Thousands of different companies have been utilising Twitter as a social media marketing tool on a daily basis. And it’s no surprise. Being active on this powerful micro-blogging site can lead to numerous benefits in terms of building relationships, brand awareness, and sales.

Getting an established Twitter account for your business is the best way to build your company’s presence, provide real-time customer support, interact with buyers directly, and drive customers to your company website. Not only that Twitter also networks you to entrepreneurs and helps you generate leads quicker.

Diving into Twitter for the first time can be intimidating, but don’t let that get to you. Setting up an account on Twitter is super easy, and it might just be one of the smartest moves you’ll ever make for your business.

If you’re not sure where to begin, here’s a simple guide to help you out.

Step 1. Create an account.

On the Twitter homepage, you’ll find a signup box on the right side of your screen. The lower box has fields for your full name, email address, and password. Since this is a corporate account, enter your business name as your full name, the email address associated to your business, and a strong password.

Note: You can only tie one email address to one Twitter account.

Click “Sign up for Twitter” once you have entered the information.

You will be led directly to another page asking you to select a username. You need to choose a username very carefully, as this is your identifier on the entire platform and this is how everyone will see your brand.

Normally, companies use the shortest or simplest form of their name or brand as usernames so that it can easily be recalled by Twitter users. Punctuations are avoided to keep them easy to type on mobile devices. Usernames should be less than 15 characters. See the usernames of these two companies:

Some names may already be taken, especially those involving common words, so it is better to have an alternative name ready. Make it interesting or descriptive, as long as it’s as close to your business name as possible.

After verifying all the information, click “Create my Account.” You’ll then receive an email from Twitter including a link to confirm your account. Click the link to get started with personalising your profile.

Step 2. Follow some people

Twitter can help you make your first connections by suggesting people to follow. However, if you feel that you can find followers on your own, you can skip Twitter’s introduction and head directly to your profile.

Using the search button, browse popular accounts in your field of interest or those relevant to your company. You can also let your friends with existing Twitter accounts know that you’ve joined the community. All you need to do is click the “Follow” button. Twitter will require you to make five connections initially but you can follow as many people or companies as you like. Their tweets will then appear on your timeline.

Step 3. Complete your profile

Completing your Twitter account is important. It adds flair to your account and gives more details about your business. Click the “Edit profile” button on the right side of the screen to start.

●    Add a profile photo. The profile photo is usually the brand logo or a variation of it. It should be something easy to recognize and should represent your company’s image. Others want to personalise their business account and therefore use a photo of a person - usually the CEO or the one tweeting from the account. The recommended size for your twitter profile photo is 400X400 pixels.

●    Add a header photo. Like the profile photo, this should showcase your company’s image and personality. But since this is bigger, you have more room for expression and can use this as a space to add more information i.e. links to your other platforms. For best results, your header photo should be 1500X500 pixels. This one is tricky because you want to make sure that your photo is not to small or too large so that all the branding information fits perfectly.

●    Add your link. You can either put your company website, your company’s about page, your blog, or any other page that tells a lot about your business.

●    Write your bio. Profiles with Twitter bios tend to have more followers than those without. You’ve only got 160 characters to convey what your business is about - make it as interesting as possible.

●    Update colour theme. For visual continuity of your account, you can change its colour               scheme. Click on Settings and go to Display to update your theme update your theme and background colors. You can choose colors or input the hex color codes that corresponds with your brand.

●    Customize your notifications. By clicking on Settings going to Email Notifications, you get to set your notifications for Twitter activities. Set whether you want to be notified for retweets, favorites, mentions or twitter stats. You can also choose not to be notified via email.

Step 4. Start tweeting

You’re ready to send out your first tweet! Twitter has a sample post you can use, along with the #myfirstTweet hashtag. But if you’re up to something more creative, go ahead and compose your own message. Hit the “Tweet” button and you’ve got your introductory tweet out there!

Remember, each tweet can only have a maximum of 140 characters, so try to compose a concise message. But don’t get hung up about really profound stuff; tweets should also be fun, personal, and engaging. Look at Amazon’s first tweet: 

Tweets are important because they let your audience know who you are. It is also a platform where you can promote your business and talk to your customers and fellow entrepreneurs. Among all the Social Media platforms available, Twitter maybe considered as the ‘more forgiving’ platform. However, since you are an entrepreneur with a brand and business to uphold, always be mindful of the basic Social Media Etiquette practices.

Every small, medium, or large business should have an established Twitter account and marketing strategy. If you looking to boost your Twitter marketing strategy, Transeo can lend a hand. Follow and tweet to @adam_transeo for more information.

About the Author

 

About Tara Bernal

Tara is a writer, traveler, foodie and health enthusiast. When she's not busy writing or tinkering on social media, she's on the yoga mat practicing her headstand. She is extremely fond of breakfast food and adores beach trips on sunny days.

 

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