Your Guide to Twitter

1. Represent yourself

A very important one. Think about your Twitter handle very carefully. At Wish Digital, our handle @wishdigital tells everyone exactly who we are. However, not all company names are going to fit within the 15 character limit for a Twitter handle so choose wisely. For example if your name is Wish Digital Conference Centre you may choose @wishdigitalcc or @WDconferencecentre. Use whichever is going to tell the audience what you do and who you are in the best way.

2. Have an appropriate profile image

When you sign up for Twitter your page will at first display a placeholder image showing an outline of a person’s head and shoulders, called an egg. Make sure you change this image and upload an image of your business logo etc. Instantly this will make your account easy to recognise and create brand awareness. Twitter recommends a profile image that is 400 x 400 pixels.

3. Put up a header image

Just above your profile is a larger photo placeholder which runs across the top, horizontally. The header is a place to communicate a powerful message about your business. Take advantage of this space, show off your brand and tell the world what you want them to know. You want your audience to know immediately what you do to encourage them to buy into your business message. Twitter recommends a header image that’s 1500 x 500 pixels.

4. Be consistent with your Twitter handle & name

An issue seen too often seems to stem from misunderstanding how Twitter names and Twitter handles work. A Twitter business account handle and name should be consistent. Ensure you name is consistent throughout your profile naming and logos so you don’t cause any confusion and keep your brand consistent. Please see our Wish digital account on the right as an example.

5. Include your location

Each profile has the option to share its location. While this is not always wise for personal accounts, this is a great business tool. The location of your business will be visible to your followers, but will also allow Twitter to tailor trending topics to your location, helping you to join in the conversation topics happening in your area. This will help you to gain further exposure.

6. Link to your website

Your profile has an area for a web address to enter your company’s website. Be sure to use this area. Whilst social media is important, your business website is the foundation to build social upon and you need to be directing traffic to your site. Making it easy for people to access more information about you will be attractive to a prospective client and it will also help you to come across as legitimate.

7. Use hashtags

Hashtags have become so popular that they have even entered the spoken language . Hashtags (#) are a great way to connect with people about specific topics. Any word with a # is a conversation you can join. Think of a hashtag as password to enter a topic of conversation. You can join the conversation just by searching for a hashtag, or you can insert your own remarks into the conversation by including your hashtagged word in one of your own tweets. Any Twitter user who is following that term will see your comment in the hashtag’s feed.

If you want to create a hashtag for a marketing campaign, then that is a great ideas, but do your research and include it in all your marketing campaign efforts. Keeping a hashtag term in all related tweets makes those tweets easily retrievable, so hashtags also work as an organising tool.

8. Repost your posts

Twitter is a fast-moving channel. All your followers can (theoretically) see everything you post. They won’t see everything, of course, but technically they could. Twitter, unlike Facebook and some other social media channels, does not limit the numbers of your followers who will see your content. The life of a tweet is a short one. So be savvy and recirculate your posts. It’s not uncommon for companies to use a post 5, 10, or even more times, spread over time.

However, do post different content in-between this. You don’t want your own feed to have the same post displayed numerous times in a row as this would reflect poorly on someone visiting your profile.

9. Retweet content

Social media is about connection. If all you ever do is post for your company or about your company, you’re missing the point. So, think about supporting other professionals in your field, agreeing with advice given by other companies, or providing your audience with content from a fresh perspective. If you retweet content that will benefit your followers then it keeps you involved, increases your account’s retweets and helps you expand your reach. Remember it is a balance so post your own content as well as retweet.

When you retweet a post, you are given Twitter gives you the opportunity to add a couple of lines of your own text. By inserting a few remarks in there, and using hashtags you have the potential to attract a wider audience than just your own following and sometimes your retweet better exposure and engagement than the original tweet.

10. Live tweet

Live tweeting can turn your company’s account into a live reporter covering a major event, be it a trade show, conference, or meeting. A good example of this is tweeting during the World Cup, or tweeting during an event your company may be hosting.  It’s a great way to get involved in real-time happenings, give value to your account, and show that you’re active.