6 Best Practices for Twitter Marketing

June 23, 2010 - Last Modified: October 16, 2010 by Gautam 1,850

There is a very thin line between marketing and spamming. What some may consider as marketing may appear as spamming to others. Twitter marketing has some best and some worst practices. I will be concentrating on the best practices for now.

Businesses and internet marketers are always looking for strategies to make it big at twitter, but what they fail to understand is that twitter marketing is a simple concept. Twitter marketing success will not come in a instant, it may take a few months to build credibility in twitterville but there are some best practices that you should be aware of:

1. Engagement

Twitter started with the purpose of engagement and it will remain like that for at least 1-2 years. Engagement is a prerequisite for any business which is trying to market it’s twitter page. Engagement doesn’t imply that you have to waste hours trying to reply and retweet each follower’s tweets. You can save time and engage in a few minutes each day if you try the 4 simple ways to engage with your followers.

2. Repeating tweets

Repeating tweets may seem as spamming but it is a marketing technique used by many twitter honchos. Your followers usually are from various different parts of the globe. When you tweet something, some of these followers will be awake, while others will be asleep. So, there will be followers who will be missing your tweet. Repeating tweets ensures that people across the globe are able to see your tweets. In other words repeating tweets helps in increasing the visibility of the tweet. A repetition of 2-4 tweets a day is usually recommended.

3. Showing others love

A celebrity can afford to be aloof, as people will still be retweeting him or her. But, normal twitter user like me and you, we have to build relationships and that can be built only if we thank people for their support. Once they see that their support is being appreciated, they might try to retweet your tweets again. By this method your increasing your influence (slowly but steadily).

4. Playing with tweets

This is the most fun and fruitful twitter marketing technique that I have tried and has worked for me. This technique requires a little application of mind and a lot of creativity. Instead of using the same boring tweets, we can play with the tweet and re-frame the words or add a question to it in a way that attracts more eyeballs and hence brings tremendous amounts of traffic.

Let me take a small example,

I had posted an article on 11 types of bloggers (I had categorized bloggers into 11 different categories)

Instead of using

11 type of bloggers http://bit.ly/aKbuNk

I used this

11 types of bloggers http://bit.ly/aKbuNk , which one are you?

I had added a simple question which brought the article 260 retweets and more than 60 comments of people categorizing themselves into one or more than one of these 11 categories.

5. DMs

Many twitter users don’t know the power of DM. It is a great tool for marketing your tweets. After you have made many friends on twitter, you can DM your friends with your tweet requests. Your friends will be more than happy to retweet your tweet. Hence, by using DMs, you will increase the number of retweets and you will also bring massive amounts of traffic to your website.

6. Ghost Tweeting

Running a business is not a piece of cake and to handle a twitter account along with it can be an arduous task. To prevent this hassle, certain business owners appoint ghost tweeters or twitter account managers that tweet on behalf of the company and provide twitter support to their customers. Business owners can start ghost tweeting on their accounts by either buying Twitter business accounts or using apps like hootsuite which provide a easy interface for multiple user twitter account management

These are some of the best practices that have caught my attention. What according to you are the best twitter marketing practices?

About Gautam

Follow @virtuosoblogger

Gautam Hans is a passionate blogger. He is the owner of the Blog Godown which is a blog on Blog Tips and Social Media. He is a social media enthusiast and loves to write about internet and technology.

{ 79 Responses }

Darren Scott Monroe says:

ohhhh major problems with this one. #5 is a no no because NO ONE is looking at the DM due to spam since 2009 And the idea of repeat tweets which may seem like a good idea UNTIL you remember how twitter BANNED a bunch of apps that used them suddenly. The REAL KEY is creating QUALITY tweets vs repetitive ones :)
Garen says:

True with Twitter and Facebook you need to engage with your followers or fans. No one is going to keep following you or check on your fan pages if you don't provide them with great content and actually go out and meet people. The worst thing you can do is never respond to comments and retweets. I target about 3 Twitter users a week to increase engagement. Garen
john says:

I am still trying to see why everyone is still up with twitter with the amount of spam and annoyance going on there I don't think it is worth any ones time.
Nick W Bennett says:

Great post Guatam. I definitely think repeating tweets is underutilized and has some negative misconceptions. I think this Twitter technique should be implemented by more people, for all the reasons you listed. Good stuff!
Paul Tech says:

I usually tweet my posts once, at most twice, as I find 3-4 times a bit overwhelming. I will try out this method and observe if there is a sharp drop in followers. By the way, do you have any technique of using DM? After several messages telling people to retwet our posts, I won't be surprised if we got blocked or labelled as spammer. DM is quite sensitive unless done skilfully...
Jason Jumat says:

At least when the tweets are original and not blasted from somewhere else. That itself isn't a problem but sometimes there seem to be people that tweets a lot of characters just with some links within it. That's called spamming.
Erik Eitel says:

Overall your post was definitely spot on. Twitter is changing the face of marketing rapidly with each day. I think one key aspect that should be added to your six points is, value. People like to have value added to their day. Reading about someone's daily routine, while it may add character to a person's twitter feed, may not really apply to many people. In your example with providing a link, I personally enjoy when someone passes on information that also pertains to me. (That's how I found this blog) :)
- Gautam Hans says:
  
  That is why finding people in your niche is important, because they will notice your tweets and they might click a few links and visit your website. This way you can increase your conversion rate
Tola says:

Great tips, I didnt know about some of them and don't think I'll use them cos I honestly can't be bothered, like the ghost tweets. But I'll definitely have a go at playing around with my tweets. I also used to make the same mistake of only tweeting my post once, but these days I have various feeds set up to help retweet, so thats cool.
- Gautam Hans says:
  
  I think feeds do not get good results because people are now aware that you are online or not and there is a simple check. If you reply to their tweets then you are online. else, you are offline and this is just a feed. Playing with tweets is a fun strategy, so you would like to try it
  - Tola says:
    
    hmmmm... I'll have to rememeber that then! Thanks for the heads up about the feeds, Gautam!
Sourav says:

I realize one mistake that I was making. I never repeated my tweets more than once. Maybe 4 repetitions a day is a good choice without being considered as spam. One thing that I do correctly is promoting others' tweets. I like to re-tweet anything that I find useful. Btw, point 4 is great. Experimenting with the format is really helpful and I like the example that you have given. Even the placement of the link can alter click-through.
- Gautam Hans says:
  
  I personally like a frequency of one of two. It is not very overwhelming for my followers and I also get more visibility for my tweet
Dennis Edell says:

Excellent tips, and I love #4. I know from blogging, that a question on top or bottom or both always brings in many more comments then just leaving it blank.
- Gautam Hans says:
  
  Dennis, I loved Fact 4 and that is why I try to be creative and play with my tweets a lot, so that I get better results out of it. Adding a question, does help in getting attention
Kimi says:

Woooooo Hooo, that's indeed awesome post! The "how we tweets" point make me shrugs :) I have never done it i usually just tweeted the byt.ly stuff lol. Thanks for this, i learnt a new stuff of tweeter just now :)
- Gautam Hans says:
  
  I am happy that ou learn something useful. Now, you should let me know what are your findings with these techniques. Keep things in mind: Always Reply Tweet like a Human
Blazing Minds says:

I've always been a keen ReTweeter and will RT a blog post that I have enjoyed reading, I also try to answer back 99% of the time to those that tweet me with question etc, but sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming ;)
- Gautam Hans says:
  
  That is a good approach, Replying to tweets is a very important part of twitter that most people completely ignore and that is why they stay behind in all social media marketing arena
Dr Joe says:

A great post which further convinces me I'm hopelessly behind in many aspects of social media. I've only been blogging for a month and done zero Twitter activity. Hopefully that will all turn around with the SEO- SMO people I'm hiring.
- Gautam Hans says:
  
  Joe, if you can't handle social media pressure, you can always hire people who are accustomed and you can concentrate more on your website and business
  - Dr Joe says:
    
    Thanks Gautam, I'll be doing exactly that. The tricky part is knowing who to turn to for services. The SM landscape is changing rapidly and it's important to work with people who are hip to latest tools and trends. I've already been burned once. I'm learning more so it won't happen again.
    - Gautam Hans says:
      
      Contact me via my blog. I might be able to help you out. Social media has a tendency change very often, that is why it is so good
Asad says:

I think that repeating tweets by using different text can be very handy to increase followers.It also means that your tweet will appear more in twitter search results if you are also using Hashtags and you will be noticed by people in your niche.
- Gautam says:
  
  Adding #hashtags will be helpful and will get more exposure for your tweets and you can also find people of the same niche. and who knows yours tweets might get more retweets and hence, more exposure.
Julius Kuhn-Regnier says:

I think I don't repeat my tweets often enough. I usually only tweet them once and them just let them sit there. That's probably my biggest mistake. As with DMs I agree you can use them effectively. The problem here is, is that you get tons of DMs from people you don't know who are just promoting some product and want you to click on the link and buy it.
- Gautam says:
  
  See, you should DM to only your friends, people you know, so that they don't think it is spam and u have posted a genuine request. Tweeting more often would be the solution to your problem
Nabeel says:

Wow Gautam, What a nice collection of tips. This is the first time I read an article which lays out the basic of Twitter Marketing, and as someone who has not used Twitter for Marketing yet, it helps me a lot. I really like all the practices that you mention, especially repeating tweets and playing with tweets. I didn't know about these, as I said, I am new to Twitter. Thanks for the post! Nabeel
- Gautam says:
  
  Nabeel, you can get marketing tips from your experiences and I did the same. these practices do change with the passage of time. So, you should try to experiment and find the best one for yourself
Mike says:

I love the engagement way the most. In fact, this is from my experience. By actively searching for the keyword Magento on twitter, I could hear all of the things people were saying about Magento, e-commerce open source software. And I could help them right away when people need help. I also made friends and business partners with some people. Engaging into the conversation is just a great way to market your brand effectively on Twitter.
- Gautam Hans says:
  
  Using Hashtags is a great way to track what people are saying about your product or company. You can then use twitter as a 24x7 support and help people out. And you're making a good use of twitter.
ravi says:

Thanks Gautam for your tips,but whats new in your tips these old tips are found on many blogs e.g mashable.
- Hesham says:
  
  What is not new for you could be new for someone else, especially those who can not follow up with all Twitter tips! Thanks for stepping by, but I would really appreciated your comment if you have added something valuable in here!
  - Gautam Hans says:
    
    everybody can have their opinion. If you don't find it useful, I don't mind if u follow mashable, but I tried to give out my personal experiences along with it.
Savannah Beckett says:

Getting attention from people in twitter is getting harder nowadays, everyone are doing the same thing.
- Gautam Hans says:
  
  You can get attention by even stalking people but that might not work well. You can gather more attention if you try to be more attentive and started replying to people's question, adding your opinions to it and starting a big conversation on twitter. Once you do this, you will be able to see your influence increasing day by day
Nasrul Hanis says:

Interesting. My normal practice is just to retweet and nothing else. Yeah.. it's like getting 2 in 1. Retweet while making yourself visible to your followers! Retweeting alone might let your appear as an 'automatic system' but with some tempting words which giving sense, I guess it could result in amazing effects. And I do agree with your other points. Thanks for sharing!
- Gautam says:
  
  Yes Just retweeting will make you seem a robot. What you can do is, you can play with other tweets as well and make them look different. It is an art on it's own, so you will need some creativity of mind
Eseotips says:

Gautam, thank you for sharing your Twitter marketing insights.
- Gautam says:
  
  I am happy to share my experiences. You should give it a try and let me know what is the result
  - Eseotips says:
    
    i'm trying it and will let you know result ^^ Good luck
    - Gautam Hans says:
      
      Good to know!
Dev says:

Hey Gautam, Really Great post. Those are awesome marketing tips buddy. Great work. Thanks for sharing this great Post. ~Dev
- Gautam says:
  
  Anytime, Dev. You can get more tips at my blog. I am happy you find my article helpful
DiTesco says:

Great advices Gautam. I particularly liked the "playing with tweets" tactic. That should work well and I will certainly keep that in mind the next time I tweet a post or retweet a tweet, hehe. Dude, I really liked that simple technique, thanks. Kudos
- Gautam says:
  
  I am happy that u find it useful and I am writing an ebook and I will be supplying to my newsletter reader, so keep updates :) Playing tweets has been very effective and fruitful for me
Glen D. Gilmore, Esq. says:

Gautam, thank you for sharing your Twitter marketing insights. Good of you to remind folks that they should consider the fact that Twitter spans all time zones: when to send a tweet depends on where a business thinks its market or potential market might be. A cautionary note on repeating messages: while it is ok to send the same information more than once, it is critical to consider the delicate line, as you note, between marketing and spam: when in doubt, don't do it! Thanks again for always sharing good info! Glen
- Gautam says:
  
  that is why I said repeating tweets only 2-4 times a day. It would be better to keep it 2 times a day. And yes, if you feel it is not very good then don't spam people. For eg, the results of blogging contest article would not worthwhile to repeat and I so I don't tweet it more than once. You have to provide value to your followers
John Soares says:

Gautam, thanks for these Twitter tips. I'm just really starting to see Twitter's true power. I just started with Hootsuite last week and can highly recommend it.
- Gautam says:
  
  hootsuite is the best free twitter app i have seen. It has plenty of options and it is not as overwhelming as tweetdeck where u see updates in 30 seconds. I personally love hootsuite and I use tweetdeck when hootsuite is not working
Colleen says:

Twitter has not been a great tool for us. It's not bad, but the return on time invested pales in comparison to other types of online marketing. We still have a Twitter presence, but minimally.
- Gautam says:
  
  I have pointed out a link on this article on the easy ways to engage in 20 minutes. You should give it a try. You will spare time on other things and still be active on twitter
  - Colleen says:
    
    I'll do that Gautam. What's 20 minutes, eh!
    - Gautam Hans says:
      
      20 minutes is nothing but you can engage in this much time, if you engage in the right manner and remove the distractions that waste you a lot of time
CaitlynO says:

Hello! I stumbled on your website thanks to ComLuv (what a great plugin!) and am bookmarking it and will be returning often. As a new blogger and website designer, as well as small business owner, resources such as this are always useful... I guess I'm behind the power curve on Twitter. Still, with the popularity and the quickness that some news is spread across the world through Tweets, especially in real-time, I think it'll be a handy tool to utilize for my spyware/malware site, where new threats pop up daily and quick reporting is essential. So thank you for breaking down this tool and giving me the motivation to go out and try it out. Keep it up and keep in touch! All the best! Caitlyn
- Gautam says:
  
  If you are completely newbie, you should check out some tutorials at my blog. I think you might find it useful. Twitter is a great way to be updated about almost anything and you can use it for the development or the support of your products. It is upto u and ur creativity. You can use twitter for any purpose. U should definitely give it a try
Murlu says:

Playing with the format of your tweet is great because it's much like anything else on the web - test it! I've tried a few various ways and even found that placing the link before the title can sometimes increase the click-through.
- Gautam says:
  
  Murlu, that is something new I have heard. I've tried the link before the tweet. I think people don't wait for the description and move ahead and check out the link/
CJ says:

Sweet post man! I'm still figuring this twitter thing out! Haha CJ CJ's last blog ..Could You Make Over a Million a Year Blogging?
- Gautam says:
  
  If you are completely new to twitter, then you might need some twitter guides for basic tips and techniques. I have compiled a list, if you need them then take a look: http://www.bloggodown.com/2009/07/50-awesome-twitter-tips-to-become-pro.html
Dewane Mutunga says:

With Twitter or with anything, you get out what you put into it. You've provided some great insight on what it takes to get the most out of one's Twitter efforts. I have personally experienced the power of Twitter so I can cosign and say you're right on with these tips! Good Stuff!!!
- Gautam Hans says:
  
  I a happy u have found it helpful and I think twitter requires investment of some time, but if you are careful and if you balance your work, you will be able to make more out of it. You have reduce the clutter and make some more information out of it
Ann Donnelly says:

Good post, except I disagree about repeating tweets. Repeating is the main reason I unfollow people. It would depend on: - The make up of your followers. If there are a number of people that are not 'seasoned' Twitter users and don't follow many people, they may be annoyed that you are repeating as it's overwhelming their Twitter stream. - The amount you tweet. If you post a good bit some repetition of important posts would be easily overlooked. If you only post a couple of times a day and it's the same thing over and over again, people will be annoyed. I suggest explaining why you are retweeting ('In case you missed...' 'Once more for my US followers...') though it may take up valuable characters it will show that you aren't being ignorant and annoying -- or just reword the post with possibly another slant to it.
- Hesham says:
  
  One very important thing about repeating tweets that I think we must consider is to change the Title/Text in the tweet! I do this by using the headings in the post like this: "RT @FamousBloggers: 6 Best Practices for Twitter Marketing " And then: "RT @FamousBloggers: How to Play with tweets? " And actually I got more followers when I follow this technique by repeating tweets during the day and even during the whole week!! What do you think about that? :)
  - Gautam says:
    
    she is probably right about the frequency but repeating a tweet twice in a different form is not a bad policy according to me. It helps me keep my audience intact and I do get to widen my span. Yes, I do not repeat tweets just for the sake of it. I try to retweet other people's articles in between
  - AJ says:
    
    This is a really good point Hesham, because if you keep tweeting the same name not only do you come off as being really "spammy" but you also attract different people to the different titles.
    - Hesham says:
      
      I some how look to Twitter as not a spamming tool because the little nice unfollow feature ;) I always also say to my self, if someone don't like.. then just unfollow me, but I always see that I can get more followers everyday to @FamousBloggers because people like to follow it lol probably because I give heavy promotion to good stuff and it's all helpful to followers! so.. basically it depends on the way you spam your followers and if they like it/love it or what lol!
      - AJ says:
        
        You do provide some great stuff. I would say that you can't really spam your twitter account : ), but lets say if you are an online store and you keep tweeting about the product you will probably get dropped.
    - Hesham says:
      
      Of course! You are so right! This will not work for a product store or then a BIG lose could happen!
    - Gautam Hans says:
      
      That is whole point of playing with tweets. Not to spam the original ones, but to bring more audience for your tweets :)
- Gautam says:
  
  I usually tweet around 100-500 tweets a day on some days and then i repeat some days for 2 times. It helps me widen my audience. The peculiar thing I have noticed that never the same people retweet. So I am bringing up an audience. My repeating I don't mean tweeting only about yourself and your links. Your twitter stream should be balanced with equal number of good quality tweets and some personal stuff
Kristi Hines says:

Great tips! I would say when it comes to repeating tweets, be sure that the text is different, even if the link is not. So if you are sharing one post multiple times, try it with different titles so that people don't think your Twitter is a broken record. And DM's can be very useful if you keep an eye on them and interact with those who are legitimately talking to you vs. always thinking DM's are spam and ignoring them.
- Gautam Hans says:
  
  Kristi, Dm should be a mutual thing. I scratch your back and you scratch mine. That is the way it should work. You have to be giver to become a getter. Also renaming tweets is a good way to surprise your readers
Khayyam says:

This is a guide to some and a do not do list for others. This platform allows for all sorts of techniques, strategies and uses. This list if you are intending to bring a product or service to the masses. However, if you had a vision or a purpose to present to the world, these will not work whatsoever. That comes from a need to help, be of service or just plain old good. These 6 tips are for pure penetration into a network. No question it's a good way to build, for some. Now, the thing is, are you one of those people? If so... follow these to a T. If not, well, you know what to do. k.
- Gautam says:
  
  I think you might be absolutely right. Marketing is one thing but you have to have substance in order to market ur self well. These techniques bring you closer to audience. But when it comes to proving that you are worth it, it all depends on your product quality.

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1. Engagement

2. Repeating tweets

3. Showing others love

4. Playing with tweets

5. DMs

6. Ghost Tweeting

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