Member Article

Great time for B2B marketers to join Twitter

Commonly known as the platform for excitable celebrities and bored teenagers, Twitter wasn’t often seen as a useful tool for B2B marketers in its early stages. However, according to a recent report from the Content Marketing Institute, 85% of B2B marketers now regularly use Twitter and the platform is second only to LinkedIn in terms of its popularity.

The recent news that Google will once again be indexing content from Twitter has sparked more interest from B2B marketers. Millions of tweets can now be found by searching Google, meaning that anyone with a fully-functioning Twitter account can now receive a whole new audience for their company news and activity.

But what if you’ve never used Twitter before and you’re nervous about starting out? Here are some top tips for taking advantage of the recent update by getting on board with Twitter for the first time.

Top tips for starting out on Twitter in B2B

• Check out the platform first – You don’t have to start tweeting right away if you’re not sure what to tweet about. Set up your business account and explore your options. Check out similar accounts from your sector and see what they’re tweeting about. It’s better to be prepared than to shut down an empty account after a few weeks because you’re not sure what to do.

• Think about what you want Twitter to do for you – It’s no use setting up a Twitter account if you don’t know what you want it to do. Your Twitter account could be an interesting news feed, a place to share exclusive offers or a means for your company to provide top-notch customer service. The more time you spend thinking about what your clients actually need, the more likely it is that your account will hit its mark.

• Get what you give – If you use your Twitter feed like a company newsletter, churning out a few tweets whenever you’ve got a new product to launch, you won’t get much from it. The best B2B Twitter accounts are the ones which engage with their followers. Check out hashtags and follow the latest stories. Retweet interesting news from the people you follow. Comment on news from your sector. Twitter is a platform which increases its value the more it gets used.

• Schedule tweets to save time – The most common reason for not using Twitter is “I haven’t got the time!” It’s an ever-changing, fast-moving platform – how can you possibly keep up? Luckily you can make things a bit easier by using programmes like Hootsuite to schedule tweets ahead of time. That way, you can be sure there’s something popping up on your account at all times, even when you haven’t got a minute spare to check in.

• Don’t leave Twitter to the intern! – Fancy having your HR business splashed all over the press? Or having an intern accidentally send an insulting tweet to Amnesty International in your company’s name? The trouble with seeing Twitter as being strictly for young people is that business social media accounts often get delegated to the most inexperienced members of staff. Get senior staff members on board from day one and you’ll avoid facing a PR nightmare in the future.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Matthew Hyde .