It’s the new year, and this year there is absolutely no doubt that your social networks are going to be more important than ever. I really mean that too. Using social media effectively not only brands you as an expert in your industry, builds your authority, and brings your website increased traffic, but it also helps you get found on search engines.
Social sharing is a critical part of how your website gets ranked in Google, Bing, Yahoo and other search engines. Don’t believe me? Check out this article we wrote about how social media is crucial to your SEO.
I wrote a similar article about LinkedIn and it inspired me to embark on this series of making the most of your social media profiles and using your presence to achieve your business goals. Here’s how to stand out on Twitter.
8 Ways To Get Noticed On Twitter
1. Get To Work On Your Profile
Whenever conducting an audit on any of your social media pages, the first place to look is your profile. This is your first impression in the social media world. It’s what people see first and often times it is your profile that can make or break your new relationship. The first thing you need to think about is your image. If you still have an egg representing your profile then people are going to think you are a spam account or quite frankly an egg-head. No body wants that. Use a picture that represents you in the best way. Smiling, professional, and most importantly YOU will do best. Make sure it is sized correctly as well. A blurry pic isn’t going to help you stick out.
If you are using a company page, it is ok to use your logo. But again, make sure it is clean and sized correctly. If your text is too small it is going to be hard to see. Most people access Twitter from their mobile phone, so the picture is already going to be small. With that said, tiny text isn’t going to get you anywhere.
Next thing to audit is your bio. You want people to have a clear understanding of who you are and they types of things you tweet right away. Your bio also shows up in search so make sure you use keywords effectively to help you get found. If you want to link to other profiles or hashtags you can do that in your bio as well.
Make sure you have a link to your website or another social network if you don’t have a website yet. Don’t use your twitter link here, that’s just a waste of space. We’re already on Twitter, we don’t need to be directed back to your Twitter account.
2. Attach Images To Your Tweets
Tweets with images get more action. It’s a fact, but don’t over do the photos. You want them to make an impact and you don’t want to be known as the person who attaches a picture to everything. It may take away from the real call-to-action, which is the link in your tweet.
Another thing to note about images is that only images uploaded through Twitter will show up. So if you want to showcase your latest Instagram picture within your tweet, here’s what you should do. Copy the link of your Instagram photo and open Twitter. Paste the link with your message and then upload that same image directly to the Tweet. Because the pic.twitter.com link will only show up on your profile and not the actual Twitter stream that people see, the only link to choose from will be directing your visitor back to Instagram. See the example below.
I learned this little trick from Rebekah Radice and I am definitely going to use it to cross promote my Instagram page to my Twitter followers.
3. Make The Most Out Of Twitter Real Estate
Here’s another tip that you should use sparingly. If you add line breaks inside your tweet, your tweet space will be larger than the others in that feed. Gary Vaynerchuk does this often and it’s a good way to make an impact. I do think you should be careful when doing this as it could get annoying. But, if you want to really stick out or have an important tweet then this is a good strategy. In real estate, the bigger the property, the more you’ll notice it. Imagine walking down a block of tract homes where they all are the same and they look a like. Then you stumble upon a huge house. You’ll notice the huge one, right? The same goes for your Twitter feed.
4. Be Relevant
Relevancy is my word for 2014. Everything you do online should be relevant to a goal you have. Your Twitter feed should be relevant too. Make sure your tweets are aligned with what you are trying to achieve. The more niche and more consistent you are in your messaging, the more people will understand why they are following you. Focus on who you want to be online and the message you want to give. You’ll have a better chance for growing a targeted following and that will make your tweets more meaningful to those who follow you.
5. Add Videos
This is a great tip for anyone who uses Twitter for customer service, which should be a lot of us right. Think about using video, and Vine particularly to create a video message. This could be a response to someone asking you a question on Twitter, or a thank you for someone who bought your services, or just a quick hello. It’s nice to add a little extra touch here and there if you are willing to do it. On that note, I think I’m going to start using Vine more. 🙂
6. Share Links With Commentary
It’s great to share articles on Twitter. In fact, it’s the number one thing that people share. But the simple headline and the link gets a bit boring. If you want to stand out, it’s much better to take that link and add your own commentary or give a little summary of what the article is about. This will increase your click-throughs too.
For example, my article on 8 Ways To Stand Out On LinkedIn could look like this.
or it could look like this.
See the difference?
7. Be A Connector
Many people are looking for things on Twitter. They are shouting it from the mountain tops. Well, the Twitter-tops. Many times you may not be able to help, but someone you know might be a perfect fit. This is your opportunity to put down your selfish hat, and pick up your helpful hat. More times than not, the person you referred will be happy and the person you helped will keep you in mind the next time they need something or better yet, need you for something. Plus, it will keep you fresh in their mind and that is a good thing!
Dawn Mentzer offers help and I love her for that!
8. Add A Call To Action
You need a call-to-action. This could be a link, or simply asking someone to do something. But with a little push people are far more likely to do what you want them to. Twitter cards are the perfect call-to-action. They do require you spend some money advertising, which by the way is another good way to get noticed on Twitter, but they can be very effective in growing your list. For more information on Twitter cards, read my post here.
Well there you have it. 8 great ways to get noticed on Twitter. What do you find works for you?
