5 Twitter tips for companies

Twitter has become this massively popular new media channel (and medium) within a matter of months. From Formula One commentators to big companies are now using it to reach out to their audiences. We are a search marketing company, but Twitter has become a factor in search engine optimisation due to real-time search, content and user behaviour. Here are a couple of best practice tips to get the most from your Twitter account:

Schedule your tweets

Broadcast your tweets at a time when your target audience is active. This may be over lunch or, if you are based in South Africa, during normal office hours (most people in SA surf at work).

Don’t fully automate

Remember that Twitter is an engaging medium, so make sure that a real person responds to any received messages or mentions.

Use company handlers

They provide you with a Twitter platform where many people can post under the same handler, in order to consolidate your followers. It also allows you to send commercial or promotional information to followers from time to time.

Repeat tweets

We know it isn’t really allowed but remember: if you create great relevant content, some people might have missed your first tweet. Don’t repeat tweets more than three times.

Track and monitor

Use a Google Analytics custom campaign URL if you have links in your tweets (you might have to shorten it with a service like bit.ly). This will allow you to measure the traffic from a campaign. Happy tweeting!