How can twitter help a business

Consider this if you decide to rebrand. In November , Twitter suspended its verification process. Many users viewed it as an endorsement by Twitter and criticized the social media platform for verifying accounts of controversial people.

However, in December , Twitter announced that it was bringing back the verification process. Key takeaway: The blue checkmark verifies to Twitter users that an account is the authentic profile of an influential brand or public figure.

After being suspended in , the verification program is back in In addition to following the best practices and techniques explained above, you should observe these general rules to maximize your success on Twitter. You can purchase followers from certain services to beef up your count.

While it may be tempting to make it look like you have more followers than you actually do, it's not worth it. The followers you get aren't real and won't interact with your brand, so they add no value and make you look bad if you're found out.

The Twitter mobile app is incredibly well integrated with the web platform, so the transition from tweeting on your computer to tweeting from your smartphone or tablet is virtually seamless. If you have an active blog on your brand's website, you can embed tweets into it to showcase any fun content you shared or comments from your loyal followers.

This is a great way to incorporate your social media accounts on your website. To embed a tweet, go to the tweet you want to share and click on the "more" tab in the upper right corner.

A dropdown menu will appear; choose "embed tweet," and it will take you to a new page with the appropriate HTML code. From there, just copy and paste the code where you want it to appear. Key takeaway: Make the most out of your Twitter business account by incorporating tweets into your website or blog, tweeting on the go from the mobile app, and building an authentic follower base over time.

Stella Morrison and Brittney Morgan contributed to the writing and reporting in this article. Some source interviews were conducted for a previous version of this article. Saige Driver.

If your brand is on Twitter, you should understand the basics of the social media platform. Here's how to succeed in tweeting for your business. With millions of daily users, Twitter can be a powerful tool to raise awareness about your business, engage with customers and develop leads. Setting up a Twitter for Business profile is simple, but just like a muscle, it needs to be used regularly to be most effective.

Understanding how to navigate Twitter for your business can go a long way in business growth. This article is for business owners, or their marketing and communications teams, examining the benefits of incorporating Twitter into their business marketing strategy.

Parts of a Twitter profile Your Twitter profile has six parts: your Twitter handle, username, profile picture, bio, header image, and a pinned tweet. Your Twitter handle is your name, your identifier on Twitter.

This is the name at the end of your Twitter page's URL and the name other tweeters will use to tag you in posts. It can be up to 15 characters and should help people find your business easily. Your username, or display name, appears above your Twitter handle on your profile and can be up to 50 characters.

This would be the name of your business or brand. Your profile photo is displayed on your profile and in every tweet you post, so it should visually represent your business and brand.

Many brands use their logo. For your bio, you have characters to describe your business. Include information such as your location, business hours and website URL. You can use the header image behind your profile picture to highlight promotions, events or news about your business.

Unlike your profile picture, this image should change regularly. Your pinned tweet is the first tweet people see when they visit your profile, so make it an interesting one that represents what's going on with your brand. As with your header image, you can change your pinned tweet whenever you want. Twitter terminology These terms are important to know when using Twitter for your small business.

When you click on a hashtag, Twitter automatically shows you other tweets with the hashtag. This makes it easy for people to follow topics and events. Block: If you block an account on Twitter, they can't follow you, add you to Twitter lists or see your tweets. You also won't see their tweets. Bookmarks: Similar to bookmarks in an internet browser, the Twitter Bookmarks button allows you to save tweets so you can find them easily later.

This is particularly helpful if you want to read an article or watch a video linked in the tweet but don't have time at the moment. If one of your customers or followers has a question, they can ask you via DM.

There is no character limit on DMs, so your response can be as detailed as necessary. However, if someone you don't follow messages you, their message will show up in the "requests" folder by default, so you might not notice it immediately. You can change this in your settings. Follow: When you follow an account, you're subscribing to see that user's tweets in your timeline.

Followers: Twitter users who follow you can see your tweets in their timelines. Like: You can like a tweet by clicking the heart symbol under it. You can see all of your likes on your profile. Lists: You can make public and private lists of other users you find interesting. You don't have to follow a user to include them in a list. For example, you may make a list of local news outlets or writers, your competitors, influencers in your industry, or important customers. Retweet: Retweeting is similar to sharing someone's post on Facebook.

If you like a tweet and want your follows to see it, you retweet it. Then, the tweet shows up on your followers' timelines and your profile. Timeline or home timeline : Your timeline displays the tweets and retweets of the people you follow as well as promoted tweets.

You can see trending topics on the left-hand side of your Twitter homepage in the "trends" box. You can customize your trend display to show what's popular in your location or with the people you follow. Tools of Twitter Keeping your account s organized needs to be a priority. TweetDeck , which is owned by Twitter, is free to use and has a sleek user interface with customizable columns where you can organize lists, notifications, and your feed.

You can also track hashtags in separate columns, schedule tweets in advance something you can't do on the Twitter website or mobile apps and add multiple Twitter accounts to manage several users at once.

TweetDeck is accessible via web browser. Hootsuite , which lets you manage other social media accounts besides Twitter, operates similarly to TweetDeck, allowing you to schedule your tweets, manage your replies, respond to messages and tweets, and generally automate your account's management.

It is arguably not as sleek or simple as TweetDeck, though, as it uses tabs for each profile you connect to it. How to set up a business Twitter account Twitter and other social media platforms often adjust their setup process, so these steps may change in the future, but as of February , these are the steps to set up a Twitter account for business use: Create an account.

Visit the Twitter homepage and click "sign up. Be sure to pick a Twitter handle that clearly represents your business, but you can adjust it later if needed.

Verify your account. Once you complete the first step, Twitter will send a verification code to the phone number you provided. Enter that code in the provided space and click "next. As you should when signing up for any account online, make sure that this password is hard to guess and not in use for any of your other accounts. More Insider Sign Out. Sign In Register. Sign Out Sign In Register. Latest Insider. Check out the latest Insider stories here.

More from the IDG Network. Evaluate the pros and cons and decide if Twitter is right for your business. Benefits of Twitter for business There are a number of advantages that using twitter can bring to a business: Reach a wide audience: Twitter has a large user base, which could include your potential customers. Using hashtags can help you reach an audience interested in a particular topic or in a particular location. Deliver customer service: The platform allows direct two-way communication with your customers.

Because it's a public interaction, if you do it well it shows your business in a positive light Brand identity: Being on Twitter can help communicate your brand ethos and personality. This should help your business appeal to your target audience. Feedback: Twitter can be a useful resource for gathering feedback from customers.

Cost: It is free of charge to set up a Twitter account. While paid ads are available, many businesses see benefits from organic posts and interactions.

Challenges of Twitter for business It's important be aware of the downsides of Twitter for businesses: Resources: Maintaining a presence on Twitter requires a time commitment.

It's also important that the staff looking after the account have the right skills and training.