I signed up for a Twitter account three years ago, and it truly changed my life. My Twitter anniversary was on December 2nd, and I thought it might be helpful for me to explain what my goals were for the social network. Now is a perfect time to step up your game on Twitter or finally get it going with a social media strategy.
I have never had a nickname in my life, but since my name Melinda Emerson was taken when I tried to sign up for Twitter, my buddy social media strategist, Cathy Larkin @Cathywebsavvypr nicknamed me @SmallBizLady. We now know that was the best branding accident that ever happen to me. We thought it would work, since it would help people know who I was and what my expertise was as a small business start-up and business development expert. We ultimately knew it would help me raise awareness to my book, Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months.
When you got on Twitter did you have a plan?
When I started out on Twitter I had two goals. First, I wanted to build an author platform to demonstrate my thought leadership on all things small business. Secondly, I wanted to make friends and attract my niche target customer; professional women 30+, who want to start or grow a small business. However, Twitter provided some unintended benefits as well.
When I first when on twitter I did three things each day. I shared a helpful article on small business, I tweeted out something personal about myself, and I answered someone’s small business question. Being helpful was my intent, and it served me well. I set up Google alerts on specific business topics so that I would always have fresh things to tweet. Once I got the hang of it, I made sure that I shared other people’s content more than my own.
I am now, a well-respected social media expert as a result of how well I’ve built my brand. I also am an active member of the Twitter community with over 125K followers. I tell people that I work Twitter like a job Monday thru Friday.
Why Twitter works for me.
Twitter is a micro-blogging platform designed for people who need the bottom-line and not much else. In short, if you can’t say it in 140 characters or less, forget about it. If you do not know who you are trying to talk with or attract forget about it. You need a content strategy in order to really be successful with Twitter.
In April 2009, I launched #SmallBizChat which is a Tweetchat (or Twitter Talkshow as I like to call it.) My professional background is as a television producer, so I approached my tweetchat like a TV new program. I developed a formula. We have an open, close and new question coming out every four minutes. Every Wednesday on Twitter to help entrepreneurs get answers to their small business questions with #Smallbizchat. To date, my co-host @TaiGoodwin and I have produced over 130 shows. By the way, New York Times Small Business Blogger Jay Goltz @JaySmallBiz is my guest this Wednesday. His topic is how to run a successful small business. He’s been an entrepreneur over 33 years, with five businesses so I think he knows a little something about it.
Twitter has grown my @SmallBizLady consulting brand. I have gotten several coaching clients and hundred of business contacts. I have also been invited for at least 50 speaking engagements, countless blog talk radio interviews, and thanks to this blog, I have been requested to write for several publications including smallbiztrends.com, secondact.com, black enterprise and essence magazines and quoted in many articles for publications including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer and Fortune. I have also had several TV appearances for NBC, MSNBC, and Fox News. These opportunities came just because of the content, resources and blog posts I tweet out regularly on Twitter.
Twitter is a great resource for a small business owners, particularly if you sell B2B or are in infopreneur. Try it you might like it.
Do you have any other suggestions for how Twitter can help a small business?
For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com.
Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading smallbusinessexperts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops
audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small businessfailure. As CEO of MFE Consulting LLC, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine recently named her the #1 woman for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also the author of the national bestseller Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works. (Adams Media 2010)
Interested in business growth
Every small business owner should utilize this powerful marketing tool in promoting a business. With 160 characters, you can deliver the products and services to your target market as well as building the reputation of your business.
Twitter can connect you with those that have walked the same road you are walking long before you, who can help avoid the potholes of the that road.
Thanks for sharing the details of how you branded yourself and became a small biz icon via Twitter and your blogs. Your success is inspiring and your content is always timely and informative. Keep up the great work!
I was skeptical of twitter first, but it has helped many of my clients and businesses connect with customers.
Twitter is a powerful tool for small business, and especially for those who produce a lot of content. Here’s a quick tip: Share the heck out of your content and include a link back to your blog/website. Retweet it often. If people like what you have to say, they will click through and share with their networks.
Twitter has been a powerful force for bringing traffic to my site, establishing relationships with others online, attracting customers, generating sales, and building brand recognition. Love it!
Great insights into how you’ve been able to use Twitter to grow your brand and your business. As you pointed out, having a content strategy is HUGE. I also really liked your point about trying to do 3 things each day. The biggest hiccup for small business owners is find the time and the discipline to be active on Twitter (or pretty much any other social media platform) on a daily basis. Creating the profile is the easy part–it’s managing it that takes the real commitment.
Thanks for the tips. I am a little new into the Twitter game and am starting to create my own little way of doing things. I am hoping to leverage this and facebook to help build my business.
I really learned a lot. I was hesitant to join twitter but my sister kept telling me to join that it was good. I really like it now and it has helped to grow my brand. I also learned a lot on how to expand my reach even more. Thanks Melinda.
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