Effectively Networking on Twitter

Twitter is just another social media site to some, but others know how much of an important networking tool it can be.

Learning how to start connecting with new followers and then nurturing those connections can help a business gain a better network they can use outside Twitter.

Start out by ensuring your followers know exactly who you are and what you want to share with them. Use photos and links to share content that you find important or interesting.

Put hash tags in your posts so other users can find your conversations. Also, put in the effort to make sure that your Twitter profile reflects who you are in a personal way; don’t try to sell something right out of the gate.

Follow a lot of people who are either experts in your industry or have some relation to what you are interested in.

Take the time to set up auto-follow and welcome messages so that new followers feel like you want to connect with them on a more personal level.

As Huffington Post says, “You don’t have to know someone to connect with them. You can follow anyone. It’s virtually limitless.”

A good idea of how to connect with new followers would be to thank them for following you and let them know how they can connect even further with you.

For example, a tweet that Empire CAT could send its new followers would be as follows:

Thank you for following us! We would love to get to know you better. Visit us at http://www.empire-cat.com and sign up for our newsletter to get monthly tips and the latest news about the construction industry!

This tweet shows that Empire CAT wants to know its new followers, but also wants to direct them off Twitter and to their main site.

Engaging with followers and non-followers alike on Twitter is pretty easy. Retweeting conversations and adding comments is an easy way to start engaging with people.

Tweeting shout-outs and making posts that are related to other social media sites shows followers that you care enough to pay attention.

If Empire CAT has followers on Twitter that are also followers of their Facebook, one thing they could do is make a post during someone’s birthday or share a good question they had on Facebook to Twitter.

It may seem like this could take hours to keep up with especially with a lot of followers, but there are tools to help automate posts.

Social Media Today suggests using an automated tool like Hootsuite to set up posts so that your time is not consumed with posting to your followers on Twitter.

Although Twitter is not the first site that comes to mind when thinking about networking, it is a good place to try and strengthen you network.

Introducing followers that share similar likes will show others that you care enough about them to let them know about people that could benefit them.

Also shouting out people that you add to lists will let them know they were added and will make it easier to connect.

You can also take the connections you make and use them outside Twitter to connect on a better level through such things as emails or phone calls.

Networking is a powerful skill in the business world. Using all tools available, such as Twitter, helps businesses grow and expand their network to further reaches which can be very beneficial in the long run.