5 Ways to Grow Your Twitter Reach

Are you struggling to grow your Twitter following?

Do you want more people to see your updates?

If you’re a small business, it can take a while to build up your Twitter followers and that can be frustrating. You may wonder how other companies grow quickly and how you can replicate their success.

In this article you’ll discover five ways to jumpstart visibility for your Twitter profile and tweets.

#1: Follow Twitter Basics

Before you do anything else, be sure you understand a few Twitter fundamentals. You can increase your tweet exposure with just a few tweaks:

• Don’t start tweets with @username. Starting a tweet with @username restricts its visibility to only you, the person you’re tweeting and any mutual followers. Your reach is automatically cut short!
  

  Starting a tweet with @username limits your reach.
  

  
  

  Here’s an example of a tweet crafted to put text before the first @username to give this tweet a wider reach.

  
  
• Don’t use more than three hashtags in any one tweet. Too many hashtags in a tweet makes it look spammy and reduces your tweet’s shareability.
• Don’t over-tweet about yourself or your products. The 80/20 rule applies on all social platforms. The 80/20 rule means you spend 80% of the time interacting with and promoting others and 20% of the time promoting yourself and your products.
• Provide as much value as you can. Listen to your followers and the people you follow. What are their pain points? How can you solve those? When you share relevant, interesting tweets (without over-promoting), people see you as an expert and may recommend you to others as an important resource.

#2: Promote Your Twitter Profile Everywhere

Use your other social profiles to tell people about your Twitter handle. Add your Twitter username to the About or Contact sections of Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn and any other social profiles you use.

On your website or blog, be sure you have social sharing buttons to make it easy for readers to tell others about your content.

Configure your social sharing button to auto-populate your Twitter username when someone shares an article.

Plugins make it simple to install and customize sharing options and expand your reach by adding via @yourusername every time someone tweets content from your site. This simple customization gets your Twitter handle in front of hundreds of users you may not have reached otherwise.

#3: Cross-Promote Your Giveaways

Giveaways always drive more traffic, visibility and engagement. Take advantage of that by creating a Q&A giveaway that requires entrants to give their answers by tagging you on Twitter and using a specific hashtag.

Extend visibility of your Twitter profile by cross-promoting campaigns using hashtags.

The hashtag is easy to track and ensures you don’t miss part of the conversation. Requiring users to tag your @username ensures a wider audience sees your handle. Be sure to engage with any users who respond or use the hashtag—it’s just good etiquette and you’ll reach even more people.

When you’re ready to promote your giveaway, post the question to all of your social accounts. Start with the platform that has the most engagement, then share across your other social profiles. Don’t forget to share on Twitter!

#4: Interact With Niche Influencers

Whether you’re offline or online, networking is a tried-and-true method for extending your reach. If you haven’t started networking on Twitter, now’s the time.

If you’re truly listening on Twitter, you’ll be able to tell who the influencers are in your niche—those are the people with whom you want to establish a relationship. Remember, the influencers don’t have to be national in scope, they can be important locals as well (e.g., the newspaper editor or local newscasters).

Start a Twitter conversation with a few of the influencers in your niche and add as much value to the conversation as you can. The more interesting you are, the more likely it is that an influencer will respond to or spread your message.

The Fort Collins, CO band @FierceBad has a modest 683 followers, but has established a relationship with the amazingly popular @newbelgium (New Belgium Brewing, also in Fort Collins). When Fierce Bad released a new video, New Belgium Brewing tweeted it out to their 187,500 fans—quite a bit bigger audience.

Influencers can attract huge attention for you on Twitter.

#5: Find Allies in an Online Community

If you think you’re alone in trying to build Twitter exposure, think again! There are lots of communities for people just like you who want to network.

These communities are generally built around niches, so it’s easy to find one where members share your interests. Shared interests mean it’s easier to find good content to send out to your followers (remember the 80/20 rule!). Since sharing is usually (but not always) reciprocal, you’re benefitting too.

Most online communities are free to join and welcome new members with open arms. Here are 10 communities you can join to increase your exposure on Twitter:

• BizSugar
• Blokube
• DoSplash
• Klinkk
• Inbound.org
• List.ly
• ManageWP.org
• Social Buzz Club
• The Writers Social
• Triberr

BizSugar posts have a Tweet button and the tweets from this community can add up.

You’ll find that many serious marketers have a strong presence in multiple online communities like these because they realize the overall value. Joining the same communities allows you to connect with those influencers (and expand your Twitter reach) on a larger scale.

Conclusion

Whether you’re starting a brand-new Twitter profile or you have an established profile that’s struggling to develop a larger following, you can increase Twitter exposure.

Make sure you’ve got the basics down, then move on to connecting with influencers, sharing interesting updates and joining relevant communities.

What do you think? What’s been your biggest challenge with getting exposure on Twitter? Do you have advice for others? Let us know in the comments.

5 Ways Businesses Are Using Visual Storytelling on Facebook

Are you looking for creative ways to use visual storytelling in your social media marketing?
Do you have a great story to tell, but you’re not sure how to share it?

Every company has a story to tell.

It could be anything from brand history to internal innovation to fun customer feedback. Unfortunately, few businesses share their stories effectively on Facebook.

In this article I’ll show you five imaginative ways brands are using pictures to tell compelling stories that generate engagement on Facebook.

Why Tell a Visual Story?

A picture is worth a thousand words. It’s a cliché for a reason. When you’re scrolling through the news feed, what catches your eye? Most updates are text, but Facebook users like pictures.

Posting images can help increase engagement and shares on Facebook. Photo posts account for 93% of the most engaging posts on Facebook. They can get 53% more likes, 104% more comments and 84% more click-throughs on links than text-based posts!

Are you using pictures to your advantage? Below are five examples of companies that are wowing their fans with visual stories.

#1: Use Clever Photo Collections

The American Express Facebook page strives to give a strong visual representation of the brand.

That can be a tall order for a service-based company. American Express rose to the challenge by taking photographs of related items, then sharing them with short updates that ask a question or evoke a certain feeling.

Recently, the freezing weather in the US has everyone talking. American Express shared this simple
 but hugely descriptive picture on their Facebook timeline.

American Express connects with fans through a simple image.

Not only does the picture convey winter and snow days, it also subtly includes an American Express card. To me, that picture said, “You’re probably having a snow day, but all you need is your American Express card in case you need to order pizza, download a movie or do some online shopping without braving the weather.”

The company used the same technique on December 23:

Interesting pictures and fun questions encourage Facebook engagement.

The post asked, “Guess whose holiday essentials these are?” It was a clever alternative to the in-your-face holiday posts that had been doing the rounds, and invited plenty of discussion and good-natured responses. Hey, doesn’t everyone need a credit card? Those reindeer vet bills sure do add up.

Tip: Photograph your product with everyday objects or in a live setting to tell a fun story or spark an emotional connection with your community. Take advantage of trends that are relevant to your audience to show how a customer could use your product.

#2: Create Stand-Alone Visual Campaigns

Sometimes a company’s marketing gimmick can take on a life of its own. Several years ago, UK-based insurance comparison site Compare The Market created a campaign around the idea that market sounds just a little bit like meerkat.

They introduced Aleksandr Orlov, a meerkat with a Russian accent and an aristocratic heritage. The campaign was a huge hit. Even though Compare The Market isn’t actually on Facebook, Aleksandr has his own page, with more than 800,000 likes!

The story of Aleksandr, his friends and his family (including the new baby, Oleg) is played out on this fun, interactive page, which drives traffic back to the company website with its clever use of storytelling and merchandising (a free meerkat toy with every purchase through the site).

Compare The Market uses Aleksandr Orlov, a meerkat, to share stories with its audience.

Tip: If you don’t have a mascot, why not tell the story behind your logo, choice of location or something else that makes your company unique? Marketing is not about B2B or B2C anymore, it’s about P2P (people to people).

Your fans want a human connection with your brand and your people. They want to peek behind the scenes and explore your culture, understand your mission and find out what inspires your innovation.

#3: Develop Community Around a Charity

Many businesses make a point of giving back to their community, but TOMS shoes goes much further. The company was founded on the charitable concept that for every pair of shoes they sold, they would donate a pair to children in poverty around the globe.

TOMS makes an impact on their fans by sharing pictures of those they’ve helped. It’s one thing to know a company has a strong charitable background, but seeing it helps fans appreciate the effect they’re having on the world.

TOMS gives their fans a connection to the people they (both the company and its fans) are helping all over the world.

Tip: Share your company’s passion with your fans. Every brand has a story about the inspiration behind the innovation or employees’ passion for company product(s). Use pictures to convey your brand’s core values.

#4: Incorporate Fan-Generated Content

The Starbucks’ Facebook page celebrates the most important people to the company: their customers. Starbucks posts Instagram photos from their fans to give a customer’s-eye view of the brand.

Not only is this a fun way to show customer appreciation, it’s a really clever way of generating fresh, relevant content that brings business and customers closer together.

Starbucks uses fan-generated content to show customers its appreciation.

When Starbucks shared the customer photo above, it generated a massive response with over 78,000 likes, 460 comments and 1,500 shares.

Using customers’ own photos to tell a brand’s story is an inclusive strategy and clearly resonates well with other fans. This authentic word-of-mouth is priceless.

Tip: Your customers are your greatest asset; make them feel like a valued part of your story by sharing their images. Ask fans to use a specific hashtag when they share photos of your brand so you can find them easily.

#5: Share Your History

Positive nostalgia fosters true emotional connection. Reflecting on your brand’s history brings a whole new dimension to your marketing.

IBM has an illustrious history of innovation and the company capitalizes on that by sharing pictures from their archives on their Facebook page. Some of the company’s most liked and commented-on posts are those that show how much technology has changed and how IBM led those changes.

Fans love to see how things have changed over the years.

Showing how your brand started, the challenges you have overcome and celebrating some of your best achievements can make your followers proud to be associated with you and all the great work you have done over the years.

Tip: Don’t bury photos from your past in offline archives. Use them to show how far you’ve come and the moments you’re most proud of. Celebrate those moments with your community and ask them to share their own memories.

Share your stories.

Your brand has some great stories, so why not tell them? Don’t settle for long text updates that get glossed over in the news feed. Tell your story with pictures and rich media so your fans connect with you. Customers who feel more connected to a brand display greater loyalty and are more likely to advocate for your brand.

What do you think? How have you used pictures to share your company’s story? Do your fans respond more enthusiastically when you post pictures? Share your comments below.

Social Media News: We Heart It Social Network

With so many social media sights out there today it is hard to keep up with which ones are new, which ones are old and just which are actually exciting to be a part of. Now-a-days there’s Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and many other more or less similar networking sites. The list is endless. However, there is one that new one that stood out from the others. The social media site known as “We Heart It” is essentially a combination of Pinterest, Twitter and in some ways even Facebook. For people who love sharing pictures, it is the ultimate social media website.

There is so much to do on this social media site. Once you join the website, which takes no more than thirty seconds, you are immediately taken to what it is known as your “canvas”. Your canvas is where everything you do on We Heart It is stored. It is also where your profile information is and your, “about me” bio but we will discuss that later on. One of the best aspects of We Heart It is that when you first join the website you can immediately make it your own. You have the option to change the header of your canvas like you would on Facebook. The header is the top portion of the page where you would upload a picture of whatever it is you want that describes you or your interests. It is a great tool for people to get a sense of who you are at a glance. When you first start using this website, you can also fill out your personal information which includes a personal bio, your interests and even the option of linking your We Heart It page to your other social media websites.

Once all that fundamental basic information is complete, you can begin hearting! Hearting is the process of liking something you see on the search page of We Heart It. This is the part of We Heart It that resembles Pinterest. The way this process works is you search whatever it is you want to look at in the search engine box at the top of the page and BOOM! You have dozens of pictures to look through. Of course, this will depend on the keyword you are searching for. What you search is known as a tag. A tag is what you would associate the picture with when you post one to We Heart It. Tags are what you put under the pictures so people can find them quicker. You can search anything from pictures of cats to pictures of celebrities to recipe options for dinner. You can even plan your wedding or next birthday through We Heart It. It is such a powerful search engine that some people may eventually prefer over Google. Now, I’m sure you’re wondering, “But…how do we “heart” the pictures we like”. That is no harder than moving your cursor. When you find a picture you like, all you have to do is move your cursor over the desired picture and when the little heart pops up in the center, you click it! That’s it and then it will show up on your canvas immediately. If you accidentally click the picture, simply click it again to de-heart it. It is an unbelievably easy process.

Each picture you click had to be posted by someone; I mean it didn’t just show up on We Heart It by magic. If you start to notice that you seem to like pictures posted by the same user, fairly frequently, you can follow that user so you are always up to speed on their picture posting. The act of following makes We Heart It a lot like twitter because people can also follow you if they want. So essentially, We Heart It is like the all picture version of twitter. You can post your own pictures on We Heart It as well for people to like by clicking on the plus sign next to the search engine. You can upload the picture from a URL such as through Google, you can upload from another social media site or you can upload straight from your phone or laptop. Yes, you can upload from your phone if you have the We Heart It app that is available for free. If you want to take down one of the pictures you have posted because you either changed your mind or posted the wrong one, you can always take it down with no questions asked so don’t worry about that.

Now, let’s say you have liked around 50 pictures (that is just an example number it is not a minimum) of all different categories and you want to kind of organize them a bit. On your canvas there is an option to do just that. Right on your canvas page, there is an option directly in front of you on the screen that will say “start a new collection”. Just click that box and you’ll be taken to a page where you will name your collection and add to it the pictures that you want. Once you have at least one collection, every time you heart something on We Heart It, you will always be asked what collection you want that picture to go in. It’s however recommended to keep collections. This is because this website is addictive and if you are anything like me and you choose not to use the collections; your page will be in chaos in no time. I have collections from Demi Lovato photos to yummy recipes that I’m probably never going to try!

I highly recommend you go on and try this site. I’m sure it seems like “just another social media website” but honestly, I think the picture quality is better, the results come faster, you are clearly notified when someone likes your pictures and it is much more user friendly. Anybody can use this website regardless of how little you know about technology. Give We Heart it a shot, you never know, you may end up hearting it yourself!