Avoid These Costly Mistakes on Twitter

All too often, a business looks at Twitter as an easy way to harness the power of social media without actually taking the time to think about what is involved. Sure, it is quick, easy, and free to set up a Twitter account, but it is difficult to really make the most of it. Here are some costly mistakes that you should avoid on Twitter.

Follow Everyone (and Their Dog)

This seems to be a pretty popular mistake to make. Some people insist that you try to follow as many people as possible in hopes that they follow back. This is a mistake for two reasons: you look like a spammer, and your "audience" is probably not worth the trouble you took  to "attract" them. You are much better off spending that same amount of time attracting an audience that stands to benefit from your offer.

Think about it like this. If you sell sports shoes, would you rather make a presentation to an audience of 5,000 people who are assembled to hear a series of guest speakers, or would you rather make that same presentation to an audience of 50 who are assembled just to hear YOUR presentation? I think it should be obvious which is the better choice.

Only Talk About Yourself

This goes back to what I try to drive home in nearly all of my blog posts about any form of social media. Social media is about conversation, not self-promotion. People follow others on Twitter not because they want to get bombarded with ads, but because they believe that person or business can help point them toward relevant information. You should try to engage in retweeting links that pertain to your industry or local area.

Limit your self-promotion to only when asked either by a tweet or direct message. This will also help provide context to other followers on what products and services you are offering and might even influence their purchasing decision more in your favor.

Leave Your Twitter Account Alone

Just like how important it is to keep your website content fresh and updated, it is even more important that you keep your tweets updated. Once or twice a day is probably good enough for most small businesses. Be sure to post updates to Twitter whenever you make a new post on your blog (CMS's like Drupal can do this automatically) or have any announcements to make about your business.

People are much more likely to follow a Twitter account that is active and provides relevant information.  If you avoid these costly mistakes, you should be well on your way to making Twitter work for you!