Written by Kari Ausloos
Following social media etiquette is essential for your business to grow. This may seem like something that is easy to understand, but many businesses still do not follow the rules, especially on Twitter.
Twitter can be very overwhelming for first time business users. But there are certain rules that you can follow to make sure you don’t end up like these Twitter fails and make your business look bad. Here are the basic dos and don’ts of Twitter.
Do plan ahead. Having a plan ahead of time with the content that you will be tweeting about can keep you organized and make sure that you have plenty of information to share.
Don’t over promote. There is such a thing as over promoting yourself. People who are following you don’t want to see your brand bombarding their Twitter page. Stick to tweeting about your company 4 to 6 times a day. However, that doesn’t include responding to other tweets that have mentioned you.
Do interact and respond. Responding to questions or comments about your company helps build relationships with your followers. Acknowledging their comments or concerns will show that you value what your followers have to say and show you care. You should also retweet other information that you think your followers would find helpful or interesting. Check out Old Navy’s Twitter account and see how they retweet information.
Don’t over use hashtags. Hashtags are a great way to expose your tweets to a wider audience. However, too many used in one tweet can be distracting to readers. Try to limit yourself to just one or two to avoid looking like a spammer.
Do add links to your tweets. Adding links to your sources or other articles will make you seem more credible. You should also link to images or videos to mix up your content and keep your followers interested. The Milwaukee Brewers are a great example to follow when mixing up links, images and videos.
Don’t use corporate jargon. Try to speak in a language that your audience will understand. Using too much corporate jargon may confuse your audience and make them less interested in what you have to say.
Do complete your company’s account profile. Make sure to fill out your company’s profile and what people can expect from following your account. Add a picture that represents your company and apply a link to your business’s website. Not having a picture or one that doesn’t represent your company may turn followers away.
Don’t get too personal or negative. If you are tweeting for your business, do not put information that is personal to you. Your business’s followers are not interested in what you had for supper last night or a new picture of your dog. So stick to tweeting about information that is relevant to the business, not yourself. You should also avoid sounding negative or creating tension on Twitter. If you wouldn’t say something to your customer in person, don’t say it online.
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