For small businesses, social media sites such as Twitter are a great tool as they allow the company to be in direct contact with its customers, it is cost effective and easy to use. However, many people are making mistakes without realizing it. Below are 5 things people are doing wrong on Twitter and how to fix it.

Too Promotional
Many businesses fall into the trap of being too promotional and talking about themselves too much with link after link to the company’s website. People will only want to follow you if they find you interesting and if they get something out of it. Try mixing in Tweets containing tips and tricks related to your products and services, you could also Tweet questions which will get your followers engaged in conversation.

Slow to Answer
Conversation on Twitter is truly two way. Customers think of Twitter as a direct route to the company to get their questions answered, as opposed to an unattended email inbox where their queries may go unnoticed and unanswered. Make sure these questions get answered quickly, social media is instant and can be accessed anywhere at any time. This means that the customers will be expecting a response promptly, and you want to exceed their expectations.

Don’t Engage your audience
You need to engage your audience, because if you don’t your business can look one sided and as though it doesn’t care much about other people You can engage your audience by asking questions. For example a gym could tweet asking its followers their favourite type of exercise. This not only generates conversation among followers and the company, but it also gives the company insight into their products and services. Using the gym Tweet as an example, the gym might find new information through responses to their Tweet about the type of exercise their customers enjoy, and may be able to change their equipment or classes to reflect this preference, hence keeping the customers happy and ensuring that they feel important and that their opinions are heard and considered by the company.

Tweet Inconsistently
On Twitter there is a fine balance between Tweeting too much and Tweeting too little. According to a report by Todd Wasserman, 1 Tweet per day is the ideal amount and receives the most engagement. 2, 3 and 4 Tweets per day do still engage followers, but engagement drops off considerably with 5 or more Tweets per day. So Ideally Tweet once per day, and make sure you have a schedule for your Tweets and stick to it. This will allow you to allow for busy periods and spread the Tweets evenly over that period, and in the quite periods, fill in with re-tweets and conversation Tweets.

No Use of Hashtags
It has been found that Tweets with hashtags get twice the engagement of those without, but make sure to only use 1 or 2 hashtags per Tweet, any more than that, and engagement in your Tweet will start to drop off. Be sure to keep your hashtags relevant to what you are Tweeting about and research which hashtags are trending and see what hashtags are being used in relation to your industry.

Here at Clarity, we can help you to connect through social media. We will work with you to determine the most appropriate strategy for your business and the best way for you to reach your customers. To see more click here.