Created in 2006, Twitter is the runaway success of the social media age. With 500 million tweets a day and 271 million active users, it is not just a platform for bragging celebrities and selfie – obsessed teenagers but a valuable marketing tool for small businesses and start – ups entrepreneurs. “Twitter can help you grow your business and form connections with new customers while keeping current customers interested” – says Udzungwa Mountains College Students Club of Entrepreneurship (UMCSCE).

Contributed by Udzungwa Mountains College Students Club of Entrepreneurship (UMCSCE)
30 June, 2021 & beyond (Club@umcsce.co.tz)

  1. Getting Started: Create a simple and memorable hashtag that effectively describes your business. Your profile picture can be your company logo, centered and properly sized. Tweets should have a consistent voice; professional, friendly or casual, although it is best not to be overly jokey. If you have more than one person tweeting, ensure they tweet in a consistent company voice.
  2. Use images: If possible, tweets should include an image – and a subject such as entrepreneurial sector lends itself perfectly. People respond well to tweets with images, and when you share photos from your business, you are not only coming across as more interesting, you are also showing followers there are real people behind the corporate face.
  3. Promote your presence: Include a “Follow us on Twitter” link on your website and in your email newsletters. Place social sharing buttons on your email newsletters, blog posts and other social media sites where you have an account. This strategy increases your exposure and helps you gain Twitter followers. Also mention if you have social Twitter promotions and contests.
  4. Don’t just tweet business: Providing interesting and educational content to your audience is a much more effective way of keeping them interested than simply throwing adverts at them. In addition to tweeting about products, share personal stories about where in the world entrepreneurs do the business, their challenges and many more.
  5. Interact with followers: Try to reply to customer tweets and questions promptly. If you get negative tweets, don’t ignore them. Respond in a friendly, straight forward manner and show your followers you will resolve complaints or issues quickly. If the matter should be dealt with privately, contact the customer directly rather than through a tweet.