In an increasingly connected world, it makes good business sense to have a presence on social media, even if your business is a small one. In fact, one could argue it’s actually more important for a small business to have a Twitter presence than it is for a large corporation. Creating a great Twitter account for small businesses isn’t difficult and can bring increased sales.

Unlike larger businesses, small business owners do not have the resources to fund research into their customer base. Also, advertising dollars are likely at a premium. This used to be a disadvantage, but in the 21st century it is not.

Using Twitter to connect with current and potential customers – as well as people in your industry, experts in your field and businesses that are complimentary to yours – costs nothing but time.

Take Advantage of What Twitter Offers

Some are not aware that Twitter itself offers an app for small businesses that helps them better use the social media platform.

The app allows small businesses to:

  • Access a daily calendar that offers suggested tweets, access to special events and information on Twitter advertising strategies
  • Sync relevant Twitter topics to the calendar on your personal device
  • Access research, success stories and other information about small businesses on Twitter

In addition to what you can learn from Twitter itself, it’s important to keep the following tips in mind, which were culled from a variety of experts in social media marketing. Your goal is a to create a twitter account for small businesses, specifically your business so taking your time makes all the difference.

Twitter Account for Small Businesses: Promote Others, Not Yourself

The best way to become noticed and respected on Twitter is by retweeting others. The caution here is not to retweet just for the sake of retweeting. Nothing drives people away faster than random, insincere retweets just for the sake of getting yourself noticed. The key here is to be selective, find clever tweets about things pertaining to your business or the community at large, and retweet those.

Consistency Is Key

As with many things in live, dependability and quality are important. Trust will not be built among Twitter followers if Tweets are made infrequently. Equally as bad is a sudden deluge of Tweets, followed by days of silence. By using tools supplied by Twitter, it’s possible to write several tweets at one sitting and then schedule them to go out over the course of the day. Being there consistently provides value to your followers.

You Are What You Tweet

Do not make the mistake made by many new people to Twitter, which is this: they tweet about the first thing that comes to mind. Before committing to tweeting regularly, first decide what the parameters are for topics you will tweet. If not, no one will know who you are or what you are about, and that’s not what you want. Stay focused on your areas of interest.

Take Time to Be Clever

Creative posts are far more interesting than using the same language used by everyone else, or promotional language that turns people off. Also, watch out for empty phrases such as “this will change your life” or “you must read this now.” That turns savvy readers off. Try being creative, or at least original, with your posts.

Act Quickly

Most experts agree that because of the rapid fire nature of Twitter, you should not spend more than an hour to respond to someone who tweets at you. Obviously, this means you must try to stay connected – or have someone doing it for you.

Use Twitter Tools

In addition to being able to pre-plan when your tweets go live, there are quite a few other useful tools the social media giant offers. Those include the ability to make lists of the people, organizations and businesses you are following that are the most important to you. That way, you can filter out the noise – and on Twitter, there is a lot of noise.

Become The Face of Your Business

Some businesses attempt to use their logo for their Twitter profile image, which appears with every tweet you write. This might be fine, but social media users obviously are going to identify more with a real person than a logo. No matter how much you like the logo you have designed for your company, this is an opportunity for you to become the image associated with your business. It’s far more personal and interesting than a logo. That said – make sure it’s a good photo. And also remember to take the time and make your short biography good – what you do, how it helps people, and a touch of personality and/or humor.

Make Sure You Follow Customers

Ultimately, Twitter – and other social media – are vehicles to connect and hold a conversation with people, not simply talk at them the way legacy media does. Take the time to find your customers, follow them and listen to what they say. Of all the advice here, this is perhaps the most important. Twitter offers businesses an unprecedented opportunity to find out – in real time – the concerns, cares, wants and needs of customers. Don’t let it slip by.