Here are 5 top tips for starting out, they are meant to be simple and easy, you need to get used to it first and then you will find your voice. If you need any help then you can find help from people like me who can help you navigate social media and create a strategy for reaching more potential customers.
1) Profile -
You need to fill this in with your name (business name), a bit about what you do and why people might want to follow you. Where you are based, if appropriate, I see lots of cafes that don't include their address, so I have no idea whether I can visit them or not!
By doing both of these things you will make yourself more attractive to others to follow.
2) Follow people
If you follow no-one then why would anyone want to follow you. You need to find people you want to follow, so how do you do that?- look for customers on twitter, current and potential customers - it gives you an opportunity to understand more about what they are interested in, and doing.
- look for competitors it will keep you up to date on what they are doing
- look for influencers - these could be from the press, or key opinion makers, networking organisations
- look through the accounts other people follow - they will have found lots of interesting people that you might be interested in.
-Don't worry about numbers! people get very hung up on how many people are following them, the important thing is quality not quantity.
3) Tweet
You have to start somewhere, so don't worry too much about your first tweet, its all about building a presence on line and that is going to take time and plenty of tweets.
So what to say?
- talk about what you are doing
- what is happening
- talk about things that have impressed you
- reply to people that talk to you - especially customers
- share what others are talking about.
-Be appropriate, this is a public medium!
4) Time
You need to make time to do your twitter profile. If you use it for only one week a year then its not worth having. You need to find space to update your social media there are tools you can use such as hootsuite to help you manage this process, but it is very important that you keep an eye on what is happening on your account. Its your chance to talk to your customers, suppliers and those that can influence them. As a general rule I would advise that you factor in 10 minutes a day to look at your twitter feed.
5) Don't Click!
From time to time you will receive messages that say things such as "LOL have you seen this picture of you g2.be/s/BE" If it looks out of context then it probably is. Don't click on the link. If in doubt Don't click.