Work in social media marketing long enough and you’ll come across this question on a daily basis:
Is Twitter dead?
It’s such a common question, in fact, that it warrants its own lengthy thread on Reddit.
You can go back and forth on the answer — but remember the facts. Like, the fact Twitter has 145 million daily active users sending 500 million tweets each day.
As such, it’s less likely that Twitter is “dying” and more likely people (i.e. marketers) simply don’t know how to use it.
As a social media management agency, you don’t have the luxury of opting out of Twitter for business. Nor should you want to when the channel can prove useful for developing your client base.
Here’s a brief look at how to optimize for Twitter lead generation:
- Use the platform’s expanded search functionality
- Make your Twitter bio shine
- Push out both timely and scheduled content
- Build out audience lists
- Tweet content that’s engaging
- Interact with content that engages you
Table of Contents
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How to search on Twitter
- Type your query into the search bar.
- Narrow in on specifics by clicking on the icon with three dots that appears next to the search bar.
- Select “Advanced search”.
- Refine your search by specifying particular words, phrases, hashtags, languages, and exclusions.
- Click “search” to apply changes and browse relevant tweets.
Remember those 500 million tweets being sent every day? That’s a lot of potential content to sift through when trying to zero in on relevant users for your business.
Luckily, Twitter’s search functionality goes beyond typing in a keyword — although you’re more than welcome to go that route to get a feel for what people are talking about.
With Advanced Search, you can pinpoint Tweets based on the following criteria:
- Words
- Accounts
- Filters (i.e. whether a Tweet is a reply or link)
- Engagement
- Dates
Say you’re trying to find people who are looking for social media services. You can combine industry keywords with phrases like “looking for” or “recommendations” to identify those in the market who are tweeting requests to connect with a social media agency.
Note that you can refine results based on specific dates. To be sure, a recent tweet about finding an agency presents a better opportunity than a Tweet that’s four months old.
Optimize your twitter bio
As you start to interact with people on Twitter, it’s important to have a bio that reflects who and what you’re about. If you want that follow-back, your profile needs to have enough information for people to align themselves with you on their very first visit.
Note that you can refine results based on specific dates. To be sure, a recent tweet about finding an agency presents a better opportunity than a Tweet that’s four months old.
With 160 characters to work with, you’ll have no choice but to keep things short and sweet. Insert relevant keywords and hashtags for those that might be interested in your services.
You can also consider including the following:
Note that you can refine results based on specific dates. To be sure, a recent tweet about finding an agency presents a better opportunity than a Tweet that’s four months old.
- A link to your newsletter sign-up
- A link to downloadable content or your blog
- The handles for other relevant Twitter accounts you operate (e.g. the Twitter handle for your social media agency business)
- A Twitter chat hashtag
Keep any links in your bio fresh and directed to whatever initiatives are most important to you at any given time. You might also use your cover photo to drive attention toward various initiatives:
Looking for #inspo? Here’s how I position myself to potential clients and collaborators on Twitter:
Balance timely content with scheduled content
If you’re selling social media services, it’s important to build an active presence on the channels you’re marketing to potential clients. You can even use the twitter marketing strategy that you’re offering to your own clients. Potential clients will use your social media accounts as a reference point for your credibility.
While it’s great to capitalize on timely happenings when it makes sense, it’s unrealistic to expect yourself to remain glued to your Twitter feed all hours of the day. So when real-time isn’t possible, turn to scheduled content instead.
Here’s a mix of timely and scheduled content you should consider generating to use Twitter for business:
- Live videos for in-the-moment thought leadership.
- Scheduled shares for owned content, like company blog articles. And with how quickly content moves on Twitter, you shouldn’t hesitate to share stuff more than once.
- Scheduled shares for curated content.
- Retweets of other thought leaders in your space (e.g., brands you admire, prospects, other marketing experts).
- Participating in relevant industry Twitter chats.
- Alway try to use visuals, but make sure you’re using the right social media image sizes.
Segment audiences by lists
Twitter Lists are curated account groupings. You can make them relevant to any number of categories that you want to stay up-to-date with — like current clients, prospects, or your competition.
Recently, Twitter has been pushing their lists, including ways to discover new Twitter Lists more easily:
Add new voices and conversations to your Timeline using Lists.
— Twitter (@Twitter) June 18, 2020
You can now:
👉 make a List
👉 discover new Lists
👉 follow a List
👉 Tweet a List pic.twitter.com/7xhwMXRUWG
Think of lists as a way to organize your audiences and show goodwill to the Twitter community you’re trying to build.
For example, you can create public lists for relationship-building efforts. This could be a list that includes thought leaders you want to engage with regularly or brands you admire and might want to partner with down the road.
Accounts will get notified when added to your list (assuming it’s public) and will be more inclined to check out your Twitter as a result of the validation.
You can also create private lists for competitors or prospecting purposes.
So ask yourself — who in your space do you want to learn from or follow to generate ideas? And what can you learn from a brand currently using Twitter to help you craft a better sales pitch?
Create content people want to engage with
When it comes to Twitter lead generation, you have to create relevant content that resonates with the audience you’re trying to target. Note that “created” content refers to both your original Tweets and responses to others.
The beauty of Twitter for business is its ability to connect people quickly through information and conversation. It’s not a one-way street for you to advertise your services and move on.
If you’re trying to build a relationship with a potential client, consider interacting with their CEO or CMO on the platform. Avoid making a hard sell right off the bat.
Get to know their feed and tone of voice. Who do they follow? What are their interests? Appeal to them on a personal level with thoughtful, non-robotic responses to their tweets.
As the relationship builds over time, you can begin to test the waters with more promotion. For example, if someone you follow tweets about their frustration with organizing virtual events, link to one of your blog posts on the topic.
Try something along the lines of:
The frustration is real — which is why I wrote this detailed piece on getting started with organizing virtual events. Let me know if it helps or if there’s anything I could explain further 😊
Final Thoughts: Using Twitter for business lead generation
Twitter lead generation is all about what you put into it. Like any relationship, you have to be willing to give as much as you get.
The more you invest in people and conversations — over just the content of your Twitter feed — the more leads you’ll have to show for it down the road.
