6 Twitter Tips to Score More Sales In 140 Characters

With more than 500 million tweets sent each day from an average active monthly user base of 302 million people (and growing), Twitter can seem a bit daunting, even for long-time users.

But, as the largest source of third-party content in the world, can you afford NOT to join the party?

As an endless stream of news, videos, infographics, e-books, webinars, memes, and more, Twitter is teeming with information.

And while it may appear that everyone is seemingly clamoring for attention at the world’s largest social conversation, your buyers and prospects turn to Twitter to gather information, perform research, and share this perpetual font of knowledge BEFORE they buy.

What’s the bottom line: Twitter can help you sell.

Follow these six actionable tips to help you sift through all of the noise and engage your clients and hot prospects – before your completion does.

1) Define Your Voice/Persona

Twitter is an incredible megaphone for your personal brand. Ideally, your Twitter profile should mirror your LinkedIn persona, as the goal is to marry your personal and professional brands. Remember, people buy from people they like, and people like people just like themselves. Make your buyers want to buy from YOU!

The most effective way to build a brand is to tell a story. What do you want to be known for on Twitter – are you the food critic, the travel guide, the tech geek? Consider what topic will be top of mind for your buyers and prospects as they look to your Twitter feed for information – that’s your personal brand.

2) Set Up the Ideal Feed

Hint – it’s not your home Twitter stream.  A common mistake that Twitter newbies make is a reluctance to follow too many people because they can’t keep up with the fire hose of information. Use Twitter lists – public and private – to segment feeds and pertinent information into manageable categories for both easy reference and useful prospecting. A social media management tool like Hootsuite can also help to facilitate this process.

3) Share Content Regularly (and Often)

Ask yourself this question: would you rather be known as an influencer or a pest? Are you just adding to the Twitter noise or contributing relevant content and useful information that your buyers and potential prospects will find valuable during all stages of their buying journey? Sales professionals must be a continuous, supportive resource for their buyer. Since different buyers also respond to different trigger words, headlines, and hashtags, try sharing your content multiple times throughout the day. Don’t forget that your prospects log onto Twitter at different times each day and not everyone saw your post the first time.

4) Mind Your Manners

The two most powerful, but underutilized, words on Twitter are, “Thank you.” This phrase should become a daily tweeting habit as you build engagement with your followers. When someone retweets your content, thank him/her directly, and by name, for the social share. Whenever you are added to a list – again, reach out and thank someone. Not only will your mother be proud of you for displaying good manners, but “thank you” is also a great conversation starter with prospective buyers and prospects. Don’t forget that Twitter is a two-way street, so be great and reciprocate. Sharing is caring:  good tweets deserve a retweet. It’s also a great way to build rapport with potential clients and influencers. 

5) Listen to the Crowd

Use Twitter to ask your followers and the community for answers, ideas, and inspiration – the results may surprise you – both in speed of response and in the scope of information. Although not a substitute for traditional market research, the broader applications of this type of crowdsourcing activity have not gone unnoticed. Crowdsourcing can be particularly effective for sales representatives when Social Selling ideas and strategies are shared among groups through twitter chats, on other social media platforms, or from sales pros giving peer-to-peer learning advice. Almost no question (asked in good taste) will go unanswered when tweeted to your followers or directly to industry influencers during peak Twitter times (for maximum exposure).

6) Use Competitive Intelligence

Unless a user’s tweets are protected, monitoring the activities of your competition on Twitter is as simple and painless as the children’s game, “Follow the Leader.”  In fact, it’s exactly the same process.

Analyze your competitor’s tweets for relevant content: new product announcements, interactions with (shared or potential) clients or prospects, which tweets are retweeted or commented upon, etc. Make sure to incorporate a macro view: the overall style and tone of the account is just as important as the granular content. Is the account contrarian to the industry? Irreverent? Politically correct? Are there any noteworthy usage patterns or habits (always attends a particular twitter chat, or retweets an industry blog, influencer, insider, or prospective client) that require attention? Likewise, a follower analysis will yield interesting data, not only about the company (current clients and prospects), but also about the individual Twitter account owner.

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Want to learn more about how to leverage Twitter for Social Selling? Follow me here on Twitter or give me a call at 667-803-0703 and I’ll walk you through some easy ways to get started.

For further reference, check out some additional blog posts on the topic.

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