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27 January 2014

New Business Twitter Account: Getting Started

New Business Twitter Account

New Business Twitter Account

Like the majority of things associated with business, getting started is often the hardest milestone to overcome. This also applies to your Twitter account. In order to help you set up a Twitter account, and begin achieving your social media goals, here is a ten step guide to setting up a new business Twitter account for your company.

Step 1: Select the right Username for your company

When starting out, the first thing to do of course is to set up your new business Twitter account.  When doing this, it is important to remember that your username or “handle” is what the public will use to interact directly with your business. Hopefully your businesses name will be available to you. Ideally this should be your URL to help with social media indicators. If not, it is worth spending some time to formulate a name which will make sense to you, and to your followers.

Step 2: Create an accurate and compelling bio for your business

It is widely recognised that Twitter is perhaps the most open social media network currently available. This means that the vast majority of all your interaction on the social media platform takes place publically on the news stream. When planning your bio on your new business Twitter account it is important to bear this in mind. Also consider that via Twitter, more people will find you that have no prior knowledge of either your business or your products.

When designing a bio, imagine you had a few seconds or 160 characters to describe your business. What would you say? Use this answer as your bio on your new business Twitter account.

Step 3: Upload a photo or image that reflects your business

It is important when selecting a picture not to underestimate the importance of selecting the right picture or image for your new business Twitter account. The perfect picture for most businesses is their brand or company logo. If you are an individual you should opt for a professional, close up head shot.

Step 4: Send your first tweet

This is the perfect time to send your first tweet. Keep it simple, stating your recent presence on Twitter, and informing people you are a real person. Something like:

“Hi guys, we’re on Twitter! Still setting up our profile, we are looking forward to engaging with our new followers.”

Step 5: Follow the right people

The people you follow on your new business Twitter account determines the type of content you have access to, and the quality of the relationships you can form. Based on this, it is worth spending sometime developing criteria, including: your experience, your industry, what your social media aims are. People who you initially wish to follow could include: professionals in your industry, friends, colleagues, other businesses in your industry, and also your current or potential clients or customers.

The key when you are setting up is to follow similar businesses that are having Twitter based success. Pay attention to how they share and the content they share, but don’t mimic everything they do!

Step 6: Tell your contacts you are now on Twitter

Despite appearances, growing your following on Twitter is not easy! It is even harder if you are starting from scratch. However your business already has a following, make use of them!

Step 7: Select the Twitter tools you need

If you want your new business Twitter account to be successful, you need to make sure that you have the right tools. There is a wide variety of tools which make using Twitter easier; however here are three you will want to use from the start:

  • Twitter Mobile App: allows you to monitor your profile on the go.
  • Hootsuite: Allows you to schedule future tweets and track your reach.
  • Nutshell Mail: Allows you to stay on top of your activity.

Step 8: Build your first Twitter list

Twitter lists are a handy feature which allow businesses and users to organise the people they follow into specific groups based around a criteria such as friends, industry etc. When you are staring out lists won’t be a priority as you will still be busy building your community. However, it is a good habit to get into, so it is worth taking the time to make one now to get accustomed to using this feature. It is much easier to organise your contacts from the beginning than to try to organise them later.

Step 9: Save some key searches

The Saved Searches feature is similar to the aforementioned list feature. It lets users organise their content around a specific subject or topic, rather than around a specific user. Save Searches option does what it says on the tin. Simply find a topic or subject which is of relevance to your business, search for it in the “Discover” tab, then save it. Once you have saved it you can easily go back to the search and see the associated results as they appear in real time.

Step 10: Connect your touch points

It was found in a study recently that an overwhelming 80.5% of small businesses do not link with social media platforms. Connecting your website to your Twitter profile will help to drive traffic and also to build up your following organically.