There is no surprise that I am a big fan of Twitter for our business leads. Twitter has a very active community and can be a valuable marketing tool if used correctly. When it comes to using Twitter for business leads, it’s about more than just followers – It’s all about the engagement! I have put together a list of 10 quick ways you can use Twitter to generate real business leads.
For this channel to work successfully you have to have a realistic plan. You can’t approach Social Media as an advertising campaign and expect to attract a high volume of qualified leads. Just as you wouldn’t walk into any networking event expecting people to break out their wallets and hand over their credit cards without some follow up information about you, your company and your product. Generating leads is about that introduction, it’s a beginning of a relationship so you have to make it count.
Don’t treat your followers as statistics. They are opportunities!
1. Search Tweets For Opportunities.
Find your potential prospects by searching relevant hashtags and keywords, search for people looking for “recommendations” or asking questions about your product or service. Make sure that you check out their profiles for information about who they are and check out their tweets to see what they talk about. This is the first step in making sure that they are indeed a good fit.
You can do this several ways. If you are not using a Twitter Management Tool such as our own MoreFollow, feel free to grab your free account now as a time saver. You can also accomplish this by using Twitter search, although it takes more time.
You don’t have to limit your conversations to just your followers. Use search to discover people talking about your topic. Don’t be afraid to jump on in with a helpful suggestion using a reply, as long as it is indeed helpful. Never be negative or derogatory of others, just have your own voice that offers your sound advice. You can take advantage of people asking questions, commenting on problems or searching for products.
2. Target the Right Audience.
Grow your audience with the right approach. Start by being follow worthy; be helpful, courtliest and thankful to create a follower base that has a combination of potential prospects and industry influencers. You should never buy followers, there is very little gain to this approach. Your audience will grow over time as long as you stay active. You should follow and engage with your potential prospects.
3. Participate in Conversations.
The next step is to engage with them. Listen first and then reply! You may find that this is easier than you think once you get the hang of it. This provides a great opportunity for you to be helpful, answer questions, just be human and chime in when appropriate. Remember most prospects take some time to feel comfortable when getting to know you.
4. Monitor your @mentions.
Always reply in a timely manner. The last thing you want to do is send the message that you don’t care. If someone replies to ask you a question that you don’t have the answer to off the top of your head, at least reply with a message that you will get back to them as soon as possible. Never leave your friends hanging.
5. Create Twitter only Specials.
You can create attractive social campaigns based on Twitter only coupons, promote your ebooks, or other material that can be used to entice your prospects. Hey, everyone wants to feel special! Be sure to include an image in your Tweet to increase engagement. Help get your Twitter friends the right information with landing pages that are designed just for them.
Once they head on over to your site and sign up for your offer, you can collect their email and continue communicating with them outside of Twitter. Not only will this help them by providing with targeted information but it also allows you to move them along the sales funnel. Remember Twittter can be the beginning of a relationship but your goal should be to move them to the next step.
6. Attention Grabbing Tweets.
Business Tweets don’t have to be boring! Have a personality, be human. For Tweets that are focused primarily on generating a lead make your CTA stand out with less clutter. Tweets containing the word “click” average 35% more engagement. Be sure your tweets are relevant and helpful to your audience. Target your audience based on Keywords they are using, interests, Geography and gender.
7. Use #Hashtags Wisely.
Hashtags can convey a topic and can get you found in a search. You can use broad topics such as #SEO or #SocialMedia. You can also get creative and create your own. When creating Tweets you should limit the number of hashtags in any given posts to one or two very relevant and meaningful hashtags. There is very little benefit from including more.
8. Create and Subscribe to Twitter Lists.
Twitter lists are a real time saver. Creating lists can really help you stay organized and provide a quick way to keep in touch with people who are important to your business.
Twitter lists come in two flavors public and private. Here are some ideas on how to use each one.
Public
You can create a public list that includes industry influencers. Every time you add someone to your public list they will receive a notification. This can help you gain the attention of an influencer or a prospect. Just make sure to keep your list relative to a topic. Remember anyone can see your public list at any time. Lists will show up on your profile so other people can subscribe or follow along.
Private
Private lists will only be seen by you. Create a list of prospects or competitors that you keep private. This will allow you to follow tweets from members that can be very useful in creating quick follow ups or even generate content ideas around frequently asked questions or relevant topics that relate to your product.
9. Use Twitter’s lead generation cards.
If you’re ready to take your Twitter ads to the next level you should consider using lead generation cards. This is a great way to grow your email list. Lead Generation cards automatically capture the user’s name, username, and email address and let them send this to you with one click.
Getting started is easy, just head over to your Twitter Ads Dashboard and create a new ad. Provide a short description. Add your image, should be 200 pixels high by 800 pixels wide. Then create a call to action.
10. Participate and Host Twitter Chats.
Twitter chats are a great way to connect with new prospects. When participating always be polite and positive. This is not a time to sell your product, it’s a time to build relationships with your target audience and establish yourself as an industry expert.
- Twubs is a great tool for finding chats or registering your own chat if you plan on being a host.
- Twitter Reports is another resource for finding and posting chats.
- Explore Twitter Chat Schedule on Google doc which also provides a list of Twitter chats.
Don’t be afraid to get out there and join a few chats!
Happy Tweeting! Let us know what you think…