Twitter has changed a lot over the past year. In fact, some people are even predicting its death. While we believe Twitter is alive and well and holds more potential for marketers than ever before, it’s true that the platform’s new features require marketers to adapt and stay quick on their feet–but what else is new? With some adjustments in content and strategy, companies can still use Twitter with the same results, and maybe even improve them. After all, Twitter has 225 million active users who send 500 million tweets each day. That sounds like the perfect place to showcase your marketing strategy to us.
Though it takes a bit of extra time to optimize images for Twitter, it’s worth the effort. Your design team works hard on visuals, and to make sure a wide audience sees them, they need some channel-specific attention. This post from Media Bistro will get you started, explaining what parts of graphics need to be emphasized, how to get the right part of your image to show up in the preview panel of the Twitter feed and what sizes work best. Think of it this way: if your image is optimized, it will elicit more retweets and favorites. The more of those you can get, the further your company spreads.
The great thing about 225 million active users is that you can find influencers in any niche. And as many marketers know, influencers are key to exposure for your company. When you connect with a B2B influencer and they find your company’s content worth sharing, it’s automatically shared with thousands of like-minded people in their networks. This is a healthy, organic way of growing your own network as you offer your content to audiences where you know it will resonate.
If you’re wondering how exactly to build those influencer relationships, this is your key. Keep it friendly! Don’t be afraid to chime in on their tweets with conversational, personal replies–just like you’re talking to a friend. Twitter is the perfect place to chat about shared interests, so don’t let its size fool you. Conversations still matter.
With 225 million people at play, Twitter is the perfect place to consider a paid advertising campaign for your company’s original content, product or thought leadership. It works well for B2B companies who need to discover leads in their niche, because it offers advanced targeting of many kinds. The Twitter blog offers helpful explanations on advertising options like tailored audiences, geo-targeting and promoted accounts, just to name a few.
Image Credit: Rosaura via Flickr Creative Commons
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