Twitter is a key element when it comes to any business’ social media plan. Everyone has access to it and it is relatively simple to use, but not everyone will know how to use it to maximise their business’ social media presence.

In our previous blog about social media, we have discussed simple tips on how to use different platforms better. In this week’s blog we will go through some tips specifically for Twitter.

• Tap into trending hashtags: using trending hashtags is a great way to boost engagement and reach a wider audience. If you write something witty (but of course, relevant to your brand) you have a higher chance of being shared. The hashtag doesn’t necessarily have to be a topic your company relates to as well, as you can turn that hashtag into something about your company or say something funny. This is commonly known as newsjacking - basically taking a popular or news hashtag, and spinning it to include your own company. If you do decide to do this though, make sure to keep it tasteful and respect the news piece.

• Engage followers with polls: polls are a fab way to engage with your followers and also allows you to gain an insight to their opinions. People are more vocal nowadays thanks for social media, so asking for an opinion on something is a good start. If you engage further, this is even better as people love when people value their opinion and having a poll makes them feel like you are listening to what they want.

• Mention your followers! Engagement is a big thing when it comes to social media, you are building a community and you want to make sure you include everyone that follows you. Give them a shout out every now and again. Retweet them if they have mentioned you in a post or do a weekly “best follower” type of post. It shows you appreciate your followers and can help build brand loyalty.

• Keep up to date with the news: posting interesting news articles, blog posts or videos is a great way to increase engagement with your users. It shows you are in tune with the industry you are in. It can also help start a discussion with your followers. It is easy to set up alerts for news pieces, you can set them up using Google Alerts and have a number of different alerts for different topics.

• Engage with your influences: much like engaging with your followers, engaging with your influencers is just as important. Make sure to respond to what they are saying, and retweet them. Engaging with them will allow them to see you and take notice of you, and potentially allow them to retweet something of yours - jackpot! If they retweet you that means you are being shared with a wider audience who are in your specific industry - more exposure, potentially more followers, and hopefully resulting in more customers.

Twitter is a great marketing tool and if you use it to its fullest potential you could get a lot in return. These simple tips are easy to follow and are easy to implement within your marketing plan, so definitely worth a try!

Happy Tweeting!