These simple tricks will make your company's Twitter account a lot more profitable

What was supposed to be called ‘Twttr’ later changed to ‘Twitter’, and it took more than three years for its billionth tweet. Unless you live under a rock, most of you either use Twitter or have at least heard about the social media microblogging platform that allows you to express yourself in messages, or tweets, that are no longer than 140 characters. Described as “the SMS of the internet,” it was created by Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams, Biz Stone and Noah Glass in March 2006. With more than 310 million monthly active users, it is not much of a surprise that every conceivable brand is on Twitter, trying to leverage its enormous reach and popularity. Twitter’s technology can handle 18 quintillion followers. So the reach you can strike is practically unimaginable!

Let us see how businesses can take advantage of Twitter’s clout to improve their brand image and following:

Optimise your bio and create a voice

Why would something as simple as this even be a point, right? There are companies that do not give out complete information mainly because of a laidback attitude. Mention who you are and give your customers a link to your website. Make sure you tell your business story to the Twitter community. It is also important to maintain a consistent tone while interacting with your followers. It is not wise to sound pleasant one day and become preachy the next. Your Twitter presence should have the same look and feel as all your other social media platforms.

Find influencers in your startup’s area

Find like-minded people who could be your prospects, customers or influencers by searching for relevant keywords related to your industry. Follow and interact with them on a regular basis. Create a list of 50 influential players in your space who you believe will be able to help you and vice versa. Once you do this, engage with them. Try to build a relationship with them, and then, think of collaborating with them. Some tools that help you find influencers on Twitter are Klear, Little Bird, Followerwonk and Twitonomy.

Track your account regularly

Your followers are bound to forget you if you don’t tweet often. Tweeting regularly is the sign of an active account. Tweet relevant and useful information which you know your customers will read, share and comment on. It is completely all right to ask your followers to retweet, mention or ‘favourite’ your tweets. Retweet engaging and relevant information. ‘Favourite' an influencer’s tweet which will surely grab eyeballs. This is always better than a mention or an RT. Find a way to connect your brand to topics and hashtags that are trending. And, although this is frowned upon, it helps to mention your business among the trending topics. This will help you reach new users.

Change link headlines to boost traffic

Tweet an article’s link with different headlines to increase traffic to new blog posts. Since the traffic is ongoing and live, it is wise to post the same content over the clock using different headlines. By posting at different times, you reach people at different times and from different time zones.

Use keyword-rich phrases in your tweets

Keeping your newsfeed active is of prime importance. The more you tweet, the better your ranking gets on online search engines. Make sure you use keyword-rich phrases whenever you tweet or as often as possible. Use Keyword Planner to find keywords that your industry or market uses a lot.

Identify your hashtags

Place # before a word to create a hashtag. It makes words more searchable in the Twitter world. Hashtags are a useful way to tweet to people who are interested in your discussions and connect with them. However, too many hashtags in a single post are irritating for the reader. Use two to three per tweet, but not more. Make use of the Twitter toolbar and Hashtags.org to research hashtags.

Create great headlines with keywords

Content-based sites like BuzzFeed, WittyFeed and Storypick have shown us the kind of headlines that are most likely to be read. Headlines with numbers consistently give excellent traction. “How-to” articles promise something in advance to your readers. Refer a superstar in your field and write an article based on them. For instance, concentrate on big names like Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Phanindra Sama or Girish Mathrubootham.

However, be mindful of going overboard with your startup promotion on Twitter. Don’t bombard your followers with links to your website. Let there be a human side to your company. You can ensure this by posting pictures of parties and other happenings inside your company. At times, it can even help to tweet something that is not relevant to your business. This shows your followers that you are not just using Twitter to promote your brand. But again, don’t go overboard with this. It has not been uncommon to see interns getting fired for tweeting inappropriate content that can decrease their company’s brand value. Twitter is a tool that can make a lot of people talk about you. Always double check your tweets for factual and grammatical accuracy before posting anything.

(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of YourStory.)