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How to set up a Twitter profile that attracts followers who can grow your business, part one

Most people have heard of Twitter, but aren’t sure how it can help them grow their business or enhance their professional profile. For many, Twitter represents an uncontrolled stream of consciousness in which people spend an inordinate amount of time sharing the most banal or trivial information about their lives in the hope that someone will take an interest. As a result, Twitter can be hard to imagine as a business tool.

However, if used strategically to further business goals, Twitter can play an effective role in marketing your business, your products and services, and your personal brand. Knowing how to use it and having a clear purpose makes all the difference. This two-part article looks at how to set up a Twitter account and create a profile that attracts the right kind of followers.

If you don’t have a Twitter account, you need to go to the main Twitter website (Google Twitter only). On the main page, you will see a signup box titled “New to Twitter?” Provide your full name, your email address and choose a password. These details can be changed when you start customizing your settings, but for now, choose a password you can remember. Then click the register button.

Twitter will then walk you through a simple process to verify if your username has been taken and offer alternatives where appropriate. Again, you can change the details later when you modify your account; however, think about the username you want to choose for your company.

Twitter is a microblogging site: no more than 140 characters (including spaces) are allowed with each post. Within that post, your name will appear as @yourusername, so choose a short name that won’t take up too much of your allowance.

If your tweet (post) is retweeted (RT), it means someone else has broadcast your post to their own network. Your name then appears as part of the retweeted message, as well as the person you’re retweeting, so a long name would soon consume all 140 characters.

Select a username that is easy for your customers to identify and (if possible or appropriate), reflects what you do. If you are offering specific products or services that people use as a search term, for example “cupcakes” or “tennis rackets”, then a username like (@) “fancycupcake”, (@) “eatcupcake”, ( @) “tennisracket”, (@) “greattennis” might be a good choice. If you are selling professional services, using your own name would reinforce your brand recognition and integrity.

Once you have passed the necessary verifications, an email will be sent to your email address to confirm the opening of your account. In the meantime, you’ll move on to the next stage of the process, which is to start selecting people to follow on Twitter. Be strategic in your choice of followers: Your business-related Twitter account carries different expectations and standards than a personal account.

When you choose a follower, it means that their tweets will appear in what’s called your “feed.” It’s a constantly updating stream of tweets that appears as soon as one of your followers posts it. You can follow whoever you want without invitation. Unless they decide to block you, you will have access to all of their tweets in your feed.

Since your choice of followers appears on your profile and is available for other people to see, your selection plays a role in the “know, like and trust” factor that is critical to social media marketing. In the absence of physical contact, your potential follower should form an impression of your interests, skills, experience, and perspective from how you build your profile, who you connect with, who follows you back, and, of course, what you have to say in your tweets.

If you choose your followers wisely, you’ll find that your feed can provide you with some very useful information about what’s happening in your community and niche industry. You can use this for your own development, as market research, and as a source of inspiration for new products and services.

If you’re an accountant, follow key leaders and influencers in your field, such as HM Treasury, HM Revenue & Customs (or the US Treasury and IRS if you’re based in the US), publications and magazines of the industry related to accounting and taxes. . You can collect important information and feedback on your subject area that you can use within your own business or pass on to your community and customers.

Retweeting relevant posts of interest and value to your own followers is a great way to show that you are someone who is current and current in your knowledge and thinking, as well as aware of the needs of your network and customers. It’s an easy way to show your customers that you’re someone in the know.

Don’t clutter your own feed with celebrity quips and remarks if they don’t add value to your business brand. If you like these personalities on a personal level, just follow them from your private account. If you’re an actor, artist, musician, or writer, it makes sense to follow other creative people and learn how they use Twitter to build their brand. However, your business strategy should guide you to follow agents, screenwriters, songwriters, producers, business investors, and other helpful people who have influence in your chosen field.

Please note that these people or organizations are unlikely to automatically follow you. However, if you regularly retweet (relevant) posts for your own community, the person who manages the Twitter account will find that you will be more inclined to respond with a “thanks for the RT” message that will include your username and be read by the many people who follow that account.

If you follow an account and regularly RT its content to your own followers, they are likely to search your Twitter profile and find out more about you. They will see your profile details and the caliber of your tweets. Based on your profile details, they will decide whether to follow you or not.

In the second part of this two-part series, you’ll see how a compelling profile can persuade more of the right people to follow you and join your online community.