Sit. Read. Follow. Participate.
Many entrepreneurs are finding that Twitter has helped them tremendously as they begin to increase their visibility – namely their name, business products and services and logo.
After the Twitter account is created, customize the page with a background, header and profile images and logo. The logo can be included in the header image along with the tagline and Hashtags (#). You may also want to include several hashtags so that you will show up in the hashtag searches. A few we have used are: #bemorevisible, #pr, #cleveland, #sustainability. When someone searches one of the hashtags, my account i+s listed. Another tip is to use the same color scheme for your profile. This ensures that everything consistent.
Finding and following others in the same profession or business industry is very important in building your brand. For example, my profession is – public relations, communications, and branding. To get started, follow similar professionals. Twitter helps you locate them by offering several links that can be found on the left of the page – “Who to Follow” or “Similar to You.” Using these can quickly assist you in finding people who are very active on Twitter, who offer discussions and other dialogue in which you can participate. Following others and reading their strategies can also help you build or add to your own strategies – what seems to be working for them may also work for you.
Watch what’s trending. Check out trends that fall in line with your business or profession. Click the hashtag and you will see all the others who are talking about the same subject matter and follow people from there.
You will find that as you follow them, most will follow you. Read, read, read. Stay active and read what they are sharing. Re-tweet what you find interesting. Reply. Be active. The more active you are, the more people will begin to follow you. Share your own pages and blogs. Your followers will begin to share your tweets.
Use Follow Friday (#FF) by giving a “shoutout” to some of your new followers. They will appreciate you advertising their Twitter accounts and others who may not have followed you, who follow them – will start to follow you also.
Lastly, outsourcing your social media can relieve some pressure. However, when you set out to build a personal brand, you need to be active. Share your personal feelings, stories, tips… Outsourcing this to someone else can do more harm than good, as they are not and cannot be you.
“You need to be You.” Make “your” voice heard. Take time to sit, read, follow and participate.