sales & marketing advisor5 TIPS FORMARKETING WITH TWITTERYou can use Twitter to help grow your business.We’ll show you how.By Laura HantkeTwitter can be an invaluablemarketing tool for your companybecause it allows you toconnect one-on-one with yourcustomers. But like any social mediatool, it’s most effective when usedproperly. With that in mind, here areChannel Advisor’s top five tips for makingthe most of your Twitter account.Download a Dashboard AppDashboard apps are an efficient wayto manage your Twitter activity. Theyallow you to send and receive tweetsand direct messages, organize your livefeed and segregate columns based oncustom criteria.One popular dashboard app is Hoot-Suite, which allows you to integrateadditional social media, includingFacebook, WordPress, Google+ andLinkedIn. The free version will provideyou with basic analytics reports, butif you have $10 per month to spend,there’s a Pro version that comes withGoogle Analytics and Facebook Insightsintegration. Another option is Tweet-Deck, which is owned by Twitter. It,too, allows you to organize and customizea dashboard for your Twitteraccount, with the added perk of Facebookintegration.Use HashtagsHashtags are Twitter’s way of organizingcontent based on keywords. Insert a“#” before any key phrases you use—forexample, #cloudcomputing—and thatphrase becomes a clickable link thatwill show you the current mentions ofthat phrase. This can be a helpful wayto get more eyes on your tweets, as usersinterested in a particular topic will seeyou contributing to the conversation.Your business also has the option ofcreating its own hashtags. Maybe youcreate a tag of your company name sothat you can keep track of any othermentions of your business. There areplenty of options; just make sure yourhashtag is specific enough that it won’tapply to an unrelated topic.Content Is KingThis one applies to all areas of marketing,but with Twitter’s 140-characterlimit, it’s particularly important. Lookat each tweet as an opportunity to brandyour business. It’s OK to be slightly lessformal via social media than you wouldin a flyer or e-blast.You may also want to consider askingyour audience what they want to hearfrom you. Use existing business intelligence(BI) to gauge your customers’interest in different areas or verticals,and focus on the more popular ones.You can also send out a brief surveyto your customers and ask them whatthey’re most interested in. Your communicationswill gain more traction ifthey’re tailored for your audience.Connect One-on-OneSocial media allows something traditionalmediums don’t—a two-wayconversation. So take advantage of it!Your customers are out there, helpingto define your brand when theytalk about you. Use that opportunityto thank them when they send out apositive mention, and address theirconcerns when they don’t.Be proactive. If a customer tweets thatthey’ve had a negative experience withyour company, don’t just apologize—fix the problem. In this way, you helpturn a detractor into a potential brandadvocate, as well as show the rest ofyour followers that you take your customerservice seriously.Be HonestThis is a big one. Occasionally a companywill create a fake online persona toespouse the values of their own brand;this never ends well. If found out, yourcompany risks losing its credibility—and it’s generally easy to tell whetheran online persona is real.By incorporating these tips into yourcompany’s social media marketingstrategy, you can help your businessgrow, attract new customers and buildsolid relationships with existing clients.Twitter is an important piece of thesocial media puzzle. Make sure yourcompany doesn’t miss out.About the author: Laura Hantke is asocial media marketer and staff writerfor the Ingram <strong>Micro</strong> Channel Advisor.26 CHANNEL ADVISOR SPRING 2013
Mix It Up at the Solutions Partner InvitationalWe’re inviting solution providers to mix it up in 2013. Join us to learn about vertical markets, bestbusiness practices and hot-selling technologies like data capture/POS, physical security, mobilityand digital signage. And with participation from resellers in EMEA and the Americas, you’ll beempowered to discover international opportunities, too. Don’t miss your chance to learn howIngram <strong>Micro</strong> can support your business and help you expand into new and profitable arenas.Visit ingrammicro.com/solutionspi for agenda and registration information.© 2013 Ingram <strong>Micro</strong> <strong>Inc</strong>. All rights reserved. Ingram <strong>Micro</strong> and the Ingram <strong>Micro</strong> logo are trademarks used underlicense by Ingram <strong>Micro</strong> <strong>Inc</strong>. All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies. 2/13 M-014348.05aM-014348.05a_DCPOS_PI_CA_Ad.indd 12/27/13 2:30 PM
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