“To Tweet or Not to Tweet…

… that is the question”

Had William Shakespeare lived in a time when we’re all connected by the pervasive tendrils of social media, as opposed to when we were all dying of cholera and warring with the French, he might well have tweeted this:

Tonight, the Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of all Denmark shalt debut at the Globe Theatre. Tickets can be procured thusly bitly.globetix

He probably wouldn’t have regaled us all with tales of his supper, his “EPIC” Call of Duty: Elizabethan Warfare high score, or the fact that Anne Hathaway is “teh hotness”. Why? Because nobody cares. People care about Shakespeare’s plays (his product), less so about his preferred toastie filling (the banal chatter).

The same goes for your business. If you’ve set up a business Twitter account (and if not, why not?) you need some hard and fast rules on what you should and shouldn’t Tweet.

To Tweet

Offers: The majority of people won’t be following you because they want to hand over their filthy lucre, they’ll be following you because they want to see what they can get. Indulge them with an offer. Promise an exclusive-to-Twitter discount and people will fall over themselves to follow you.

Once you’ve got the followers, get them to market your offers for you. Something like this should suffice: “FREE Lollicorp lollipop for one lucky Twitter user. ReTweet this message to enter!” Then sit back, relax and watch your followers tell all their followers about your company.

Helpful Information: Again, and I can’t stress this enough, people follow your business account because they want something from you. If they’re not after discounts and freebies, they’re after advice. That FAQ section that’s been gathering cobwebs on your website? Dust it down and start posting a tip of the day. Help your followers get more out of your products and services, and they’ll be more inclined to buy them.

Replies: Finally, if you’re not posting replies to your followers, you’re doing it wrong. Social media is all about interaction. If your prospective or current customers are asking you questions, make damn sure you answer them. Nothing turns followers into critics faster than the cold shoulder. Except our three “Not To Tweets”.

Not to Tweet

Banal Gibberish: A common mistake is to treat your followers like your friends. The problem is that while your friends care about your new car, plans for the weekend and the strange fungus under your toenail, this information will have most followers reaching for the “Unfollow” button. By all means, personalise your Tweets and let your followers into your world, but read your Tweet before you click send. If it’s an in-joke or just plain uninteresting, keep it to yourself.

Anything You Wouldn’t Tell Granny: Would you wander into dear old Gran’s front room, plonk yourself down on the couch and tell her about the drunken student you were playing tonsil tennis with last night? Would you give her a detailed breakdown of that unsavoury “Gentleman’s Club” you were in last week while she was dishing out your Sunday roast?

If you couldn’t bring yourself to tell Granny, why would you share it with strangers?

Anything You Wouldn’t Tell The Boss: Ever phoned your manager at 4am on a Saturday morning to let her know you’re steaming drunk? How about dropping the department head a quick email to let him know you hate your job? If you’ve got a job, the answer to those questions is a resounding “NO”. 

Don’t post the same information to public sites. It might not just be your followers who aren’t impressed.

Remember though, your Twitter feed doesn’t have to be Shakespeare. Just make sure that it’s interesting, helpful and above all, of value to your clients.