How To Guide: 4 ways to make Twitter work for you

1. Make a plan. It is important to understand what you are trying to achieve by being on this platform in the first place. Be clear what your motivation is. Do you want to connect with like minded business owners? Are you looking to get noticed by the press? Perhaps you simply want to know what the world is talking about with regards to your sector or speciality? Once you are clear, then posting content and understanding your activity will be easier.

2. Get your bio right. Your bio is the 1st place users will look if they want to understand more about you. Don't list a boring list of stuff you do or sell but share your mission or purpose instead. Users need to get a quick and clear understanding of WHY your business exists before they click your link. Make sure this link is not necessarily to your front page but to the most valuable click through for your business i.e. a booking page, joining page, subscribe link and so on.

3. Find your people and ignore the rest. Twitter is a very busy and sometimes overwhelming place so stay focussed on your people. How? Start with a hero in your sector or organisation that you affiliate to. Find out who they follow and who follows them and pick out the most relevant to follow yourself. You can also use the search bar to discover a hashtag related to your business. For example you might search #businesscoaching and then discover and follow the most important accounts to you or discover interesting and like minded people. These tactics will mean that you will start to see relevant and important content into your newsfeed from which you can build your audience and knowledge.

4. Be bold. On Twitter, you have to just dive in and post. Make sure that your tweet is punchy, inviting and always include an image or video to make the tweet appear attractive. Also include a link where ever possible. Twitter has one of the highest click through rates of all the platforms and users are used to clicking to find out more or take an action. Use a hashtag or two to help readers quickly understand your angle or area of interest too. Also watch out for timings. Twitter is most busy first thing in the morning, over lunch (noon - 3pm) and in the evenings so choose when to post carefully. Wishing you lots of luck in the Twittersphere and don't forget you can hop over to our Facebook Group today to talk through your queries, ask questions or share your top tips with other members.