Six Common Mistakes to Avoid in Your Twitter Campaign

Twitter was founded in March, 2006 and is now about eight years old. It’s hard to believe the platform has been around that long. Over the years Twitter has grown a lot, and it has had a huge impact on marketing as a whole. With each day that passes, social media networks including Twitter become more and more integral to the marketing world – in fact, many would argue social media is already necessary.

While Twitter offers a relatively inexpensive way to market and promote a brand, it’s not always easy to meet success on the platform. There are actually quite a few common errors which can affect your rate of exposure. You’d be surprised at how easy it is to ruin your chances.

Here are six useful tips that will help you improve your Twitter marketing strategy. Most importantly, remember that these are all very easy mistakes to make.

1.    One Remarkably Simple, Yet Detrimental Mistake

This mistake is so easy to make, and it happens often. In fact, there’s a chance you may not know you’ve been doing it up until now. The worst part is that unless you understand what to look for, you’d never even be able to identify this as a mistake.

Starting a Tweet with a username that has absolutely no characters before it will lock down the content. That is, only the sender and the person mentioned in the Tweet will be able to see it. Of course, anyone who follows the mentioned accounts will be able to see the content, but that produces a significantly lower impact than it could have.

When you post content to Twitter, it is extremely important you maximize its exposure. You want it to land in the timeline for everyone to see, not just a few loyal followers. The best way to fix this issue is to add a symbol, word or additional piece of text before the tagged profile. So, instead of starting the Tweet with a username and consequently locking down the content, you are simply tagging them for all to see.

2.    Know Your Audience

One of the best ways to maximize exposure for a demographic is to know exactly when to post your content. For example, if you’re trying to reach marketers, office workers, or even managers, the best time to post is just before or right after the hour.

The idea considers that most of those sources are in a meeting during the hour, and it accounts for the meeting running over longer than expected. Most likely, these users will peruse social media right after the meeting has concluded in order to get back in the loop.

The common times Twitter use increases are during lunch and dinner. Of course, there’s a lot more related to proper timing than what’s mentioned here. The point is that you should set your sights on your audience and find the best time to publish content so they’ll see it.

3.    Don’t Overlook the Right Crowds

While you’re focused on your marketing strategies and maximizing your ROI, it can be very easy to forget what’s important. Twitter shows you who your new followers are and it also shows you when someone interacts with your profile or account. What it doesn’t show you, however, are the people who are most loyal to your cause.

The best way to find your loyal followers is to monitor mentions of your username or brand. This is a great way to find new followers who are enamored by your content or have at least posted something about it. Sure, you will find some bad eggs mixed into the bunch, but it’s still a great way to discover those who are passionate about your content, brand or product.

Some other ideas for search keywords include your official website URL, your full name or the company CEO’s name, and common hashtags that you use in social media campaigns. For instance, a company that specializes in custom car covers could do a search for #ford car covers and follow all of the profiles and accounts that mentioned the tag.

4.    Shorten Your Tweets

Believe it or not, any Tweets that encroach upon the 140 character limit are much too long. Several studies conducted by Buddy Media show that Tweets shorter than 100 characters are most effective and see much higher engagement rates. In fact, some of the most retweeted posts in Twitter history use very few words to get the point across. A great example of this is Barack Obama’s 2012 election Tweet which just said, “Four more years.”

Furthermore, if you fill up your tweet with 140 characters, it leaves no room for a retweet or mention from other followers if they want to add their own points to the content. In other words, longer tweets decrease the potential for engagement with audiences. Cut down on the total length of words, hashtags and links you are using in your tweet. If you have to create shortened links for your content, there are plenty of tools out there to help with such a thing.

5.    Respond to Each and Every Mention

One of the worst things you can do on Twitter is neglect followers who interact with you through mentions. If another account or person connects with you on Twitter, always respond. Responding in a timely manner is also just as important.

Monitor your @connects continuously and remember to respond to anyone that is taking the time to engage with you or your brand. In this way, you can also use Twitter as a customer service platform. A lot of customers opt to reach out through Twitter and other social media networks instead of email these days.

If you ignore @connects, it will only make your company and reputation appear flaky. Many customers will begin to think you’re not taking the time to listen to them.

6.    Never Beg for Followers

Under no circumstances should you ever beg or harass others to follow your account or brand. Asking is more acceptable than begging, but it’s still a pretty cheap tactic. Instead, focus on posting engaging and interesting content. Build the kind of profile and account that you would desire to follow. A great way to do this is to offer exclusive deals, offers and promotions to Twitter followers. You could also hold occasional contests to boost interaction.

By considering these tips and incorporating them within your social media strategy, you can expand your reach and further your impact!

About The Author: 

Scott Huntington is a writer, blogger, and social media expert. He lives in Pennsylvania and with his wife and son. Follow Scott at @SMHuntington or check out his blog, blogspike.com