More than 300 million people actively use Twitter on a daily basis. If you create an effective, efficient strategy, you can use Twitter to get business leads and increase brand awareness.
1. Activate Twitter Lead Generation Cards
Twitter offers several lead generation opportunities.
Businesses who participate in Twitter Ads can create Lead Generation Cards that appear in the streams of users who meet certain criteria. You establish your target audience based on factors like hobbies, keywords, followers, and other parameters.
The Lead Generation Card features an image, a call-to-action, and a form where users enter their names and email addresses. You pay for leads only when Twitter users part with their contact information.
Use Lead Generation Cards to connect with Twitter users who don't already follow you. Capture valuable leads, then convert them into customers through email marketing, direct mail, and other sales strategies.
2. Tweet Product or Summary Cards
You don't need Lead Generation Cards to solicit business leads through Twitter. If you don't have room in the budget for paid leads, leverage generic Twitter cards to engage your audience and promote your products or services.
A Twitter Card incorporates text as well as other media, such as images and links, to encourage followers to take action. A product card, for example, shows a photo of the product as well as a text snippet and a link to the sales page.
3. Engage Existing Followers
To generate business leads organically, focus on creating conversations. Engage with your followers on a personal level, responding to their inquiries and providing feedback on their tweets.
Keep an eye on hashtags or tweets that reference your business - even when they paint your products in a negative light. If a customer offers a negative opinion, reply to that person to demonstrate your commitment to customer service.
3. Find New Followers
Let the hashtags be your guide.
Stagnate waters won't yield fresh catches. You'll capture more leads if you build your list of followers at a steady pace. Engage people who fall into your niche audience by scouring hashtags and reading relevant tweets, then following them
When you follow people whose interests or businesses align with your own, they're more likely to follow you back. Try tweeting them specifically to ask questions or reply to their posts.
4. Help Solve Problems
If a follower posts about a problem related to your business, offer a helpful hint or tip. Social media's primary purpose lies in its potential to create community. The more you interact with potential customers, the more leads you'll generate.
Furthermore, seeking out ways to help increases your Twitter activity. You'll become more visible on the network, even among those with whom you never actively communicate.
5. Start a Twitter Chat
A Twitter Chat allows people with similar interests to converse in 140-character snippets. Each Chat invokes a particular hashtag that allows participants to follow what others post.
Choose a narrow Twitter Chat topic to attract a small but engaged audience. Select a moderator to facilitate the Chat; he or she posts questions for participants to answer.
To advertise your Twitter Chat or to find Chats hosted by other moderators, visit Chat Salad. You'll see the upcoming Chats as well as those taking place in the coming weeks.
If your company already uses Twitter, a lead-specific campaign helps you focus on capturing the contact information of potential customers. Otherwise, set up a new Twitter account for lead generation and other marketing benefits.