Building a Successful B2C and B2B Twitter Platform
While other Social Media platforms are more effective in terms of Return on Marketing Investment* (ROMI), Twitter is an arena to converse and share your personal/organizational values. Twitter reaches a wide audience, with over 500 million tweets sent every day/60,000 per second. Twitter currently has 330 million active users, which is actually down around 6 million from 2018. While Twitter is still growing, it has a slow growth rate; in fact, Twitter experienced almost no growth in the U.S. in 2016, staying steady at 67 million active monthly users. Statistics have shown that in the U.S., Twitter users are more likely to be younger, have higher education, and make less than $50k/year. Location has less of an impact as it did in the past, so how do businesses connect with consumers through Twitter?
According to Twitter for Business, “There’s no right or wrong number of times you should Tweet each day, or when. Instead, focus on creating a regular cadence of content that’s relevant to your target audience and authentic to your business.” Marketers must focus on what their organization is tweeting about and how it is received. Much like other social platforms, Twitter relies on a base of followers, and growing/maintaining that base is structured on creating compelling content that engages readers to spread your message.
Twitter is where people connect with their passions, share their opinions, and find out what’s happening in the world right now. Tweets are not just words; there are multiple forms of multimedia to incorporate, as well as other social platforms. Business accounts should keep each tweet focused on one specific message rather than trying to communicate multiple things. The goal of Twitter is to get retweets or shares, so associating business accounts with a primary topic will set expectations for users if done well. Other news or messages can be relayed on Twitter through links to blog posts or websites, as that traffic will be more beneficial to improve your website Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
* Return on Marketing Investment (ROMI) = [Incremental Revenue Attributable to Marketing ($) * Contribution Margin (%) – Marketing Spending ($)] / Marketing Spending ($)
– View the YouTube page for more detailed information on ROMI
Maintaining an Effective Twitter Presence
Due to their popularity, Twitter and Google have a close relationship. Hashtags are becoming more engrained in daily news and culture, and many prominent figures utilize Twitter as a primary way to communicate vital messaging. Twitter has affected branding, even though Twitter content is not indexed by Google, social signals (shares, retweets, etc.) are shown to correlate to higher Google rankings for the primary website if done well. Businesses can’t expect to maintain a presence by just tweeting aimlessly; there are many factors to boost your engagement rates:
- Automatically Share Blog Posts: Twitter has over 330 million monthly active users. Posting not only gives you the chance to reach these visitors but informs Google from an SEO standpoint that your online presence is active.
- Utilize Visuals: Tweets with videos are shown to have engagement rates that are three times higher than average. Tweets that contain videos and photos add a touch of personality and lead to higher Tweet engagement rates. Experiment with new creative elements often and hone what performs well.
- Incorporate Relevant Hashtags: Hashtags are like Google’s keywords, so take advantage of them! Hashtags allow you to tap into relevant conversations and expand your reach. Using more than two hashtags per Tweet is not recommended. A straightforward way to incorporate hashtags is to identify popular events to which you can authentically link your business.
- Re-share Your Best Content: If some of your content has been received well and is not outdated, create a structured system to generate more sharing. Google will recognize more social signals towards your website. Create a content calendar to schedule out upcoming blog posts or other news, so readers know what to expect.
- Ensure Your Twitter Account Has Your Brand Name: The bio and picture in your Twitter profile/handle will often show up in the first few Google results. Properly optimizing your Twitter page will help you rank higher in Google and make your Twitter profile more discoverable. Accounts that do similar work are recommended to other users to follow based on similar interests. Take advantage of the “Pinned Tweet” feature to drive leads to your landing page and subscribe to e-mail lists.
To maintain your Twitter presence, curate, and connect using retweets and replies, don’t just Tweet. Incorporate positive customer feedback, helpful articles, and messages that align with your business’s authentic voice are all impactful content to Retweet. Retweets reflect on your business and should align with your purposes and values. People love to talk to companies directly on twitter (think of airlines). Be responsive to any questions, comments, and criticisms that come your way. To avoid lengthy exchanges, switch to Direct Messages to resolve complex issues. You can now include a deep link in a Tweet that displays a “Send a private message” call-to-action button to enable customers to send you a Direct Message.
Understanding Your Audience
To understand what content resonates with your audience, ask questions, and run polls.
- Asking Questions is an effective way to interact with your audience, bring readers into the conversation, and understand people’s opinions.
- Tweet open-ended questions or use Twitter polls to survey your followers.
- Check your free Twitter Analytics to understand what content resonates with your audience.
- Use the Tweet activity dashboard to monitor engagement rates and learn what your audience wants to see.
- Find out before tweeting something no one likes, store it for input as well, so your account is not negatively associated with something controversial.
- A Global Perspective – When it comes to Twitter, it is critical to understand that the U.S. makes up only a portion of Twitter use. The real market is the global Twitter market, as around 80% of active users are outside of the United States.
Twitter launched in 2006, around the same time, Facebook was expanding, and both sites took off as no one could ever imagine. While Facebook benefited so much due to the election, people were initially excited with Twitter, but only some of them stayed that way. Over 1.3 Billion accounts have been set up and abandoned without ever posting a Tweet. When the choice was Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, people could balance them all. These days, more choice has caused people to prioritize and cut out multiple channels. Twitter may not be a priority for the social media efforts of every business/brand, but it is worth review and consideration after researching if it fits for your brand.
Why People Use Twitter
If you want to determine whether or not you should market on Twitter, you need to understand how and why people are using it. About 82% of Twitter users access it on a mobile device (Mobile Marketing). It is worth noting that Twitter is frequently used in a “second screen” capacity. Think of American Idol voting as one the earliest second screen experiences as people actively watched television while interacting on Twitter through voting. 71% of Twitter users check in more than once a day, and 30% post more than once a day. While Twitter offers many benefits to brands and marketers, there are four primary reasons consumers use the platform.
- Staying Informed – According to the American Press Institute, 86% of users claim they use Twitter to get news, with 75% of users checking the site for news daily. 64% of users share the story they find on Twitter on other networks. Twitter states that around 25% of all verified accounts (blue check marks) belong to journalists and editors.
- A Way to Be Heard – Unlike other channels where privacy is often valued, Twitter users tend to embrace the platform as the best place to be heard or join in a conversation, think social activism. 21% of active Twitter users live Tweet their reactions to sporting events and their favorite shows.
- A Source of Discovery – Twitter has a low level of context, and for many users, this is a plus. They use it to find new articles, new discussions, new videos, and new opinions on most topics.
- A Way to Connect to Brands/Celebrities – It is much faster to find a Twitter handle than a customer service number, so many people turn to Twitter for customer service help. They also use Twitter to reach out to celebrities. Over 100,000 customer service inquires are to airlines alone on Twitter each month. Over 90% of the top 50 Twitter accounts belong to celebrities. At last count, there were 139 recognized world leaders active on Twitter, about 83% of all leaders, according to the Digital Policy Council.
The greatest strength of Twitter lies in the ability to provide live coverage and commentary on just about any event in the world. For more information on Twitter and if your brand is a fit for the community, contact SPF Marketing today at (313) 641-0134 or schedule an appointment via e-mail, stefan@spfmarketing.com. Also, check out more information on other Social Media channels and how Social Media can enhance your business strategy.