Credible on Twitter

3 Tips on How to Be Credible on Twitter

“Self-expression has become the new entertainment.”- Arianna Huffington, Founder of HuffingtonPost.com.

America loves social media!  We love our Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube videos.  We love to be able to express ourselves, our thoughts, and our emotions on a whim.  Social media has given us that technology.

We also love the ability to communicate.  Owning a cell phone is about as common as owning a television set.  The way we communicate with phones has vastly changed as well.  We don’t just call people to share information.  We can send them a photo of what we’re doing or send them a text message.  The ability to have a verbal conversation over the cell phone is almost one of the least attractive features of phones.  Rather, it’s the ability to connect with social media, the Internet, and send short messages that really intrigues us.

Our love affair with the text message is a big reason why the social media giant, Twitter, is so popular.  As of June 2011, users on Twitter are now averaging 200 million Tweets per day.  Twitter is the equivalent of the text message; short and sweet.  However, unlike the text message, businesses can utilize this social media technology much more effectively than text because a Tweet has the potential to have thousands of people see it and you can place links to your website in a Tweet.

How does a business differentiate itself from the average 14 year old girl tweeting Justin Bieber updates?  The big question is how can a business be credible on Twitter when there is so much ‘un-credible’ information out there?  The following are some tips on how to be credible on Twitter:

How to Be Credible on Twitter | Valuable Content

The first thing my clients tell me when I tell them to be credible on Twitter with valuable content is ‘in 140 characters?’

Yes.

You become credible on Twitter by asking a question or making an interesting statement with a link to a related, quality, content filled blog.  For example, a tweet from a Realtor that says: ‘Here’s 5 tips to help you stage your home when selling bloglink.com‘ will attract people seeking to sell their houses and allow them to read content from you.  If the content is of good quality advice (not a blatant sales pitch), you will establish yourself as credible and as an expert.  If this person is looking for a Realtor, then you may be the expert they call because of the information your created.

How to Be Credible on Twitter | Separate Your Accounts

I always recommend to my clients that the best way to be credible on Twitter is to keep your business account separate from your personal account.  If in one tweet, you send out a link to a brilliantly informative how-to video that solves a problem, and the next link you’re tweeting details of the latest episode of ‘Jersey Shore’, you will have gone from expert to idiot very quickly in the eyes of many potential customers (unless your customers are 14 year olds).  So keep your personal tweets about hating Tony Romo because he blew yet another game in the second half separate from your professional tweets about how to achieve world peace and you’ll keep yourself as an expert in the eyes of your professional followers.

How to Be Credible on Twitter | Be Active

First and foremost, you will absolutely want to fill out all necessary information on your Twitter account, and, yes, that means including a picture.  Second, you will want to interact with people.  If someone messages you, then message back.  If someone retweets one of your blog posts, find something they’ve written and retweet it as well.  Be a good and credible on Twitter, play well with others, and you will find that you will see positive results for your business.

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