Figuring out what to tweet can certainly be tricky. A lot of people make the mistake by going straight for the sell. Which is to me the worst method as people will see them as a spammer. Its harder for smaller business owners as people don’t know who they are compared to a giants like @starbucks and @dell
So what should you tweet?
1. Personal Tweets
Personal messages works, they are about you and your personal life, however make sure that you don’t tweet the entire day about what you do. People might tune off their ears if what they hear is about you eating cereals for breakfast everyday. However share things that let people get to know you a little better.
2. Retweets
No matter what people say, retweet works! You should retweet what you feel is interesting to you and your readers. Before retweet think about how it can benefit your followers. Here is an example by @sydneycafes retweeting about organic food as they are in the food business.
3. Replies
Engagement is NOT optional anymore. You should always reply whenever you can. People don’t like getting ignored especially if it is something to do with your company or a question. Here is a reply by @emersonsalon to their followers.
4. Questions/Participation Tweets
Want recommendations? Or want people to interact more? Try asking questions to get more interaction on twitter. Interaction is always a great tweet as it is a two way conversation. Here is by great example by @sydneycafes
5. Business related Tweets
It’s okay to send tweets about your company, after all you want to get some leads right? If you built a great relationship with your followers you can post tweets about your business. However make sure you maintain a ratio of 1:>10. This means whenever you send out a tweet about your business, make sure that there are 10 tweets that are engagement and with your followers. Here is one great tweet by @emersonsalon
6. Miscellaneous Tweets
You can send out quotes that inspire you, or whatever you find interesting. Quotes works as well because it is easy to connect with your followers with quotes. Facts about your niche works too. Try it.
7. Something FUN that helps to know more about your business
You can also tweet a twitpic of your business. If you’re in the cafe business why not tweet a picture of your daily specials? You can also tweet a video on how to prepare a simple dish that customers can do at their homes. Perhaps even tweeting the “daily photo” of your customers on twitter. People will love that as they are in that photo and they will share with their friends.
So there you go, seven types of tweets for small business owners. If you know more, why don’t you share with us?
photo credit: examiner
Great post Aaron! I believe, it is essential to have a variety in the tweets, to avoid monotony, don't you think? As always, keep rocking, my friend! You're doing a great job. =D
Yes~! Excellent points made, Aaron! I agree, Nicky, variety is important since none of us are all about one thing all the time. I love unexpected tweets =) So true that it is no longer an “option” to reply! I am going to try tweeting some pictures, Aaron… I will let you know how that goes! Thanks for the great idea =)
x0x
Anita @ModelSupplies
Great post – with very useful tips for small businesses. Keeping this list by you as you post throughout the day can certainly help your tweets be diverse and creative!
I think visiting people's blogs and commenting specifically on some of their work is a great way to let people know you're interested not just in the fact that they're a possible consumer, but that they're a possible friend. After all, you want them to be involved in what your doing, it's only fair that you take some time to invest in them as well.
Give. Get. Give.
Chase Brumfield
Thanks Aaron, this is Awesome. Some great info I did not know.
Cheers Sue
Thanks mate, glad you found them useful =D
Thank you for dropping by and leaving a comment Anita,
I heard someone posted a video tweet of them jumping off an air plane for a sky dive and it went viral.
Do tell me how they work out for you
Yes Nicky, we should always have a variety of tweets and non stop engagement =D
You've done well in those =D
Thank you Sue, glad you found them useful.
Do try them and tell me how it works =D
Thanks for the comment Chase,
I do agree with you that we gotta give get give,
that is my next part of the strategy. This is just the “tweeting” part. Not the overall strategy.
You're one step ahead of me =D
I am so glad I found you! Greetings from Glasgow!
Greetings from Malaysia =D
Thank you, simple and easy recommendations… and effective I think. We are one of your followers, you have really interesting posts. Keep the good job!
Thank you so much for dropping by and leaving a comment =D
Thanks so much for this very usual information. You taught me some new things, and helped confirm some things I was already thinking. SWEET! 🙂
Awesome, glad you found the information useful, good luck 🙂
Love your blog. Very useful tips, not only for small business owners.
Excellent post with useful ideas and food for thought. I'll be following the 1:>10 ratio from now on as well as asking more questions.
And I know from firsthand experience how frustrating it is when a company doesn't reply to a valid query, so I always reply to direct questions, especially if they're about a company I represent!
Loved your article! Great suggestions for Newbies to Twitter & all the rest of us as well, whether for business or personal interaction. It's all about engaging, & relating to people, anyway…! I will share this/Re-Tweet again in a few days!
Love the suggestion about tweeting Customer Photo of the Day…or even Employee Photo of the Week. I mention my employees by name on Twitter when they do or say something humorous that I think readers might enjoy. And it’s a way to introduce my entire team (all 5 of us…haha) to our local market. As usual Aaron, you rock!
Well said…there appears (at least to yours truly) to be no shortage of people doing it wrong.
Whether your an affiliate marketer or a business owner the hard sell or automatic DM’s offering
something outrageous or free seldom works here. The demographics of ages regularly on @twitter should be a tell tale sign that whatever you can come up with has more than likely been seen elsewhere way too many times and is immediately rejected. Furthermore, most veteran users here won’t even think about clicking a link unless it’s from a trusted source and that applies to retweets as well. Business isn’t easy and if it were everyone would be doing it, better to enjoy@twitter for what it is and isn’t. Build relationships with people you trust and who trust you then perhaps and only then discuss how your business can perhaps assist with a need they have. Couldn’t agree more Aaron very nice post. Cheers, Robert
I see a lot of this too, Aaron. I think many small business owners look at Twitter as one of those billboards in the lobby where people advertise their used sofa for sale. Twitter is much more about interacting with people and engaging them in a meaningful way. I like the types of tweets you suggest and the 10:1 ratio. Great post.
Thanks for the tips.. I am not really into twitter but I think I had to engage more for my business sake.
Hello there! Really nice post. I’d suggest also this service for twitter management: Myhelpster.com. (http://bit.ly/1GLPBLZ)