Five mistakes Businesses are making on Twitter

Twitter is becoming increasingly popular as an effective marketing tool for businesses. There are numerous benefits such as:

1. It’s FREE to use
2. You gain access to a global market
3. Potential customers at your fingertips
4. Links can direct them to a ‘buy now’ button so it’s instantaneous
5. Head start over other not so tech savvy competitors
6. Brand visibility
7. Brand awareness
8. You can show your brand as being innovative and social media savvy and be perceived as the ‘expert’ at what you do.

But I’ve noticed that some companies aren’t using Twitter correctly. The main thing I’ve noticed is companies who have thousands of followers but are only following a few people. This is really off putting for me as a potential customer. I don’t feel very special if you don’t follow be back. Even a thank you for following makes me feel better! People buy from People, and more often from companies who make them feel good or make them feel special.

So here’s my list of the top mistakes companies are making on twitter:

1. Account is linked to Facebook ­Heads up…if you’re twitter account shows just links to your Facebook page, I will not follow you. I never click on a link to Facebook. I am on Twitter, so I don’t want to be taken to Facebook.

2. Automated DMs­ I unfollow anyone who send me these!

3. No engagement….just throwing out their own tweets and not even taking the time to retweet someone who engages or interacts with them. I remember once, myself and another lady from the same area won awards and I tweeted details of this to an account who were involved in the local community and which had a large following. Our story was a positive one yet when we tagged them in the tweet, they never even said ‘Well done’ or retweeted the good news.

What does this mean? It means first of all, I felt ignored. Then it also means that if they ever need a RT I would hesitate to do so.

It also means that I won’t be advertising with them in future if I have an event or something to promote.
The company who responds and engages with me, gets my business. People buy from people.

4. Constant sales tweets. Remember Twitter is a social network. A few sales type tweets is fine but be creative! The secret is to make an ad not look like an ad. Use pictures, do a competition. Think of the customer. What do they want? Discounts are hugely popular with people on Twitter.

5. Putting another company down or bitching. I haven’t seen any big companies do this but I have seen smaller ones putting others down. Don’t do it. People are watching. If you put someone down I would be reluctant to do business with you. If you are bitching about someone it makes you look unprofessional and it WILL get back to the person involved. I often get messages from others, giving me a heads up about someone saying something about me. So if they have messaged me, you can be sure others have seen it and thought it wasn’t right either.

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Samantha is passionate about assisting others to get on and use Twitter. She regularly runs Twitter workshops around the country to help people achieve this. The next workshop will be held in Dublin and booking details can be found here. 

If you would like Sam to take a look at your social media accounts, you can book a consolation by emailing Tweetinggoddess@gmail.com