Twitter is one of my faaaavorite social media networks. I love that it makes people accessible (like that time Stacy London tweeted me back), encourages brevity thanks to the 280-character limit, and is super conversational.

It’s a powerful platform for thought- and business-leaders, because:

• 62% of Twitter users don’t hesitate to spend more money for a product/service if it’s a brand they like – as a leader, Twitter is a great place to generate leads over shared values and the impact you’re here to make
• 54% of daily Twitter users question how important a breaking news story is if they can’t find it on Twitter – so if you’re not on Twitter, it’s kind of like you don’t exist…??? 😉

You can imagine my delight when I interviewed Melanie Padgett Powers, a writer, editor and Twitter enthusiast! She shares expert tips for how to use Twitter to build your community, extend your influence and generate leads by being fun and personable on the network.

Watch/listen to the interview:

[bctt tweet=”“You can be a friendly nice person in business and still be strategic and tough and successful at business” – @MelEdits #HealthWriter #WriteAdvice #FreelanceWriter #TwitterMarketing #MarketingMinutes” username=”evajannotta”]

How to Use Twitter Lists Strategically

I. Love. Lists. No other social media network offers the same kind of tool for prospecting, building community, nurturing relationships, connecting with event attendees and otherwise your connections and followers.

Private Twitter Lists

Private lists are a perfect choice to (gently) strategically stalk potential clients, partners, or influencers. Do you admire members of a certain mastermind group? Create a private list so you can engage with them all from one place.

Do you have list of DREAM clients, investors, or mentors? Create private lists for each so you can connect with them every time you use Twitter.

Public Twitter Lists

Create a Community in your Niche

Public lists are powerful tools to build community. Start a public lists for other CEOs, entrepreneurs, or business leaders in your niche to:

1. Connect over industry topics
2. Build relationships with peers and colleagues
3. Create a community where people can find you: folks who aspire to your position or can benefit from your expertise will be able to follow your public list to get involved in your niche

Connect Before and After an Event

Going to a conference or business retreat? Create a public list so attendees can connect with and follow each other.

Example: my client Lisa Gates is speaking at Career Mastery 2019. We created a Twitter List of all speakers not only so we can connect with them, but so attendees can easily follow all speakers.

Grow Your Referral Network and Influence

The vendors and freelancers you work with are great candidates for a public Twitter list. This allows your colleagues to work with people you can personally vouch for. It also gives you one place to reach out to all your freelance writers or Facebook Ads consultants if you need extra support or to refer a client.

Nearly 40% of Twitter users say they’ve made a purchase as a direct result of a Tweet from an influencer. That Twitter influencer might be you!

How to Strategically Hashtag on Twitter

Hashtags on Twitter are important for a few reasons:

• They help you stand out: hashtags appear in hyperlink color, making them stand out from the rest of your text. When you use strategic hashtags you will stand out for in your niche and be memorable.
• They help people find you: hashtags are searchable, so using hashtags that relate to your niche and brand are a great way to connect with new people who are looking for you and what you do.
• They show your brand: hashtags can be sarcastic, self-deprecating, humorous, cultural references, and more. They are a great way to show your personality.
• Do the research on hashtags that fit your brand here.

It’s tempting to use broad hashtags like #SocialMedia or #Marketing in your tweets, since they’re easy to think of and clearly position you in your industry. However….

Lower-volume hashtags are MUCH more effective. 

They are updated less frequently and used by a more specific, niche crowd. You are far more likely to be found, remembered, and approached for a hashtag like #HealthWriter than #HealthCare.

In fact, Melanie uses #HealthWriter to clearly state the kind of writing she does, and it works! People with whom she had no personal connection have seen that she’s a health writer, gone to her website and contacted her – all from Twitter!

[bctt tweet=”“When it comes to hashtag strategy, bigger isn’t better. Broad, popular hashtags are too high volume and you’ll get lost. Creating your own hashtag, or using niched and micro hashtags make it more likely you’ll be found.” – @MelEdits #HashtagStrategy #TwitterMarketing #MarketingMinutes” username=”evajannotta”]

Tip: Make sure to capitalize the first letter of each word in your hashtag so screen readers can read it #AccessibilityForTheWin

Tweet Chats for Networking and Lead Generation

If you want to share your expertise and thought-leadership, as well as connect with prospects and colleagues, join a Tweet Chat. Or better yet… start one!

Tweet chats around relevant topics in your industry are a powerful way to position yourself, generate leads, grow your following, and connect with colleagues. Plus: the questions asked in the chat are great inspiration for content ideas.

3 Kinds of Twitter Content to Drive Engagement

It’s good advice for any social media network or marketing channel: be fun and show your personality!

1. Share “inside baseball” content: tweet pictures of where you work, of your team, of your office pets or plants or art.
   1. Get clever and show the personal AND the professional: Melanie tweets pictures of her cats while she’s proofreading magazines, which show her personality (cat woman) and the kind of work she does.
   2. Melanie’s selfies with her cats get more attention than anything else she tweets!
2. GIFs: these are a great way to show humor and grab people’s eye. They’re also a great way to make cultural references and inject some “good feel” into your feed.
3. Images: images are very important on Twitter. Original photography, selfies, graphics, or quote tiles are ideal (the stock images that come with many articles aren’t as memorable).
   1. What kind of graphics perform best and drive the most engagement? According to a Venngage survey, 40% of marketers said original graphics perform best, such as infographics and quote titles.
   2. Melanie uses Canva to create images of different writer’s quotes, and tags them with the hashtag #WriteAdvice. It positions her as a writer, knowledgable and involved in her niche, and interested in words.

Wondering how you could leverage the power of Twitter to build your influence, prestige, and business? Set up a free call and we’ll make a plan: https://calendly.com/evajannotta

[bctt tweet=”“Twitter is a long-term, lifestyle marketing of building relationships, connecting with people, being visible and showing what you do.” – @MelEdits #HealthWriter #RelationshipMarketing #TwitterMarketing #MarketingMinutes” username=”evajannotta”]

For this episode of #MarketingMinutes, $10 was donated to Manna Food Center at Melanie’s request. Thanks, Melanie!