecentlypublishedawhite

paperthatpeoplecandownloadforfree?Tweetaboutit,linkingbacktothedownloadpageon

yourwebsite.

If

the

content

on

your

site

is

truly

remarkable,

people

may

start

tweeting

about

it

ontheirown!TheycanshareyourresourcetotheirfriendsonTwitter.

2) MonitoryourbrandonTwitter.UsingtheaforementionedTwitterSearchtool(http://search.twitter.com),youcansearchandtrackwhatpeoplearesayingaboutyour

company,products,competitorsoranyotherhotwordsinyourindustry.SetupanRSSfeedto

receiveallsearchresultsinGoogleReader.Ifyoufindsomeonetweetingaboutyourproducts

orapersonwhoislookingforasolutionthatyourproductprovides,letthemknow!

3) UsetheTwitterFavoritesfeatureasalistofcompanytestimonials.TotheleftofeachtweetinyourTwitterstream,thereisalittlestar.Whenyouclickthelittlestar,thattweetgets

addedto

your

Favorites

Tab.

As

you

track

what

people

are

saying

about

your

company

in

TwitterSearch,favoriteallofthepositivetweets.Thirdpartytestimonialsarevaluableby

showingthepublicwhatotherpeoplethinkofyourcompany.Thenexttimesomeoneasks

aboutyourcompany,sendthemthelinktoyourFavoritespage.TheURLforthispagewillbe

http://twitter.com/USERNAME/favorites.

Example:www.Twitter.com/HubSpot/favorites

4) UseTwittertopromoteevents.TweetupsareagreatwaytogettoknowyourTwittercommunity

offline.

The

next

time

your

company

holds

an

event,

fundraiser

or

open

house,

tweetaboutit!Bestpracticeistosendpeopledirectlytoaneventsignuppage.
http://search.twitter.com/http://search.twitter.com/


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Thinkofahashtagforyoureventbeforeyoustarttweetingaboutit.EarlierintheeBook,we

mentionedhowHubSpotused#IMS08fortheInboundMarketingSummit.

Selectingahashtagforyourowneventwillbebeneficialinafewways:

a) Duringtheevent,peopleoftenusethehashtagwhilelivetweeting,ortweetingwhattheysee/hearinrealtime.Thehashtagwillaggregatethe

eventtweets,buildinganonlineconversationaroundtheevent.

b) Peoplewhoarenotattheeventwillseeyourhashtagandperhapsuseittoo.Apopular#hashtagoftensparkscuriosity,andpeoplewillgoto

http://search.twitter.comtofollowtheconversationaroundtheevent.

5) UseTwittertopromotenewtools.Twitteruserslovenewtoys,especiallyiftheycreatesomesortofoutcome,gradeoranalysisofthepersonusingthetool.Maketheresultsofyour

tool/graderaseasytoTweetaspossible.PerhapsyoucouldaddaTweetthisgradefunction.

Makesureyourtoolisaseasytoshareaspossible!

6) Establishyourselfasathoughtleaderinyourindustry.Bytweetingaboutusefulresourcesand

thoughtful

tips,

you

and

your

company

will

eventually

develop

thought

leadership,

and

peoplewillconsideryouanexpertinthatparticularsubject.Besuretolinktoyourown

resourcesaswellasothers.
http://search.twitter.com/http://search.twitter.com/


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UseTwitterforPublicRelations1) Developrelationshipswithreporters,bloggersandothermediapeoplethroughTwitter.

Reportersandbigtimebloggersareincrediblyactiveinsocialnetworks,especiallywhen

gatheringinformationforstories.Tworesourcesthathaveagreatlistofthemediapeopleon

Twitterare:

MediaOutlets:

https://twitteringjournalists.pbwiki.com/Media+Outlets+Using+TwitterMediaPeople:

https://twitteringjournalists.pbwiki.com/Media+People+Using+Twitter http://mediaontwitter.pbwiki.com

2) Watchfortweetsabouteditorialopportunities.BecausethenatureofTwitteris

veryquickresponse,itsagreatplacefor

mediapeople

to

look

for

last

minute,

additionalresourcesfortheirstories.When

followingbloggersandreportersonTwitter,

keepclosetrackoftheirtweetsandscanfor

anyopportunities.

Itsalsoagreatideatosendreporterstipstootherlinksandresourcessimplytobehelpfuland

improveyourrelationshipwiththemediaperson,evenifitsinregardtoanothercompany.The

mediapersonwillbethankfulforyourhelpandmorelikelyuseyouasareferencewhenthe

subjectisapplicabletoyou!

3)Direct

Message

reporters

instead

of

sending

them

an

email.

By

sending

a

direct

message,

you

areforcedtocreateashortconcisepitchthatareporterismorelikelytoread.Also,direct

messagesareverycasual,andsomemediafolkspreferDMstoemailpitches.Also,itsavesyou

thetimeitwouldnormallytaketowritealengthypitch.Remember,youcanonlyDMpeopleif

theyfollowyouback.However,dontpitchtoomuch;theycouldeasilyunfollowyoumakingit

muchmoredifficulttoconnect.

4) UseTwittertocheckinonyourmediapersonbeforePRpitching.Checktoseewhatthepersonyoureabouttopitchisuptobeforecontactingthem.Intheeventthatthepersonissick,having

abaddayorawayontravelitmaybebesttocontacthimorheratanothertime.
https://twitteringjournalists.pbwiki.com/Media+Outlets+Using+Twitterhttps://twitteringjournalists.pbwiki.com/Media+People+Using+Twitterhttp://mediaontwitter.pbwiki.com/http://mediaontwitter.pbwiki.com/https://twitteringjournalists.pbwiki.com/Media+People+Using+Twitterhttps://twitteringjournalists.pbwiki.com/Media+Outlets+Using+Twitter


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UseTwitterforCustomerService1) Respondtoconcernspeopletweetaboutyourcompanyorproducts.Designateaspecific

personinyourcompanytotrackyourcompanynameandproductsinTwitterSearch.That

personcanaddressanynegativecomments,givefeedbackandhelpcustomerssolvetheir

productsin

real

time.

The

speedy

response

will

impress

the

customer!

Comcast

at

http://twitter.com/ComcastCaresdoesagreatjobtrackingandaddressingcustomerconcern.

2) Useyourcompanyaccounttoupdatecustomerswithanytemporarydowntime.Ifyouworkforacompanythatoffersanonlineservice,letyourfollowersknowifyouanticipatedowntime

orifthereisaglitchyouare

workingtofix.Yourcustomerswill

belessupsetandmore

appreciativethatyourcompanyis

tryingitsbesttorelievethe

problem.

3) BesuretofollowbackeveryonewhofollowsyourCompanyAccount.Althoughitsacceptabletopickandchoosewhomyouwanttofollowbackinyourpersonalaccount,theresnoreason

tolimitwhoyourcompanyfollows.Ifyouwant,setupanautofollowaccountwithathirdparty

toollikeTweetlater(http://www.tweetlater.comnote,thisisnotaffiliatedwithHubSpot).Also,theaddedbenefitoffollowingbackeveryonewhofollowsyourcompanyaccountisthe

abilitytoDMyou.

4) Donotsendanautodirectmessagewheneversomeonenewfollowsyouoryourcompany.ItseasytogetintothetrapofautomatingyourTwitteractivity.Manypeoplewillsetupanauto

directmessage(orautoDM)tobesenttoeverynewfollower.Thislooksartificial,andcould

makeyouappearapatheticaboutbuildingtruerelationshipswithyourcustomers.
http://www.tweetlater.com/http://www.tweetlater.com/


25/25

TrackandAnalyzeYourCampaignsNowthatyouveintegratedTwitterintodifferentelementsofyourcampaign,itsimportanttofind

componentsthatyoucantracktojudgeitseffectiveness.Werecommendtrackingthefollowingmetrics

in

your

campaign.

1) Reach:Totalnumberoffollowers.Thisnumberisyourrawdistributionpower.2) ResponseRate:[email protected],

howmanypeoplerespond?

3) BrandingandAwareness:Howoftenpeoplereferenceyourcompanyorproducts.UseTwitterSearchtotrack.

4) TwitterGrade:YouroveralleffectivenessofyourTwitteraccount.Calculatesthenumberoffollowersandtheinfluenceoftheirfollowers.(http://Twitter.Grader.com)

5) SalesFunnel:NumberofvisitorsfromTwitterwhovisityourcompanywebsitethatconverttoleads.

Usingthedatafromtheseelementsandtrackingitovertime,youshouldbeabletomakesmart

decisionsabouthowtofurtherutilizeTwitterinyourcampaigns.

ConclusionandAdditionalResourcesAfterreadingthiseBook,youshouldhavethebaselineknowledgetogetyourTwitteraccountstarted

andbegin

growing

your

network.

Remember

that

the

Twitter

community

is

dynamic

and

rapidly

developingspace.BecreativeandthinkofothermethodstoapplyTwittertoyourcampaigns!

WanttolearnmoreaboutusingTwitterforMarketingandPR?

Downloadthefreewebinarforlotsoftipsandtrickstodriveyour

inboundmarketingtoincreasetrafficandleadsusingTwitter.

(http://hubspot.me/?Twitter)
http://twitter.grader.com/http://hubspot.me/?Twitterhttp://hubspot.me/?Twitterhttp://hubspot.me/?Twitterhttp://hubspot.me/?Twitterhttp://hubspot.me/?Twitterhttp://hubspot.me/?Twitterhttp://hubspot.me/?Twitterhttp://hubspot.me/?Twitterhttp://hubspot.me/?Twitterhttp://twitter.grader.com/

Documents

How to Use Twitter for Business a Beginners Guide 2011-05-06