According to Receiptful, the average open rate for order confirmations (which are essentially receipts) is over 70%. That is the single highest open rate for any type of email. To put this significance of this into perspective, note that other marketing emails are known to have open rates that are roughly 3 times lower.
In short, order confirmation emails offer a superb, extremely cost-effective opportunity to upsell and covert other (new) leads into buying customers. In fact, email marketing usually surpasses social media in rendering an ROI for marketers.
Here are different examples of how order confirmations can be used strategically in ecommerce. Since there are several approaches from which to choose, be guided by your business' most pressing needs, especially as this relates to your sales funnel. However, before proceeding with any of these marketing strategies, remember to 1) thank customers for the order and 2) ensure that the 'order confirmation' message is the first prominent thing customers see and that it feels central to the email message.
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A. Incentives for Product Reviews for Higher Lead Conversion
Since reviews increase lead conversion, the email illustrates how an order confirmation can encourage reviews. If your business is relatively new, you might consider the vast number of your market as being at the 'awareness' and or 'interest / desire' stages of your sales funnel, especially if the converted customer is unlikely to buy anything other than 'awareness' level products and can not yet generate high profit levels. However, take this approach only after your business has already figured out how to deliver very well on its promises in order to secure excellent reviews. Consequently, company reviews, especially as they relate to some key aspect of your unique selling point, like customer service can be ideal. Since purchases are usually sincere votes of confidence and a positive experience, send this email immediately after the sale. Incentives may involve
the much like 10% discount code for future sales. This has proven very successful in encouraging customers to return.
a chance to win something your customer will value
*** Company name
________________________
A huge thank you
for shopping with Company name
We enjoy hearing from our customers and will love to get your feedback.
If you can spare 2 minutes, we would be very grateful.
________________________
Complete this quick surveybefore Jan 1st and become eligible to win a ....
Winners will be notified on ...... ***
B. Use Order Confirmation Emails to Upsell Highly Relevant Products
Do not flood the message with noise, ie lots of irrelevant products. Select only a few highly relevant upsell products to be most effective. As a rule of thumb, do not exceed 5 product recommendations. Notice how the upselling attempt appears in the right column, ie where its prominence is secondary to the more central placed information directly related to the order confirmation.
Hi Jo, Thank you for ordering from website.com. Here is a summary of your order.
You can also use the fact that the items have not yet shipped as an excuse to upsell with some of the following messages.
'Confirming your next shipment'. If you increase your order beyond $x00.00 before we ship OR before Jan 22, we will pay for shipping. This is much like the sweets and magazine stand at the retail cash register.
'Save on your next sale'. See incentives as those in the earlier strategy.
C. Use Social Media to Promote Your Website
Social media is second to email in rendering the highest possible ROI for all ecommerce marketing efforts. Essentially, buying decisions are influenced by other people, 'social media influencers'. Consequently, social media are a worthwhile element to integrate into the abovementioned approaches. Determine about 1 to 3 of the best forms of social media that will add most value to your target market. The rules above still apply regarding the prominence of the key message of thanks and order confirmation. However, it has become acceptable for social media to be incorporated within the main body of the message. Here are some examples:
Contests: Encourage product reviews or company reviews, especially with video posts to social media. This can also be part of user generated content (UGC) campaigns using campaign-specific hashtags (for Twitter and Instagram) or 'page shares' (for Facebook). Customers can do this for a chance to win something that your target market values. Ultimately, this is excellent for promoting word of mouth brand awareness in your sales funnel.
Some user-generate content (UGC) ideas include:
Un-boxing video requests accompanied with the image of a partly opened box and the message that "we'd love to see you un-box your #BRAND order with the #UNIQUE_BRANDUnbox tag. Perhaps we'll give you something else to un-box".
Ensure your calls to action (CTAs) offer clear benefits for subscription like
members-only exclusive offers on products
tips
E. Customer Referrals Program
Referrals help to generate new leads and paying customers because their referrals have some level of trust.
Ask paying customers to encourage others to shop with a promotional code. All even people who do not use social media to refer others also.
Here is a simple tagline (that can be placed after the central order confirmation message)
"tell your friends and earn .........." as shown in the example below from Dollar Shave Club.
D. Develop the after-sale relationship.
Customer relationship marketing (CRM) can help to convert buying customers into repeat customers. CRM is concerned in going beyond having one-off sale transactions by encouraging repeated sales. This is an ideal aspect of the sales funnel. Some ways of doing this is focusing on helping customers to use the product.
Instructional content is an example of this content. However, you can suggest related upsells.
Instagram in 2021 is still among the most popular photo and video sharing social media apps. It allows the audiences to connect with brands, celebrities, thought leaders, friends and family. Although it is a standalone app, it is owned byFacebook which means that some features (like paid advertisements) within Instagram are the result of integration between the 2 platforms. The following discussion points will be tackled in this introductory post.
Tentpole or other promotions for lead generation (business accounts)
Call to Action CTA buttons help to prompt leads to convert (business account)
Finetune your target market profile using analytics of your audience (business account)
Sell directly from Instagram via direct messages (DM)s (business account)
Influencer marketing. If possible, you can ask your influencers to set up a creator type of account to also help them to use the additional commercial functions of that account type.
Instagram Account Types
The 3 Instagram account types are 1) business, 2) creator and 3) personal.
Professional
Personal
Business
Creator*
Personal
Analytics
Yes
Yes
No
Contact details
Commercial buttons
Yes
Yes
No
Gift cards /
Stickers
Yes
Yes
No
'Swipe up' * functions
Yes
Yes
No
API Access *
Yes
No
No
Post Scheduling
Yes
No
No
FB Creator
Studio
Yes
No
No
3rd
party analytics
Yes
No
No
Private mode
No
No
Yes
Full music
library
No
Yes
Yes
Royalty free
music library
Yes
?
?
* Business accounts are ideal for companies that are selling products or services, maybe you even have an online store. Unlike any other account type, individuals that have already visited your account at some point can be targeted specifically with advertisements.
* Swipe up functions allow audiences to swipe up the screen to access a link. They are perceived as an account's badge of superior worthiness on the platform because not all accounts can use them.
* Creator accounts are ideal for influencers for your brand, creatives like musicians, etc. They will likely prefer the greater commercial functionality of this account over the personal account. (You will continue to maintain your business account).
* API access refers to the ability to schedule posts, access
to the creator studio and ability to use third party analytics.
To know or change your account type
> Click your profile image
>'Edit Profile'
> Scroll down to 'Switch to __ account' (If you have a personal account, you will be given the option to switch to a professional account and vice versa).
Profile
Consider the optimization of your profile as a strategy for converting visitors to leads (lead generation) and to buyers.
Username. Use a name that is easy to be heard and understood, remembered and spelt.
Profile image. For a personal brand, use a head shot of yourself with a background that is the same color as your brand. A strong background color is more likely to stop audiences from scrolling further. Avoid placing key parts of the image on its edges of the frame because edges can get cut off, especially for landscape oriented images. Consequently, use the portrait orientation for images.
Name. A little known fact is that this field is searchable. Consequently, use the typical keywords that your market will look for. Examples include location, product type, possibly niche.
Helping [target market] transform [problem] into [benefit]. the first / only brand to ..... / ranked # 1 / x,y,z results<== build trust. Get a free X analysis / free tutorial re ... <== free resource with high perceived value.
X professional for [target market]needing [benefit]. Featured in [publication]. [#] years of experience. DM me for [free resource: free qualification meeting, etc].
Links. Accounts with under a certain number of followers (usually 10,000) are limited to only 1 link. In such cases, rather than simply using that link for your website's homepage, use it strategically for something like your lead magnet, newest blog post, product collection / diablog page of a tentpole promotion, chat bot and so on.
Hashtags
What are hashtags
A hashtag is a combination of letters, numbers and or emoji preceded by the # symbol like #keyword123. Since Instagram groups together all content with the same hashtag, your potential customers may find you if they either click the hashtag from somewhere else on the platform or type in keywords to find it in the search box. Since Instagram has very limited search capabilities, they are very important for being found by potential customers who are not already in your circle. Hashtags can not be trademark protected or otherwise owned, anyone create and use them.
Guarantees regarding being found
There are no guarantees that each potential customers will see your entry in their hashtag search results. This is because hashtags are sorted algorithmically. To explain, Instagram simultaneously shows 2 sets of hashtag results named; 1) 'Top' results and 2) 'most recent' results'. 'Top' results are tailored to the individual's personal search history and past behavior on the platform. Conseequently, no two people will get the same 'top' results for the same hashtag search.
TOP RESULTS | MOST RECENT RESULTS
Where to apply feed hashtags
You can apply hashtags as follows.
1. Up to 30 hashtags in each post aka your 'feed' in either of the following (it does not matter. Some people prefer to put the tags in the comments to not appear too spam-like. However, research suggests that this does not matter).
the caption or
your comments section when engaging with the audience.
Use as many relevant hashtags as you can. If you use them, there is no harm but you have the opportunity to have your content found.
Selecting hashtags strategically
Aiming to use at least 15 to 20 hashtags. combine hashtags of varying levels of popularity and specificity.
apx 23% very popular hashtags (ie those with number of use of up to several hundred thousands xxx,xxx to 1,000,000. Beyond this level of use can attract spam bots). Popular hashtags give immediate activity that will likely last for several minutes before becoming buried among other posts.
apx 23% moderately popular hashtags (ie with xx,000s to xxx,000 uses). Moderately popular hashtags will remain current for longer, perhaps hours into days.
apx 23% very niche-specific hashtags that relate to your UVP and search terms your market uses. When Instagram sees that your followers and non followers are liking a post, your niche-specific hashtags can keep your content relevant for even longer as a top post, which can be months. Potential customers can click to your profile or link you have included and begin to engage with your brand from this point. NB Think outside the box also. If your UVP is not something commonly searched for on Instagram (like Accounting classes), you must think about what other complementary product or service keywords your Accounting student clients are likely looking for on Instagram like 'financial calculators'. In other words, they are using keywords from their (not your) perspective.
apx 12.5% branded hashtags
Hashtag length
For branded: short, easy to remember and spell. For content hashtags: longer, more descriptive words (about giveaway, tentpole name, etc) that make the purpose very clear. 10 to 20 characters are a good range.
Direct Messages (DMs)
DMs are a messaging system by which anyone in your audience can conduct 1-on-1 private discussions with you (the account owner). There are several types of DMs; text-based which are like regular text messages; pictures; videos (of only 15 seconds); video chat; group chat and voice notes.
Instagram Stories
Stories are a different form of content that disappear after 24 hours. They can consist of videos of up to 15 seconds or photos that appear for up to 6 seconds. Furthermore, stories can be used to enhance engagement with the optional interactive features like question stickers, sliders or polls (for voting, etc).
Common uses
to generate warmer qualified leads, to encourage engagement with the optional interactive features as the following. You can then use 1-on-1 DMs to engagement more directly with leads and potentially even close sales. Consider how you may capture the attention of your competitors' customers (with your competitive advantage and UVP).
question stickers (for OPEN-ENDED responses)
Warm lead generation prompt:
Did you know? My expertise is in helping people struggling with _[painpoint]_ to achieve _[result based on UVP]_. I do this by _[product description]_ which has thus far helped _[#]_ others achieve _[result]_. If you want to get rid _[painpoint]_, reply to this story. I will help you get started for free. Just comment below, send me a private message and give me details about your _[painpoint]_.
Leads for new product launch, also for people on the fence:
I have something new and exciting in the pipleline. I think you will love it! Send me a DM in the comment box below if you want to be on the early bird waiting list. This will allow you to be the first to know about special offers and any other exciting secrets.
Are you tired of __pain point__? (This triggers an emotion of joyful anticipation. Emotions are an essential aspect of decision-making that also enhances conversion). Finally, there is a product to resolve that problem safely. (emotion of relief) .... [editorial image to help customer visualize themselves using the product with positive emotional outcomes that correspond with subconscious needs for the product].
Are you concerned that __product x__ won't work for you? This is __customer x__. (S)he came for my help with __pain point__. After using __product x__, s/he now have __benefit x__. If you want to overcome your __pain point__ but something is keeping you back, use the box below to tell me about that obstacle.
Encourage discussion about sales objections
Hi, If you are new to my Instagram, I am ___ and I help __[niche]__ with __[desired outcome]__, even despite __[typical objection the audience has]__. How have you struggled the most with __[niche pain point]__?
Shout outs to collaborators, brand evangelist (doing things that fit your lifestyle branding objectives) or producers of complementary offerings for the sake of visibility and relevance.
I was fortunate to work with some fantastic ___ and just wanted to give them a small shout-out. Thank you @___ for ___. If you were moved by anyone else whose work helped you, I would love to hear about it.
Ask me anything, #AMA
Video requests
sliders (for responses on a scale, like a LIKER SCALE)
polls (for MULTIPLE CHOICE question responses).
Lead generation prompt: Should I discuss / share tip X or Y tomorrow? The winning response will determine which of the two prepared options you will provide. Regardless of their response, you can send a direct message (DM) to each lead.
Prompt: I work in the ___ industry and have seen that most people struggle with ___. Unfortunately, it left unchecked, the problem worsense and looks like ___, However, this does not have to happen to you. I know how to help you overcome this challenge so you can _benefit__. I have included details in my my __lead magnet_. Tell me in the poll below if you need this solution. I'll be happy to forward the link to you.
Prompts that your influencers (who are qualified customers) can use when promoting your product.
I have a secret. Despite outward appearances, I have been struggling with __[pain point]__. I want to share how I have been working through it. __[describe solution]__. Is __[pain point]__ something that you also struggle with? Use the box below to send me a message. Maybe I can help.
What is your preference in color for new product variants.
Promotions like promotion codes, announcements, contents, blog posts, testimonials
Short audiovisual content like quick 'how to' videos, short bits of advice, etc
Product displays like images from different angles
.... geolocation stickers can be as specific as your street address or broad as proviince or state. This feature can be enabled only if you enter your location in your profile. This feature enhances your chance of being discovered by people near you.
Your restaurant's story can include an image of your best selling wrap and attach the geolocation sticker along with a location hashtag.
The @ sign can be placed infront of the username of an Instagram user, like @JohnSmith. Depending on where they are placed, they are called differently. When placed within the body of a post, like "This image was painted by @PicassoPainter." they are called @mentions. However, when attached to images, they are called tags.
Common uses
Shout outs (read more about shout outs otherwise within this article)
Image tags (not only @mentions). Image tags are used as long term galleries on the profile of the tagged account. (Thisis unlike @mentions that only trigger trending notifications for your audience. Specifically, if audience members have over the limit of 100 outsanding visible notifications, the notification will no longer be visible.)
IGTV
Instragram TV (IGTV) is an app that is separate from Instagram. However, the 2 have been automatically integrated. Unlike Instagram that limits the duration of videos to only 1 minute for feeds, IGTV offers longer-form videos, up to 1 hour (for web uploads or 15 minutes for phone uploads).
MULTIPLE EXTERNAL LINKS WITH UNDER 10K FOLLOWERS
You can add clickable external links in your Instagram profile. However, Instagram has limited this facility to only one link for accounts with under 10,000 followers. Unfortunately, most businesses can not reach this 10,000 mark but would like to offer external links to different landing and other external pages.
Uses & Benefits of Clickable links
Here are some workarounds for the limitation on links
Use IGTV video's 'swipe up' function. if you have not done so already; switch to a business account. From with Profile settings, click the IGTV video icon. Click the + sign to add a video whose duration is atleast 15 seconds but up to 10 minutes. This video should be a Call-to-Action (for a free master class, sign up for something, early pre-order group membership access, lead magnet, etc). Give the video a title that matches your CTA. Place the link at the top of the description. Add emojis at the beginning of the link to draw attention to it.
GENERAL TIPS
Create a separate account for each brand and niche. This will ensure a consistent brand story.
Post visually appealing images and or videos, even for mundane, negative demand services. Your images do NOT need to always showcase your product. Here are some examples.
Use mascots. Think Gieco for the negative demand product; insurance. one financial institution used a mascot,
Use lifestyle branding like how Red Bull may show images of extreme sport events or evangelist enjoying extreme soirts rather than a glass of their drink.
Always include Calls to Action (CTAs) when posting.
Test and establish the best time for posting to get highest levels of engagement.
Be fun and interesting! Whenever possible, use gamification. run contests and giveaways. This technique usually increases engagement
CONTENT RELATED TO INSTAGRAM 101
Sales funnel 101. Social media is useful for the all important 'engagement' phase of the sales funnel.
Twitter can be used as a promotional tool for business. If used strategically, it can gain exponential visibility. It will also allow you to connect and communicate directly with your market and business associates.
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1. Communicate with your target market.
Everything you do sends signals and is therefore a form of communication. Consequently, keep ALL activity (even your following, who you follow and so on) on your Twitter account niche-specific. Before tweeting, be clear about your target so that you keep ANY conversations relevant and therefore consistently attractive. If you are running a competition or promotion, you can tweet something like #[promotion-related keyword] will be fun, etc ... Remember to keep in touch, even when you are not trying to promote something. This may involve communicating relevant information around tent pole events.
Tweet at the right time of day. Remember that Twitter continually loads all ongoing conversations during the day. Consequently, it can be hard for people to find your tweets unless they are unusually inclined to search as if for a needle in a hay stack.
Go into the 'Analyze' tab.
Enter your [Twitter account name' and 'analyse their followers'. Click 'Do it'. This will to understand the peak time when most of your audience is likely to be active. Don't fear, most people have low percentages under 10% of follower activity at their highest points. BTW, you can re-tweet the same message at your second highest activity point and say, "Hey, in case you missed my last tweet from last night, ..."
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2. Extend your reach with #hashtags
When you post messages, use hashtags. If you do not use hashtags, your messages will only reach your small number of followers. However, when you use hashtags, anyone on Twitter can access the message.
Use keywords as hashtags for your profile and ensure that every tweet includes these relevant hashtags. These keywords may be your brand, your interest and so on.
Use associated company names, event hashtag names and so on to show association. For instance, if you attended an event with your clients (Abusiness) and had a good time, you might post an image with a message like, "A great time you @Abusiness guys. You're #keyword rockstars. #proudxsupporter"
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3. Raise your market share of followers
Followerwonk.com is the ideal tool for monitoring your market share of followers.
In the 'Compare Users' tab, do a comparison with a major competitor. Several frequency outputs will appear.
A Venn diagram will show different bubbles to represent your competitor and you regarding volume of followers. The size of each individual bubbles will reflect the relative volume of followers. If you share followers, the bubbles will intersect. It will be ideal for your bubble to be as large as that of your industry leader and for the bubbles to intersect (which would mean that you are reaching at least some of the leader's followers).
Another output that will appear is a percentage frequency table. This will provide relative percentages of the market of followers between you and your competitor. There will also be a percentage for the shared followers. Ideally, the percentages of your unique and shared followers should be as high to that of your competition as possible and the shared percentage as high as possible.
Click the link to see the full list of your competition's followers. In fact, you can do this for up to 2 other competitors at the same time. Do comparisons with 2 key competitors at the same time to find followers that are common to both of them but not to you. Such followers are likely to be not simply fans who follow on a whim but truly interested people in some way. They may be experts in the field for instance. You want to get such followers on board with you too, especially those with the most 'social authority'. High 'social authority' followers are more influential because they are more influential simply because they have a high engagement rate. They are in an ideal position since their receptive audience spread their message far and wide. These tend to have the most followers who are attractive to you.
Follow these influencers. Remember! Twitter is a network of people who connect through discussion. In that case, engage with these people. They will hopefully begin to recognize and even follow you. To engage with them, get known by replying to their tweets and retweeting their tweets.
BTW, when you 'reply' to tweets (ie write a comment in response to a counterparty's original tweet), all of that counterparty's followers will see your reply tweet. This is therefore a great way to recruit your counterparty's followers. Your message should therefore focus on attracting them to follow you.
Alternatively, if you want your followers to see the message, you must 'retweet' the original message to them.
4. Find business contacts.
You may use the 'Bio Search' tab to find potential business associates in a highly specific niche, even if those persons are not part of your immediate network. This is useful for finetuning searches by geographical location, specialization and so on. For instance, if you are seeking a supplier of product X in Nairobi, you can search for that; if you are traveling to an event in a country, you can search for influential people in your field that may add value to your venture in some way.
In 'Bio Search' search window, type in keywords. If you are looking for a supply manager, put that entire term in quotation marks like "supply manager" so the software will keep the concept whole. Use synonyms also. For instance, "supply coordinator", "supply trader" and so on.
In the 'More Options" section, enter synonyms also. For instance, rather than only search for "Manhattan", also include "New York", "NY", "NYC", etc.
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5. Some tweetiquette.
As much as possible, always include multimedia (namely images or video). These elements enhance visibility and responsiveness.
Tweet as frequently as possible at your optimal time of day to remain relevant. (See notes above about how to use followerwonk.com to establish the optimal hours for your followers). However, do not do this to the extent of appearing like spam.
Consider sharing links for your offline colleagues. Do so without seeking their reciprocation. Do not make it feel transactional as in 'I did 1 thing for you, you should do 1 thing for me in return. However, if you do need help in the future, consider which of those people from whom you can seek retweets or other link sharing to promote your business.
Mention people and ask others to mention you using the '@'. This transforms your name into a clickable link as opposed to regular text within your tweet. Clicking on @name links direct people to the profile page.
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6. Analyze your performance (regarding gains and losses of followers). Experiment with new kinds of tweet and retweet approaches, note the time and then check their impact.
Go into the 'Analyze' tab.
Enter your Twitter name as [ @name ]
Select 'followers'
Set the time period and then 'Do it'.
Note the date of rises and falls in following. Then review your tweets and retweets for the same dates or time periods to get clues on the causes of the change in following.
For instance, rises might be due to attending an event. If so, it a good clue regarding what you can do more of to increase your following. losses in followers are sometimes due to taking a stance on a highly 'political' issue like gay rights, racial matters, electoral candidates and so on. Losses are also likely effects of spam clearings that Twitter does from time to time.
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-- CONTENT RELATED TO TWITTER FOR ECOMMERCE
Associate industry keyword hashtag tweets with your mailing list segments. When you send out email campaigns, email sequences and or tentpole marketing, include corresponding tweets that extend your reach beyond those people whose email address you have.
Twitter is another important social media platform for one-to-one and one-to-many communication. One of the key advantages is the fact that its tags are SEO researchable. In other words, if you post content and include your industry's keywords, searching coustomers can find you. This free advertising can be very easily used because, as discussed below, you can provide weblinks. This is ideal because It also offers many of the popular features seen on other platforms like hashtags, fleets (similar to Instagram stories), communities (similar to Facebook's groups), Super follows (similar to Patreon).
This post will explain the basic elements and features of Twitter before offering tips on being effective on the platform.
Tweets
Twitter messages are called tweets. Tweets are 140-character long messages that you broadcast to followers. They are SEO ready in that your customers' Google search results access them. Tweets may include up to 4 images, polls and emoticons. Tweets can also be scheduled from within the platform. You can configure each tweet so that only persons you authorize can respond. The options are "everyone", "people you follow" and "only people you mention". Tweets can be deleted. (Associated retweets are automatically deleted when you delete original tweets).
Re-Tweets (aka RT)
Retweeting refers to reposting / forwarding another user's tweet to one's own followers.
Direct Messages (DMs)
Direct messages allow you to send one-to-one private messages between users.
Super Follows
This feature involves paid followers (comparable with Patreon). It allow creators to share subscriber-only content with their followers. Creators need to set the monthly subscription for access to such content. This feature allows creators to make money on Twitter.
@ Messages
@john:Public message to John that will appear on his@page
Polls / Surveys
You can create polls that are multiple choice questions.
Communities
Twitter Communities are like Facebook Groups. Specifically, they provide a dedicated space for discussions on specific shared interests. They are formed and managed by users (admins and moderators) who enforce community rules and keep conversations in line with the group's mission.
Quick Tips for Using Twitter as an Effective ECommerce SEO Tool
1.
Create single Twitter accounts for each niche,
department, interest, aspect of your life and so on. For instance, if you create a Twitter account to sell paperclips, do NOT do anything that is irrelevant to this objective like tweet about your automotive products, your dog's new litter of puppies and so on. Keep relevant at every turn. This includes your choice regarding the people you follow, your retweets and so on. In short, allow your activity to send an unambiguous message to search engines, as well as to retain the interest of your followers.
2.
Customize your Twitter account to suit your brand. The following are a few examples of how you can achieve this.
Create a description with keywords. Remember that search engines use Twitter keywords as meta tags
Apply your logo
Customize your background image to include contact details (even though Twitter does not allow the background to be live hyperlinks). This simply provides efficient use of your internet real estate.
3.
Attract Followers. Keep the first golden rule in mind regarding keeping all activity relevant to your business objective. This involves creating associations with relevant Twitter users.
Follow Twitter users who have similar interests, especially those with a large following that is engaged (ie responds to their tweets). These ideal Twitter associates are called social media influencers. One way of finding them if by searching for niche-related keywords with a hashtag. Followerwonk is an even more powerful means of achieving this objective. (Click here to read an article for steps on doing this with Followerwonk). Follow your competition! Wise competitors are likely to start following you, especially when your account begins to perform well. This is a means of keeping current in your industry and taking opportunities to access a competitor's following.
Keep relevant in the minds of your followers by communicating with them. The first two of the 3 following Twitter messaging methods are most useful in attracting and retaining followers.
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Tweets ie messages shared with the public, much like a Facebook post with public settings. However, your messages stand out on the pages of your followers. Whenever possible, place your keywords with hashtags within the first 27 characters. This part of your tweets are comparable with the all important ‘title’ tags of web pages that search engines grab. Tweet about anything relevant whether announcing new blog posts, promotions, announce corporate accomplishments, affiliate program or other employment opportunities, competitions, product links and use tentpole marketing opportunities to send messages that give your business more of a human appeal. If you need to include long URLs (website addresses) into your 140-character tweets, use serves like bitly ( https://bitly.com/shorten/ ) to shorten the URLs to considerably fewer characters.
Retweets ie messages that are forwarded. This is useful if a tweet originated within of followers of which your followers are not a part. The retweet introduces the tweet to your followers.
Direct message, ie private message that are possible only between you and your followers. These messages do not have SEO value.
4.
Connect Twitter to other (social) media. Spread your hashtag keywords through as many communication media as you can. Some of these include email signatures, business cards, promotional web content and so on. In fact, in some cases, cross media connections provide automation. For instance, your tweets can automatically appear as Facebook entries.
Log in to Twitter
Settings (top right corner drop down menu)
Profile
Scroll to ‘Facebook’ (and follow instructions)
Save Changes
(When done, your Facebook page should automatically have a Twitter icon)
Types of Tweets you should post
Ensure that all of your tweets are doing at least one of the following.
i. Web-linking. The link should lead to somewhere your brand can engage for longer with your leads. You can shorten your weblinks with tools like Sniply.
ii. Quick questions (QQ). This is ideal for engagement.
Do you like X or Y?
Which design creeps you out?
iii.Industry Buzz. This type of content allows you to reinforce your expertise in your field. Specifically, it shares knowledge in a very authoritative way, perhaps even showing background research, actionable information like tutorials / tips and so on. Although showcasing expertise, the content should be sufficiently relatable that your followers think they could not have said it better and wish to re-tweet the content instead. This type of content gets the most re-tweets and is therefore supremely valuable for virality / market penetration, ie getting the attention of your competition's audience.
iv.Networking. This relates to actually striking up discussions with otherwise strangers. Example(s)
Thoughtful compliments are an ideal way of breaking the ice like, "I liked how your video discussed x-y-z. The content was very inspiring." (NOT I liked your video).
Use tools like Buffer to schedule your tweets well in advance.
