This presentation covers basic business tools for using Twitter in a small business marketing plan. It also offers and introduction to the social networks lingo and terminology.

1. Twitter for Business
Abbi Siler
Training Specialist /Business Consultant
lsiler@astate.edu l @abbisiler

2. What is Twitter?
“Twitter is an information network. Millions of people,
organizations, and businesses use it to discover and share new
information.” – via Twitter.com
•Twitter allows you to read and write short messages (called
tweets) that are displayed publically and can be searched.
•You decide who’s messages you want to read by following
other accounts and people choose to read your messages by
following your account.
•You can use Twitter at your desk or on the go!

3. Twitter
• 135,000 new users join the site every day.
• 190 million unique visitors to the site every day.
• 43% of Twitter users access the social network via a mobile device.
• 60% of tweets come from a third party application – hootsuite, tweetdeck,
instagram, etc.
• 9,100 tweets per second.
645,750,000+ total Twitter Users
58 million tweets sent per day
2.1 billion search queries per day
40% of users who watch Twitter but do not tweet
*Data collected May 2014 via Statisticbrain.com

4. The Lingo – a Twitter Glossary
Tweet: the 140 character message you share or read on Twitter. Includes
punctuation & links.
Retweet (RT): if you see a tweet by another user you want to share, you
click Retweet to send it out to your followers instantly.
Twitter Tag: when you sign up for Twitter you choose a username this
becomes your twitter tag: @username. People can then directly
interface with you via Twitter.
Mention: Once you have a Twitter Tag, you can mention others and
people can mention you in their tweets. Example: “@abbisiler I’m in your
workshop, and I’m tweeting you!”

5. The Lingo - continued
Message (DM): If you want to privately share with another user on Twitter you
can Direct Message them if they are already following you. Example: “DM
(or D) @abbisiler I’m really confused, can I ask you a question later?”
Hashtag (#): Many users will create a tweet centered around certain topics.
You can use a hashtag to send your message to others also interested in
that topic.
Example: “Businesses are using social networks more every day – see the
stats here: http://blahbl.ah #socialmedia #business”
Short Links: web addresses can be really long and take up all of your room.
Using a short link can help save room in your tweets.
Example: http://www.pleth.com/do-it-yourself-bookmarks-for-business.htm ---
can be shortened to: http://ow.ly/5DBNk
* You can get a full glossory at: https://support.twitter.com/entries/166337-
the-twitter-glossary

6. Twitter & Your Website
• Twitter is growing by leaps and bounds & will continue to grow
especially with the younger mobile generations.
• Great for direct website traffic, interacting with a niche
industry or community.
• More targeted audiences & analytics of click through rates
and targets on links.
• Great way to build yourself as a resource in an industry & you
can be found locally, nationally & internationally.

7. Think About Your Online Strategy
• What are your goals?
– Education? Sales? Phone Call?
– Lead Generation?
– Communicating an idea, thought, or brand?
– How are you currently trying to reach them?
• Do you have a website?
– Is it updated? Do you have control? Is it flexible?
– Are your customers finding and using your website?

8. Do some research…
• Before you get started spend some time searching
on http://search.twitter.com for the keywords you
think people would be using when discussing your
business, industry or product.
• Listening first can help you decide if this social
network is where you need to be and will also allow
you to see how others are using the platform in your
industry.

9. Let’s get familiar with Twitter
http://twitter.com

10. Let’s take a break & take time to
connect online!
Facebook: facebook.com/asu.asbtdc
Twitter: @asbtdc_asu
Pinterest: pinterest.com/astatesbdc
Instagram: instagram.com/asusbtdc

11. Hands on with Twitter
http://twitter.com

12. Setting Up An Account
• Choose a short & memorable twitter tag for your business. Name of
business works best.
• Fill in as many fields as possible in the profile. Great for search engine
& also helps people identify if you are worth the follow!
• USE A PHOTO – this is important – credibility is crucial on Twitter and
most “spammers” do not have a photo set, don’t get lumped with
the rest!
• Don’t get too excited – take it easy. Don’t auto follow anybody –
you will get kicked off. In the beginning, follow relevant, local people
you trust. Don’t follow more than 100 people in one day – spread it
out and take your time.
• Tweet something before you start following people – put out at least
10 tweets. People won’t follow you if you aren’t saying anything.

13. Time Management
Hootsuite, TweetDeck, Twuffer…
You have options – if maintaining a strong Twitter
presence you should be tweeting often. Anywhere
from 15-25 times/day.
Schedule. Respond. Retweet. Share.

14. Let’s look at Hootsuite
http://hootsuite.com

15. Best Practices on Twitter
Build your following, reputation, and customer's trust with these simple practices:
Share. Share photos and behind the scenes info about your business. Even better,
give a glimpse of developing projects and events. Users come to Twitter to get
and share the latest, so give it to them!
Listen. Regularly monitor the comments about your company, brand, and
products.
Ask. Ask questions of your followers to glean valuable insights and show that you
are listening.
Respond. Respond to compliments and feedback in real time.
*Source: http://business.twitter.com/basics/best-practices

16. Best Practices… Continued
Reward. Tweet updates about special offers, discounts and time-sensitive deals.
Demonstrate wider leadership and know-how. Reference articles and links about
the bigger picture as it relates to your business.
Champion your stakeholders. Retweet and reply publicly to great tweets posted
by your followers and customers.
Establish the right voice. Twitter users tend to prefer a direct, genuine, and of
course, a likable tone from your business, but think about your voice as you
Tweet. How do you want your business to appear to the Twitter community?
*Source: http://business.twitter.com/basics/best-practices

17. Questions?

18. Contact Us
Arkansas State University
Small Business and Technology
Development Center
(870) 972-3517
asusbtdc@astate.edu
www.astate.edu/a/sbtdc
www.facebook.com/ASU.SBTDC
www.twitter.com/asbtdc_asu