5 Common Twitter Mistakes That Could Hurt Your Business

In 2018, it’s no longer enough to have a great shop front and an attentive sales team. Customers expect to be able to engage with your brand long after they’ve left the store. That’s why more businesses than ever are heading to Twitter to take their relationships with customers to the next level.

Of course, maintaining a social media account isn’t easy, especially for the uninitiated. If your company’s Twitter just isn’t taking off, here are some of the potential reasons why:

  1. You Never Uploaded a Profile Picture

You’re not an egg, so you shouldn’t masquerade as one on Twitter. Twitter users who opt to keep the default logo instantly paint themselves as unengaged, dull and definitely not tech-savvy. Not a great start! Your profile picture is an opportunity to showcase your brand’s personality and give users a taste of your corporate story. Don’t waste it.

  1. #You #Overuse #Hashtags

You know that feeling you get when your elderly relatives message via your Facebook status because they don’t understand how private messages work? That’s how customers feel when you overuse hashtags.

Hashtags definitely have a place and can be a great way to get your content seen by the right people, but hashtag spam irritates followers and cheapens your brand. Try to limit yourself to two hashtags per tweet and ensure that they are relevant to your post. Note the minimal but effective way they are used by successful tweeters, from individuals like business owner Lori Janeson to large corporations like Red Bull.

  1. You Over Promote Yourself

There’s nothing wrong with self-promotion—that’s a big part of what your Twitter account is for. However, overselling yourself is a great way to turn your followers off. Research undertaken by SproutSocial found that of the 86% of social media users who follow a brand, almost 60% of them are irritated by over promotion from brands.

To moderate this, follow the Tippingpoint Lab’s famous 4-1-1 rule. This rule states that for every self-serving tweet you make, you should tweet four pieces of original content from others and retweet one relevant tweet. This will help to keep your Twitter posts interesting and relevant to your fans.

  1. You Don’t Offer Incentives

Unsurprisingly, research shows that most Twitter users who follow brands do so to receive incentives, such as access to secret sales and promotional codes. If you’re going to promote new products and sales, minimize follower irritation by offering fans added value, like a discount code. You can also incentivize following you on Twitter by hosting exclusive competitions and retweeting your followers’ content.

  1. You Don’t Respond

Another major reason customers follow a brand is to receive customer support. Research has found that 83% of customers who made a complaint to a company via Twitter appreciated the company responding. If you don’t respond to fan inquiries, you’re likely to lose followers. After all, what’s the point in following an unresponsive company? You can keep better track of people mentioning your brand both directly and indirectly by using social listening tools, like Hootsuite.

If you’re making one or more of these mistakes, it’s time to make the change. By subtly altering the way you approach social media challenges and being more aware of your customers’ needs, you can drastically increase your followers in no time at all.

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