Lead Gen Power Tool No. 2: Microblogging

I love to preach the virtues of Twitter, but beware: it sucks you in. Unless you have the ability to devote quite a bit of time or you have a very multi-task-able staff member, Twitter may not be for you.

If you’re new to the whole idea of microblogging, watch this quick video explanation, called Twitter in Plain English.

Now that you get the premise, how do you start?

The first step is to start building your network. You can begin by adding people you know and testing out a few tweets, but the more quickly you have followers, the more exponentially the connection will spread. Search for users who are talking about things related to your industry and start following them. Many will follow you back instantly. Even if they don’t, you’re still visible on their followers list.

Market yourself.

Using Twitter for commercial purposes is still a somewhat nebulous proposal. But everyone on the site is promoting something, whether it’s their blogs, their company, or themselves (yes, people find jobs via Twitter), so the idea isn’t new.

The trick is to be a humble narcissist.

Your product is amazing. It will cure the ills of society without breaking the bank. Yadda, yadda, yadda. Not many in Twitterville will care if you try to sell them a marketing message. Give them something useful—a reason they would want to follow what you Tweet.

If you have a blog, it’s a great start. Every time a post is published, link to it in your Twitter feed. But don’t think that’s all the site is good for. Simply linking to your blog doesn’t mean people will follow it.

TALK to people.

• Direct message people who follow you thanking them and asking how you can help them.
• Link to other articles you think your network will find interesting, not just your own.
• “Retweet” others messages that you find interesting. To Retweet: copy their message, and at the beginning, type in their handle. For example, you find Bizmanualz’s message on this post. You type: “RT @bizmanualz Check out my blog post on Tweeting for your company!”
• “@ reply” to respond to a comment or question posted by a friend. For example, a friend asks for recommendations on a good dinner spot in St. Louis for the night. You type: “@sandi: Katie’s Pizza on Clayton is always good and is having a special tonight.”

In all of these cases, you provide value to your network. They appreciate you not just as a company shouting its message, but as a connection offering something interesting to say. When you do post the occasional: “Check out my website,” “We’re having a sale,” your network contacts, who now feel like they know you, will be more likely to visit.

Any questions? Feel free to comment and I’ll come back to check in and offer any more tips I find.

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Originally published in 2009 by Bizmanualz, Inc. under the title Lead Gen Power Tool No. 2: Microblogging. All rights reserved. Reproduction permitted with attribution only. www.bizmanualz.com