April 28, 2009
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Part one of this article appeared last week.
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You’ve decided to open a Twitter account. You’ve found some interesting people to follow and a few people have followed you in return.
Now what? What do you say to your followers to keep them interested and entice other Twitterers to follow you?
It’s time to learn the art of the Tweet.
Business vs. personal Tweets
Assuming you are using Twitter to build your business, you’ll want to keep the majority of your Tweets business related. However, you’ll also want to include personal messages so that your followers begin to feel a personal connection to you. I’ve been told that the percentage of business to personal Tweets should be 70% / 30%. This is a good rule of thumb, though as long as the majority of your Tweets are business-oriented, you are in good shape.
Once you have established your strategy, it is time to starting Tweeting. Before you post your first Tweet, consult your compliance department. Twitter falls under the advertising rules of FINRA and the SEC so you will want to be sure you aren’t violating any of the rules. Once you have received the okay from your compliance department, feel free to start Tweeting. See part one of this article for more information on compliance issues.
Add value
It’s time to send your first Tweet. What will you send?
Social media is about adding value and creating relationships. DO NOT ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS. I can’t stress this enough. Do not post something like, “If you are in the San Diego area, have $500,000 in investable assets, over the age of 55 and need financial planning, call me at 555-1234.“ This is a quick way to turn people off.
Always think about adding value. For example, to reach your followers who are CPAs, you can post an article you recently read on year-end tax strategies. Your Tweet would be “Just read great article on year-end tax planning strategies [Include Link].” This will pique the interest of your CPA audience. Hopefully some followers will respond or re-Tweet (forward) the message which will help start a dialogue among CPAs and increase your following.Display article as PDF for printing.
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