Twitter Marketing: Four “Out of the Box” Twitter Marketing Tactics

Twitter, the phenomenal social media and microblogging website is closing in on its first decade of operation.

Amazingly, this well-established social media darling is still a mystery to business entrepreneurs who are still trying to figure out what the all the fuss is about.

While “Bigger than Life” entertainment personalities and media conglomerates have successfully made Twitter a big part of their marketing mix, one can’t help but wonder if smaller “bricks and mortar” companies and e-commerce websites are being shortchanged in the Twitter revolution.

Maybe business owners just don’t get it?

Fortunately, most if not all of Twitter’s marketing tactics are accessible and doable regardless of company size. Whether you are working from a basement office or a corporate penthouse suite in the clouds, the following four (4) tactics will get you closer to your business goals:

1. Combining SEO with Twitter

In the past, search engine optimization (SEO) and Twitter were part of separate marketing universes.  SEO was more “hardcore” and technical in how it approached your website rankings. On the other hand, Twitter was the epitome of touchy-feely, social media-based relationship-building.

That’s no longer the case! Recently, major search engines like Google and Bing have tweaked their website quality measurement criteria to validate social media use. Now, if enough people post positive comments about your sites on Twitter (quality frequency), your score will improve accordingly.

In other words, get enough people to like your content and share it with others (see next section) via Twitter to benefit from better search rankings as well as increased website traffic.

Search engines are also placing more value on the authority of links posted on your Twitter account.

2. “Retweets”- The Modern Version of Link Building…

Link building has a somewhat notorious history, what with link farms, unauthorized link trading, excessive spamming, e-mail scams etc.

However, Twitter offers business people a simpler, safer and more effective way to share company information. Thanks to the ubiquitous retweet icon, your website or blog can become a great jumping-off point to get more followers, more prospects, and ultimately more sales.

Retweets are a great promotional tool. For example, Ezinearticles.com offers its list subscribers ready-made motivational quotes, article writing tactics, and other juicy tidbits in tweetable form.  Not only do these phrases promote the Ezinearticles brand, but they help consolidate its ‘expert’ status among writers and readers alike.

3. Taking It To The Next Level – Attracting Friends of Your Followers and Followers of Your Friends

All too often, new entrepreneurs (not to mention established companies) are not proactive enough when it comes to growing their Twitter list beyond the first level.  Sure, it’s great that long-time customers and followers keep up with your activity. However, why not encourage your core group to spread the word?

Failing to go beyond Level 1 not only limits your marketing potential but prevents you from gaining instant followers who likely share similar tastes and buying preferences.

Make your tweets as shareable as possible by:

• Being human and conversational in tone.
• Welcoming feedback and interaction with new followers.
• Relating to your audience’s everyday needs and concerns.

4. Using Twitter To Go Visual and Viral

These days, any marketing strategy worth its salt must include a visual social media strategy component.

While Twitter use remains centered on those one-hundred-forty characters of text, image marketing has begun to play a greater and greater role. Driven to match the robustness of Facebook (Instagram), Pinterest and others, the site allows greater photo and video-sharing than ever before.

For your next campaign, consider something that drives customers to tweet photos with them holding or using your company’s latest offering (e.g. think Blackberry Z10 or the latest McDonald’s health food fad). Seeing others use your service can help you drive sales and get more people under your tent!

Final Thoughts on Twitter

Twitter is useful for more than just announcing who the next Pope is! It continues to evolve at a frantic pace, so businesses must stay focused and avoid throwing up their hands when faced with daily marketing onslaughts.

Stay on the ball! Keep your long-term business aspirations in mind when planning out the next stage of company growth. The key to Twitter success, as with all forms of social media, is to engage prospects/followers with rich, seductive content that leaves them wanting more…

Oh, and be sure to retweet this article on Twitter or share it on any of your favorite social networks as well!