Are You Still Making These Twitter Mistakes?
Back in 2013, I was a Twitter marketing newbie. I have certainly upped my game since and the game has changed a bit as well, so I thought it important to review the Twitter faux pas that can totally ruin your marketing plan.
Thoughtless Follows
Twitter etiquette – and marketing strategy – used to advise you to follow back everyone who followed you, but it’s better to take a more thoughtful approach. Nobody needs to read toxic tweets and low-quality connections can actually be bad for your reputation. Definitely pay attention to who you are following and have a good reason why.
Over-Automation
Tools make it ever easier to automate social media, but when each tweet or response is automated you are not actually connecting with people at all. Make it a point to interact personally with anyone who has reached out to you, especially if they have a complaint.
Over-Selling
You want to get people interested in your product or service, yes, but you don’t want to be pushing sales all the time. No one likes that. Of course you want to feature your business, but try tweeting messages that are fun and thought-provoking so followers will read and share them.
Dumb Controversy
Thought-provoking is one thing. Provoking thoughtlessly is quite another. Yes, controversy gets attention, but is it the kind of attention that will help or hurt your business? Use your head before you post that contrary opinion or off-color joke and be ready to do damage control if the reaction isn’t what you expected.
Cross-Posting
What works well on one social media platform doesn’t necessarily work well on them all. Twitter has a particular flavor all its own, so to do well there, take advantage of Twitter’s unique strengths and limitations. Get a handle on hashtags, influencers, retweets and so on to get the most from your efforts.
Some businesses really shine on Twitter, but it’s not a perfect outlet for everyone. Keeping some sort of presence there for connecting with your customers makes sense, but if Twitter is not your major audience, that’s okay, too. Just be sure that if you are going to tweet, do it right, and if that’s too much work, consider handing the chore over to us. I’ve had plenty of practice since 2013!
This is an update to “Twitter Round 2: Top 5 Twitter Faux Pas” dated 2/27/2013.
Breanne Bannon
Breanne is a Content Writer, Social Media Marketeer, and Sales Associate for Sprocket Websites.
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