Here’s How to Use Twitter To Bolster Your Personal Brand

With approximately 330 million active monthly users, Twitter remains one of the most effective tools for engaging with people, growing businesses, and building personal brands. 

Indeed, savvy Twitter users are adept at crafting a captivating profile and timely tweets to build brand awareness. It’s not difficult, and something you can achieve, too. With that in mind, let’s explore a few helpful hints to get you on the road to hashtag heaven. 

Maintain a Consistent Twitter Presence

Anyone can set up a Twitter account, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they will do anything with it. Some may create a profile and never return while others may only post once in a while. Either way, that’s not going to work.

To develop followers and engage with other users, you need to post nearly every day. It’s the only way to make a lasting impression within your network.

Take a look at impact investment leader Olympia De Castro’s Twitter page. She posts relevant tweets frequently, sometimes multiple times a day, building her followers as she goes.

As you post with more regularity, people will begin to recognize your profile picture and the tone of your posts, which is all part of your brand. The more often you post, the more people will see you.

But Don’t Over-Post

Of course, if you go from never posting to posting regularly, the needle has the potential to swing too far in the opposite direction. Meaning, you’re over-posting.

It’s important to be present on the social network, but you should avoid overdoing it. There are those who tweet something every five minutes. Don’t be one of those people. It can cause you to lose followers. 

Rather, you should post two or three times a day, maximum. You may find that some days require more posts than others. That’s fine. But don’t make a habit out of barraging people’s Twitter feeds with your posts.

Don’t Forget the Hashtags

Hashtags help people find your posts. If they’re looking for information about a specific product or service, they’ll often look up a hashtag in Twitter’s own search engine. If you include that hashtag, people will be more likely to find you.

But Don’t Go Hashtag Crazy

Use hashtags purposefully and sparingly. According to a study by Twitter itself, using hashtags incorrectly in your tweets can actually have a negative impact on your click-through rate. 

While that may sound alarming, what it really points out is that you need to be careful about which hashtags you use. Don’t use too many and make sure the ones you do use are applicable to your brand.

Start Retweeting!

Retweets are like reliable internet connections — everyone wants one.

Don’t be afraid to retweet others’ posts. Just make sure they appeal to people in your target audience. Otherwise, you could end up losing followers. 

Plus, retweeting draws the attention of the original writer, which is always a great resource for networking.

And remember, if someone retweets something of yours, make sure to thank them.

Figure Out When To Tweet

There are more than 350,000 tweets sent each an every minute. With numbers like that, it’s no wonder that it can be so difficult to cultivate followers. 

So try to create a strategy about when to post and stick to it. 

Friday is considered by many experts to be the best day to post, while the best time to post is between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. (but you can often stretch that to noon). For most businesses, Sunday morning tweets provide the lowest engagement.

Twitter analytics is a great way to figure out what time and which days are the best to post for your audience.

Stick To The 80/20 Rule

In general, around 80 percent of your Twitter posts should be entertaining or informational. The remaining 20 percent can focus on self-promotion. 

If you end up marketing yourself too much, people may become annoyed and unfollow you.

Shake Things Up

Avoid posting the same type of content over and over again. Try instead to rotate the types of posts you share. 

Images, Text, Links, and Quotes are all different types of tweets, with images being the most popular. Text, meanwhile, is great for conveying information and using hashtags. Links are good for cross-promotion, while quotes can be personal and help grab the attention of your audience.

Learning The Ropes

Twitter is an effective tool. But just like all tools, it takes some time to learn how to use it properly. Take the time, put in the work, and you’ll start seeing more people click the “follow” link. That’s what makes Twitter such a reliable tool for building your brand.