Social media is a necessary component for your inbound marketing strategy. In fact, it’s vital to a brand’s success. Quite the opposite of outbound marketing, this technique strives to reach customers with relevant and helpful content, meeting people where they are and engaging on platforms where customers, leads and visitors want to interact.
Although it’s had some hard times recently, Twitter is still the second most popular social networking site with 300 million monthly active users, 66 million of those users here in the United States.
So, what could possibly be the benefit to a measly 140 characters, including spaces and punctuation?
Limited text space forces you to be a better communicator. As a networking tool, it allows you to connect with brands and people one-on one.
One great way to humanize your company, build brand authority and drive engagement all in one is with Twitter chats. By correctly utilizing this helpful tool, you’ll be well on your way to gaining meaningful connections and increasing brand awareness.
Here are three ways that these social conversations benefit your business:
Humanizing Your Company
Although the vast majority of Twitter chat users are individuals, that doesn’t mean you can’t participate as a brand. In fact, jumping in on the conversation puts a relatable, human voice behind your logo, and could be the ticket to giving your company the extra dose of personality it needs.
Humans love human companies. Our society thrives on personal interaction and even more so when a business is involved. It’s important that your company be on a personal level so that you’re not just a brand pushing a product or service.
Building Brand Authority & Expertise
You may be asking, “But isn’t the purpose of inbound marketing to convert visitors ultimately into loyal clients?”
Yes! But, you still need to give potential customers a reason to choose you over your competitors.
By engaging in conversations on your company’s area of expertise, you’re able to show people that you know the industry. This builds your brand’s authority and keeps you top-of-mind when potential and current customers have a need.
Want to keep yourself educated and understand what people are talking about in your field of work? Join a chat. Struggling with a blog post topic? Join a chat.
Keep up with your industry. Be the expert, not just a logo.
Driving Engagement
Why were social media platforms created in the first place? These networks, first and foremost, are meant for engagement! If people are engaged on your social profiles, they’re more likely to find out more about your company.
A study done back in 2014 by SocialBakers showed the correlation between engagement on social platforms and the number of visits a website received.
While a Twitter chat once a week might not result in a direct online purchase, strategized social engagement on your end will help you reach your target audience.
Jason Falls defines engagement, whether it be clicking through a link in an email or reading a blog post as, “communicating well enough that the audience pays attention.”
Tools You Can Use
Are you excited about participating in a Twitter chat now? There are a few tools you can use to get started!
First, you’ll need to find a chat to join. ChatSalad gives you a Twitter chat schedule that matches your time zone. Just log in with your Twitter account to see upcoming chats as well as happening in real time. TweetReports is another list tool that allows you to sort Tweets by by topic, hashtag, day, and time.
Since chats are very fast paced, it can be difficult to keep up with on the Twitter platform itself. Tweetdeck is a great tool to use to keep up. It is customizable for your needs and allows multiple Twitter accounts under one user. Its stream features allow you to select a search tab for the particular hashtag you’re following, so it’s easy to stay on top of conversations around questions.
Now that you have some tools at your fingertips, what are you waiting for? Start taking advantage of all Twitter has to offer. You might be surprised just how easy it is to reach a whole new audience with just 140 characters!