Twitter is great for finding out what George Clooney ate for lunch at the famous Beverly Hills bistro Bouchon, but can it financially benefit your business by turning followers into paying customers? The answer is "with little planning and some work, yes it can."
If you're reading this, your brand has probably already experimented with Twitter. In our experience, we have found that most firms have signed up for Twitter, set up a profile, and Tweeted in some capacity. The challenge is to take your Twitter marketing to the next level by actively engaging followers and getting them to convert. Here's a roadmap to accomplish precisely that.
1. Seek out followers — It's great when your brand automatically generates followers, but brands simply can't sit back and wait for it to happen. You must proactively seek out followers, particularly those that seem like high-quality leads. Use Twitter Search to find people who have Tweeted about relevant topics like, for example, "solar power" or "business loans." Also see who your followers are following; odds are there will be some overlapping interest and the possibility of generating more valuable followers.
2. Optimize your profile — The beauty of inbound marketing is that successful brands lure customers to them, rather than actively selling to them. With that in mind, you want to make your Twitter profile attractive to would-be followers by, among other things, listing all your employees who use the platform for business purposes. This approach can be especially useful for financial brands who want to show off their team of financial advisers.
3. Post useful content — No one will read your Tweets if your profile is just a glorified marketing channel. Give followers something practical and useful. Also deliver this content in an interesting manner; one common trick is to pose a question: "Is this the future of home solar energy?"
4. Direct followers to external pages — Twitter will be the platform that transports followers to a page where they can either directly engage your brand or, better yet, convert. Think shopping cart pages, your home page, or a landing page promoting a special offer.
5. Accumulate positive feedback — Use the search tool to search for Tweets on your brand. When you see nice ones, star them; they'll get added to your "Favorites" tab. Over time, you can share this tab with prospects and leads.
6. Sign up for Twitter retargeting ads — Twitter retargeted ads deliver highly-targeted ads to followers based on their previous behavior on the network. And since firms can easily track their performance, measuring return on investment is a breeze. Check our take on Twitter retargeting here.
Ultimately, you won't convert Twitter followers with a mere click of a button. As with any inbound marketing channel, marketing managers need to take a methodical approach: amass followers, post relevant content, engage followers, and drive follower behavior.
