Laveingg Facebook- Why You Should Consider Twitter

In my last post, I covered the reasons I think companies should stay active on Facebook. But, staying on Facecbook isn’t what is best for everyone- not everyone has the time, resources, and interest. For some, there are better results in other places and I can respect that.

What Are The Options Beyond Facebook?

But with that in mind, what are your options?

There are several social media sites you can choose from, I hope in this post to help you choose one that what will work for you.

We’ll start with the two most common alternatives- Twitter and Google+ (we will cover in another post)

Here are some reasons you might consider using Twitter:

  • Over 500 million accounts
  • Easy to grow a following
  • Tools to help with anything you might want to do
  • Branding opportunities
  • An easily automated social site

Differences Between Facebook & Twitter for Business

Twitter is easy to use, but it might take some time to fully embrace the differences from Facebook.

On Twitter, hashtags are almost a must– everyone who knows how to use the site, uses them. The updates are called tweets and they can only be 140 characters long- you learn to be succinct with your words.

What’s nice about Twitter is sharing links is common practice, so sharing links to your blog posts and other pages on your site is acceptable and won’t lose reach because of the type of tweet it is. Now you can share images on Twitter as well.

The life of a Tweet does not last as long on Twitter, so it’s common to share the same thing a few times, or share more tweets per day. For instance, I share 1-3 updates a day on Facebook and 10+ a day on Twitter.

Twitter is one of my favorite social media sites, because of how much easier it is to grow, so let’s talk about how you can get started.

Leaving Facebook- Finding People to Follow & Interact With On Twitter

Since you are already an expert on your topic, you probably have your favorite places to visit online to get information about industry news, who the other experts are, what their websites and blogs are, etc. These are the perfect place to start your search for people to connect with on Twitter.

In this example, I will use the homeschooling topic- since we homeschool and know so many great resources on the topic.

My favorite place to visit is The Old Schoolhouse– a magazine for homeschoolers. So I bring up twitter and type in the search box- Old Schoolhouse Magazine and hit Enter- up pops the following:

Screen Shot 2014-05-05 at 1.25.45 PM

Finding Related Profiles on Twitter-

Now you can just click on the Follow button- but when I am looking for good accounts to follow, I do something different. I right-click their name TOS Magazine and Open in a New Tab.

You’ll see their Twitter profile, and a Follow button. Click Follow on this page.

A new section of the page now pops up with 3 related accounts to follow- these are usually highly related, and active accounts- exactly what you are looking for.

If you like the recommended profiles, open them in new tabs by clicking their names to find even more.

Screen Shot 2014-05-05 at 1.31.05 PM

Following A Profile’s Followers-

Another option for finding people to follow is by looking at accounts such as those we’ve selected above, and visiting their profiles.

At the very top, under their cover photo you’ll see some navigation- Tweets, Photos/Videos, Following, Followers and Favorites. Click on Followers- these are the people who are following the account you are looking at.

You can start following some of them, though I recommend being choosy. You want to choose accounts that are active and their profile mentions an interest in your topic.

By this point, your Twitter profile should already be filled out. I wrote a post about what to say in your Twitter profile here.

Here is a list of ideas to use to find people to connect with:

  • Magazines
  • News websites
  • Blogs
  • Companies who provide a service or product in the industry
  • Trade associations sites
  • Stores (offline) and groups about your topic

What to Tweet

Once you are following people who talk about your topic, it’s time to start talking about it yourself. The fun part about using Twitter is that there are many options when it comes to choosing what to tweet.

Some ideas for Tweeting:

  • Retweet what others are saying- even if you don’t have a lot of followers, showing your support is appreciated.
  • Write about your thoughts on the topic.
  • Respond to what others are saying on their profiles.
  • Share links to interesting articles.
  • Share pictures or videos you find, or that you’ve made.
  • Once you have shared enough of other people’s articles, links, blog, videos, etc- occasionally share your own.

The following is an infographic from Harvard Business Review- it describes several types of tweets and what you should try to focus on when coming up with your own tweets.

tweet

 

Getting Followers on Twitter

You are all set up and tweeting. At this point you want to start getting followers to make it all worth it. Luckily, you’ve already got a few just by following others. Use these ideas to get more followers, as you work on it, you should consistently see growth on your account.

  • Follow other active/related users- 20% or more will follow back
  • Make sure tweets include hashtags
  • Respond to more tweets, and people (you’ll get more exposure)
  • Put a link to your Twitter account on your website or blog
  • Share the link to your Twitter profile on your other social media sites

Why I Recommend Twitter Over Facebook?

Twitter has brought the most social media traffic to my website, since the day I started. At first, it was bringing over half of the traffic, but then Google started sending visitors as well and eventually took over. To this day it still sends more than other sites.

It’s easy to build connections with influencers on Twitter and by helping them share their tweets, they tend to share yours as well.

While Twitter will continue working on monetizing their site, most likely by adding more ads and possibilities of paid content, it is unlikely they will change the main functioning of the site to limit the life of a Tweet (which is already quite short), since that is the very basis of their service.

Summary for Using Twitter Over Facebook

Twitter is the next best thing as far as social media sites go, when you need a place that is free and easy to use. As you grow to use Twitter more, you’ll wonder why you ever spent so much time on Facebook.

Stay tuned for using Google+ over Facebook, it’s coming soon to a blog near you (actually this blog if you want to get specific).

© 2014, Social Media Consultant. All rights reserved.

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12 Comments

  1. Mary, I’ve always preferred Twitter over Facebook for my blog and retail sites when I did them. More sales came from Twitter than Facebook.. On Facebook, you have to know the people already. On Twitter you meet them. I like too that you can share a lot more on Twitter than Facebook.especially when you grow your follower base. It happens faster as time goes on. It does take time in the beginning to grow. I think we should all have at least 3 sites we use in case one ever goes away 🙂

    • Hi Lisa, nice to meet you 🙂
      I think Twitter is so much more acceptable for business use. Facebook is very personal- like you said, you have to know people to connect, etc. I think if you use FB advertising results can be different, but for smaller businesses that every penny counts, a place like Twitter is much more doable.

      I’m not sure everyone can handle 3 sites, I know a lot of the small businesses I talk to can only do 1 or 2, but with a little encouragement they can learn how important it is, especially if we show them results, right?

      Now, I’m going to head over to Twitter to make sure I am following you 🙂

      Mary

  2. Nice article again, Mary.

    I made a conscious decision last week to use Facebook less, and start using my Google+ account. So I look forward to what you have to say about that. I’m getting into Twitter now, too. Time spent on there doesn’t feel so wasted, as it does on Facebook.

  3. Hi Mary..
    I will take Twitter over Facebook any day..yes, it is possible to get good results from fb if you throw money at it..but that is not possible for everyone..

    also need to check your Triberr post..

    thanks!

    • Triberr is great. Twitter is awesome- Facebook, not so much for businesses 🙁 Ty for visiting, I see you in triberr quite a bit I believe.

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