How do you Tweet? Things I learned from 'Tweet N Eat'

So, I’m not in sales.  But I went to the West Des Moines Chamber’s ‘Tweet N Eat’ lunch and learn, because my personal Twitter account is…well, sad.

I forget about my account for weeks at a time.  When I do tweet, the entertainment level is mediocre at best.  That is, unless I’m retweeting something.  Nine times out of ten, it’s about stellar things New View is doing (Hint, hint!). 

Yesterday’s panel of professionals whom use Twitter for business were really helpful.  Not only did I learn how to tweet a bit more strategically, I learned I can branch out from my often-used hash tags.  That’s about as advanced as I’ve gotten in the year (or more) I’ve been on Twitter.

Whether for business or professional use, here’s what I learned:

1. Encourage a call to action! – This tip rang out most to me.  Twitter can’t and won’t do anything for you if you don’t motivate your followers to do something, right?  Whether you encourage followers to visit your business or simply reply back to your post with an answer to your question, you need to encourage action.  Be interactive on Twitter, not just active.

2. Give out your username or “handle” as often as you can.  – I have noticed more and more business cards are including Facebook and/or Twitter icons – but rarely do I actually see their specific username (How can I follow you, if I don’t know your username?).   Sure, I could go home or get out my phone and search for your name or company name.  But let’s face it, Millennials, we’re lazy.  We want it and we want it now. 

3.  “If you follow me—I’ll follow you. – There’s more to this.  You can simply request to “follow” someone and hope they will “follow” you back.  But no one in business will ever tell you they got somewhere because of hope.  Sorry, the truth hurts (Wanting and hoping better breed some motivation to take some action otherwise your dreams are going down like my 5^th grade “Invention Convention” attempt.  I called it “The Reminder Machine,” but it didn’t actually require anything you’d think a “machine” would.  It was basically some fabric and post-its.  But I digress…). Do everything you can to ensure those you “follow” will reciprocate.

4. When someone takes the time to give you/your business a shout out on Twitter, you should reply! – It’s polite and no matter what people say (including me), we Millennials really do enjoy and appreciate manners.

5. How you use your Twitter account needs to be based on your industry type and customer demographic. – A marketing consultant will not use Twitter for their business in quite the same way a restaurant owner will.   The marketing consultant may post links to interesting or insightful business articles that they feel their existing or potential clients would find useful.  The restaurant owner may post Saturday’s food and drink specials, in order to draw a bigger crowd that night.

The tips I learned from the panel were endless.   While I can’t possibly share them all, I do want to share a few last things:

·         No matter what type of business you use your Twitter account for, balance in your tweets, some should be links to business articles and some should be more personal.
·         Ensure some of your  tweets link to articles and business related material

·         In an increasingly tech-savvy world, it’s very important to find new ways to create connections with your patrons

Question:  Do you tweet?  If so – do you have any great tips to share?

Panelists from the ‘Tweet N Eat’ lunch and learn:

Phil James, Good Milkshake LLC -- @goodmilkshake

Katie Bradshaw, Jasper Winery --@jasperwinery

Jeff Garrison, EOS -- @jcgarrison

Jeremiah Terhark, DSM Daily -- @dsmdaily

Josh Poindexter, DSM Daily  -- @dsmdaily

Moderator:  Danny Beyer -- @DannyBeyerIA

Lindsey Mathews
New View Board Member & Outreach Committee Chair
Project Delivery Coordinator
Shive-Hattery Inc.