So now that you’ve set up a Twitter account for your business, what’s an up and coming entrepreneur to do?

The first thing you want to do is inform your customers that your business is on Twitter. You can advertise your Company’s Twitter Account on your website using a social media plug-in with a call to action; for example, “Follow us on Twitter for Special Discounts”. Adding a Twitter plug-in to your website will direct traffic from website visitors to your Twitter account and vice versa; this is especially great for establishing credibility with your target audience.

If your business has a specific location where customers can come into purchase goods or services, make sure to add a visual sign such as a banner that notifies customers that they can direct comments, questions, or concerns to your Company Twitter Account. An efficient way to let customers know your business exists on Twitter is to add the Twitter logo on the receipts of all purchases as well as on company plastic or paper bags.

As you develop a follower base on Twitter, join the conversation. Pay attention to any trending topics that are relevant to your Company. For example, if you notice that #ladygaga is trending and you are a local music and entertainment retailer, you can use this trending topic to advertise Lady Gaga related products in store or offer limited deals that will help boost business. Since Google indexes tweets, actively participating in trending topics will help increase your search engine exposure over time.

I also urge you to use hashtags in your tweets that are relevant to your brand image and company. If you use hashtags that contain valuable keywords specific to your business or include your slogan in a hashtag at the end of a tweet, your followers are more likely to remember your business for your products/ services.  The rule of thumb when using hashtags is that they should always be short, simple, and sweet.

If a customer asks a question about your company or product, respond, respond, respond!!! If you didn’t get the hint already, responding to your customers is very important; the manner by which you resolve customer issues will set you apart from your competition. Your professionalism and customer service is determined by the way you handle feedback, both the negative and positive.

Last but not least, give your followers incentives. So now that you have a strong follower base, give the supporters of your brand or business a reason to remain your fans. As I’ve previously mentioned, you can offer special deals and discounts that customers can use in store or online to get discounts or free products with purchase. You can also do seasonal contests and raffles amongst your followers to benefit special causes and enhance your public relations.

So now that we’ve covered some important tips, you’re probably asking yourself…how often should I tweet?

The truth is that there is no exact number I can give you. The number of tweets you send out really depends on your business and target audience. For example, if you are local bar that is open between 5 P.M. and 2 A.M., it makes sense to tweet during the afternoon and evening hours to promote happy hour specials or special events. You should however, tweet at least once a day; I recommend 3 times a day to cover the various times when people are checking their Twitter account the most, in the morning, during lunch, and in the evening.

You can also experiment with Twitter and see when your customers are most active and double or even triple the number of tweets you would normally send out.

For more information on how to track and monitor the return on investment using Twitter and other Social Media platforms, stay tuned for my next post “The ROI using Social Media”.