Twitter is one of the most robust platforms for online marketing, especially for B2B and technology businesses. More and more SaaS and tech companies are turning into Twitter – often amassing impressive followership – but not few actually know how to use it well. But just like with anything, using a new platform carries with it a learning curb. In this post, we are going to discuss the top-10 errors brands make when promoting themselves on Twitter – and how you can avoid making these common twitter errors.
1. Retweeting Mentions of Your Brand
It is an exciting moment when your brand gets mentioned by a Twitter user. This is typically a signal that there is engagement about your product. At first, it makes sense to retweet the post to show all your other followers how great you are. However, it is not a good look. In real life, we do not walk around and tell everyone what people think of us. This will look like boasting, so avoid doing it. Let word of mouth spread by itself organically.
You can engage with the person that mentioned your brand. You can tweet them or send them a direct message. If you feel like the mention of brand holds valuable knowledge you want your followers to see, then you can retweet them. However, make it a “thank you” retweet, so you seem sincere when retweeting it.
2. Robot Posts
Using robots offers your great personal value. You are very busy being productive with other aspects of your business, and Twitter is lower on your totem pole. That’s where tweet schedulers can offer you help. You use the service to schedule tweets, and it will post for you. It is a fantastic service to help save you time or if you’re going on vacation.
However, it is essential not to use it all the time. By using the scheduler all the time, it makes your profile look less human. Even as a business profile, your followers want social interaction. Make sure if you are using a posting platform to do it smartly. Do not schedule them in sequence like 9 am, 10 am, and 11 am. Your followers will pick up quickly that you are taking a shortcut on Twitter, and it will hurt your engagement.
3. Wrong Link Descriptions
A great way to share your website or product is tweeting out a link to it. However, it is all too common that links are not as they appear to be. Sometimes a business will use click-bait links or insincere links to gravitate audiences inorganically to a website. It takes once for that to happen to lose a follower.
A vital indicator in marketing is the click-thru rate. That is why using Twitter to promote your website is smart. However, make sure the link is exactly what you say it is, or your brand reputation online will take a hit.
4. Ignoring negative feedback
Twitter links millions of users worldwide. As a business, that is great because you have an incredible chance to capture new customers. However, a negative is that anyone can go on there and give your brand negative feedback. We all dislike receiving negative feedback, and our first instinct is to avoid it. However, you do not want to do that on Twitter.
It will make your brand look weak if you do not respond to negative feedback. Brands need to engage with consumers openly and honestly within the public forum. Ignoring the input will be amplified, and you will lose engagement because of that.
5. Bad Use of the Search Function
Twitter has a fantastic search function tool. As a brand, you can search your name in the search tool and see who is talking about you and what is said. If someone doesn’t use the “@” symbol when tweeting your brand name, then you won’t get a notification. A lot of people do not use it since they aren’t looking for engagement from your brand, or they may not know to use it.
Kevin Clearwater, a marketing consultant forAustralia 2 Write, offers the advice, “as a marketer using Twitter, it shows your brand is proactive with engaging users that are talking about your product. So, use that search function to see who is excited, or not so much, about your brand.”
6. Having an Inconsistent Brand Voice
It is crucial to find your brand voice when using twitter. Are you using light-hearted humour, or are you taking a formal approach? Once you figure out your strategy, stick with your brand voice, so your followers know what they are getting with you.
7. Using a Service That Calls Out Unfollows
One of the tackiest things a Twitter account can do is mention when someone unfollows them. Especially as a business, they are unfollowing you for a reason. It would be much better to figure out why they unfollowed versus telling them and your followers that they unfollowed you.
Kyle Kingly, a promotions analyst forBrit Student, says, “there is absolutely no reason to use an unfollowing service. It is their right as another twitter user to follow or unfollow who they choose. Blasting it out makes your brand look unconfident.”
It can also be bad when you beg for follows.
8. Poorly Optimized Profile Description
One of the first components a Twitter user will see when they visit your page is your profile description. It is an excellent opportunity to captivate the user right away. Make sure your profile is optimized correctly. It should say who you are and what you do.
9. Bad Use of Twitter Lists
Make sure you use this tool to keep track of the people that are most engaged with your content. When you know who is engaging a lot with your brand, engage with them as well. A share for a share is a great thing when you are starting to build your account. This is a great win-win situation.
10. Automated Direct Messaging
This is the robotic telemarketer of Twitter. It will just annoy whoever receives a message from it. Make sure each direct message sent is a real person. People do not want to chat with robots.
Make sure you do not make these ten mistakes promoting your brand on Twitter.
About the Author
A brand awareness coach and writer atNext CourseWork andPhD Kingdom, Joel Syder is passionate about spreading his knowledge. He specializes in brand promotion and social media. He is an avid article writer, where topics range from mountain biking to martial arts.
