Social media is a powerful tool.

However, I’m by no means implying that you should apply the school of thought, shown in the video below, to your marketing campaigns.

Just in case you’re unfamiliar with The Onion, please keep in mind that this video is satire:

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The best possible approach to social media is to think of it as the beginning of a discussion and an introduction. And I can’t stress this enough,  whatever you do, don’t create social media content like this guy!

When you’re using social media to promote everything from your latest offer to your latest blog post, don’t try to be something you’re not, or share things just because you think that it will attract new followers.

In order to use social media successfully, you have to share thoughts, articles, and news that someone who knows you well would look at, and go: “Yes that definitely sounds like you!”

Whenever you retweet, make it clear that you’re retweeting something that matters to you, and your audience on a personal level.

One of my personal favorite and most successful social media platforms is Twitter. But why have my tweets managed to grow my audience on such a regular basis?

Not only do I pre-schedule a majority of my social media posts on Buffer, but I also apply an authenticity-based approach to all my blogging projects.

Are you a little unsure about how this “Twitter thing” works? Today I’m going to give you some twitter tips, that will inspire you to create engaging Twitter content.

1) Research your audience

If you want to use social media for anything besides personal use, you need to get to know your audience. If you want to get to know your audience, you need to figure out what their goals are.

In a recent article on using customer profiles to reach your target audience, Greg Ciotti listed three questions that will help you uncover what those goals actually are:

• How does the customer use to identify their current problem?
• What is their great hesitation when trying out your product or service?
• Does the customer favor a specific platform for engagement?

To uncover the answers to these questions, take a look at the patterns, in terms of who is interested in your social media content.

If you’re not already active on social media, spend some time browsing the profiles of others that actively work in your industry. What patterns do you see, in terms of:

What patterns do you see, in terms of:

• Who is interested in what they have to say.
• What actually gets people’s attention?
• What is getting the most reshares, likes, etc…

How to research…

If you have no idea what’s actually doing well, type applicable Twitter usernames into the BuzzSumo website.

The best part of BuzzSumo is that all you have to do is type in “shared:” plus the “@” symbol and you’ll get a detailed list of how your Twitter content is doing:

Alternatively, you can set up social media content management platforms such as Buffer or HootSuite, which both come with social media analytics software.

These tools are great if you just want quick, easy-to-understand, data.

If you use a social media management tool you’ll spend a lot less time on social media while being as active on it as you should be.

That’s a huge bonus for busy people because you’ll have a lot more to time to focus on your work.

Not to mention, you can program your content so that it goes live when a majority of your followers are likely to log-in to your account.

You don’t even have to know when that “perfect” time happens to be. The social media management tool will figure out for you.

2) Give Social Media Love, and Expect Nothing in Return

You should always do this strategically. You don’t have to thank all your followers, and you don’t have to Tweet about how awesome people are, for the sake of tweeting.

Focus on sharing the content, of people you respect, that do work that directly ties in the work you do.

For instance, I’m a web & blog content copywriter and editor, so I tend to retweet the work of other bloggers, social media managers, web designers, and WordPress experts.

Clients you’ve worked with before, publications you’ve written for, and relevant influencers also fall under this category.

But how will that help your business?

If you promote other people’s’ content they’ll likely be a lot more open to sharing your content in the future, which will open doors to a brand new audience.

Every time you help someone out and retweet their content, the cycle continues.

Technically, you’re expecting nothing in return.

However, you’re still putting yourself on that person, and their audience’s radar regardless of what happens. And that’s worth your time for sure!

3) Self-Promote (Wisely)

The problem with Twitter is that everything moves quickly, and it’s not always easy to keep up.

If you’re trying to promote anything important, you have to promote it multiple times.

Not to mention, time zones – you’re likely dealing with more than one. Your lunch hour might be someone’s bedtime, in some other part of the world.

And people travel…sometimes.

There’s also another common, problem to face: having a social media presence that’s too salesy, too often.

Add a bit of personality and pizzazz into your promotional efforts, and this will no longer be an issue.

All you have to do is stay true to your brand.

If you’re too busy or too unsure about how to do that, check out my rewrite my site and Website personalization packages.

All the package deals I just mentioned are designed with your needs in mind.

4) Get personal (in moderation)

If you personalize your content, you’ll hook Twitter followers.

But, just like the tip I provided above, you have to do this wisely. And don’t overshare!

For example:

Your followers probably won’t want to know what you had for breakfast this morning.

The only exceptions are chefs and restaurant critics. If that’s the case, then tweet away!

No matter what, just don’t make the personal tidbits boring.

And make it more a once in a blue moon part of your twitter, rather than the only thing you’ll tweet about.

Once you know your audience and are ready to focus on just sounding like you on Twitter, post consistently, and always on the same day and time. Good luck on your Twitter campaign, and if you have any questions, post in the comment section below.

On a related note:

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