Tweeting for Leads: Building your Twitter Presence

Unless you've been in a cave, you've likely heard of Twitter.

Twitter, or "Tweeting", is a way to connect with like-minded people by broadcasting short, headline oriented messages into the Twittospher. Then, those interested in what you have to say and want to hear more will "follow" you.

Twitter is a great outlet for information as well as a way to promote your business, newsletter or blog and build your prospect database. Many companies, publishers, entrepreneurs and others have jumped on the Twitter bandwagon to leverage this hot social networking outlet. But unless you're a celebrity or someone that already has universal name recognition ... and groupies ... getting individuals to opt in and "follow" your messages could be challenging.

So here are some tips to start building your presence on Twitter:

1. Promote the heck out of your Twitter URL (http://twitter.com/youraccountname). Remember, at this point, if you don't have a notable name and a built-in audience the goal is to drive targeted traffic to your Twitter home page so people can follow you. Remember to include your Twitter link in your emails (as an autosignature). Cross-market it in your newsletters and other correspondence. Mention it in your bio, bylines or editorial notes (whether you're a public speaker, on your PowerPoint slides, in press releases, article directory postings - virtually any place your name is). Link to it on other social networking sites from your Linked In, Facebook, and MySpace accounts. Add it at the closing in all your business proposals. Have it printed on your business cards. And of course, have it somewhere prominent on your website or blog. The mention is simple, "Follow me on http://twitter.com/youraccountname."



2. Make sure you have a keyword rich and relevant Twitter bio so the right people can read about you and follow you. Text is limited, so pick your descriptive keywords carefully. I suggest updating your bio quarterly with relevant keywords to your target market (follower). Think strong, short and pithy ... similar to a good headline that grabs your attention.



3. As far as content, keep your Tweets frequent, useful, relevant and entertaining. Don't just spam messages. It's transparent and will have a negative effect. Make people want to hear from you. Your headlines should be engaging and provoking, linking to the full article on your website or blog.



4. Follow the right people yourself. Many Tweeters have the mentality, you follow me, I'll follow you ... it's reciprocated. So as you're following other like minded individuals to expand your interest and knowledge base, they'll typically return the favor and follow you, thereby helping you build your presence.



5. Tweet daily. Try and have a regular presence on Twitter. The more frequent you Tweet the more you appear increase your odds to appear under 'Who to follow'. There are a few tools to help you determine when the best time to tweet is, check out: http://www.whentotweet.com/, http://www.tweriod.com/,http://www.tweetwhen.com/ and http://14blocks.com/. Most are free.



6. Engage with your followers. Retweet or reply to their tweets to help foster relationship cultivation. After all, that's what social media is all about ... building a community of like-minded 'friends'.

You'll see, with a combination of the above and a little time, you'll build your Twitter following. My clients have been implementing these tips and are enjoying steady growth on Twitter.