Twitter for Small Businesses

www.itcoursesdorchester.co.uk

Twi$er
for
small

businesses

IT
Courses
Dorchester

@itcoursesdorch


Who are we?
•  Trudy
Ritsema
–
Bitesize
Training

– One
2
one
IT
training
for
small

businesses

•  Jane
Askew
–
Carers
Connected

– One
2
one
IT
training
for
the
over
50’s

Together
we
are:

•  IT
Courses
Dorchester

– IT
related
workshops

We
are

researchers
of

technology

who
love

teaching!


What we will cover
•  What
is
TwiCer

•  SeEng
up
an
account

•  Who
to
follow

•  What
to
tweet

•  When
to
tweet

•  Network
hours

•  Time
saving
techniques

•  Analysing
your
tweeIng!


A word about social media
•  It
is
social
–
so
be
sociable

•  It
is
not
about
just
selling
your
services/
products

•  Its
about
engagement
&
telling
your
story


What is Twitter?
•  At
its
most
basic,
is
a
series
of
short
(140

characters)
online
announcements
or
‘tweets’

•  A
real-‐Ime
informaIon
network
of
what
is

happening
right
now
in
the
world

•  You
can
read
or
share
informaIon
instantly

with
people
and
businesses
around
the
world


A tweet
•  Is
a
message
posted
on
the
plaVorm
TwiCer

•  It
contains
only
140
characters

•  It
can
also
contain

– video

– Photos

(note
these
take
up
22
characters
so
you
only
have
118
characters
for
text)


Why should you be on Twitter?
•  Because
with
over
500
million
users,
and
135,000
new

users
signing
up
every
day

•  Because
it
is
quick
–
we
are
all
Bme
poor!

•  Because
it’s
the
most
widely
used
social
network
for

customer
service

•  Because
it’s
an
amazing
research
tool

•  Because
it
is
the
best
social
media
plaVorm
for
driving

traﬃc
to
your
website
(apparently!)


Start with a plan
•  Want
do
you
want
from
TwiCer?

– To
see
what
compeItors
are
doing.

– To
gain
more
customers.

– To
research
industry
informaIon.

– To
promote
your
product
or
services.

– To
tell
your
story.

– To
see
what
your
customers
are
tweeIng
about.

– To
keep
in
touch
with
other
small
businesses.

– To
see
what
is
happening
in
Eastenders.

1


Where are you using Twitter?
•  Mobile
app?
Which
app?

•  Tablet
app?

•  The
web
on
a
computer?

•  All?

Note:

TwiCer
is
slightly
diﬀerent
on
diﬀerent
devices.


Setting up Twitter
•  You
will
need:

–  An
email
address

–  A
password

–  A
user
name
up
to
15
characters:
@TrudyRitsema
or
@itcoursesdorch

–  Proﬁle
photo:
a
logo
or
photo
of
yourself?
(recommended
size
are

400x400pixels)

–  Header
photo:
a
larger
photo
to
engage
your
customers
(recommended
size

are
1500x500
pixels)

–  A
bio:
A
short
bit
of
text
(160
characters)
about
your
business.
The
text
can
be

linkable
and
responds
to
hashtags
and
@menIons.
Show
personality.

–  A
locaIon:
eg:
Dorchester,
Dorset

–  Website
link:
as
this
will
be
linkable
to
your
website.


Write a killer Bio in 160 characters!
•  Proﬁle
photo
(you
or
your
logo?)

•  Website
link

•  What
you
do

•  Show
your
personality

•  Other
social
media
accounts
you
are
on
–
how

can
people
get
in
touch

•  Keywords
–
these
are
searchable

•  Be
creaIve
–
use
emojis,
play
with
spacing


Who to follow
•  Industry
inﬂuencers

•  Customers

•  PotenIal
customers

•  Local
businesses
/
news
/
events

•  CompeItors
?

•  Other
small
businesses
(like
people
here)

•  Breaking
news

•  Suppliers

2


Should you follow people back?
•  Old
school
–
Yes
it
is
polite
to
do
so.

•  What
is
your
TwiCer
goal?
Is
it
worth
you

following
them
back?

•  The
more
you
follow
the
more
Tweets

you
have
to
read!


How many followers should I have?
•  Don’t
get
bogged
down
by
the
numbers.

•  Is
quality
beCer
than
quanIty?

•  Could
it
be
said
that
if
you
have
lots
of
followers
then

you
must
be
tweeIng
interesIng
things?


What to do with Tweets you get
•  Read
them.

•  Like
them
(if
you
do!)

•  Retweet
them
if
you
think

you
wish
to
share
the

tweet
with
your
followers.

•  Reply
to
a
Tweet.

•  Follow
the
link
in
the

Tweet.

REPLY

RETWEET

LIKE


Like a Tweet
•  Likes
are
represented
by
a
small
heart.

•  They
are
commonly
used
to
show

appreciaIon
for
a
Tweet.

•  You
will
be
noIﬁed
if
someone
likes
your

tweet.

•  Any
tweets
you
like
are
stored
in
one
place
so

they
act
as
bookmarks
too!


“A
brand
is
no
longer
what
we
tell
the
consumer

it
is—it
is
what
consumers
tell
each
other
it
is.”

ScoC
Cook,
the
founder
and
CEO
of
Intuit

The
Followers


Reasons why people follow you
•  They
love
your
brand

•  To
discover
new
things

•  Find
content
interesIng
or
funny

•  They
can
ﬁnd
you
easily

•  You
liked
their
tweet

•  You
engaged
with
them


What can I tweet about?
•  A
promoIon

•  Behind
the
scenes
of
your
business

•  Helpful
hints

•  Something
about
your
industry

•  Q&A’s

•  A
quote

•  A
tesImonial
you
have
been
given

•  A
link
to
a
page
on
your
website

•  Something
funny!

•  Show
off
achievements

•  A
selfie
of
what
you
are
doing
right
now

•  Coming
soon
news

•  New
products

•  Something
relevant
to
a
trending
hashtag

•  A
poll

•  Show
you
are
an
expert
in
your
field

80%
about

your
business

20%
about

you…
maybe…!?

3


What can you put in a tweet?
•  Text(!)

•  A
menIon

•  Hashtag(s)

•  Link
to
a
webpage

•  Photo
/
video


What is a mention?
•  If
you
Tweet
something
and
you
want
to
bring

it
to
somebody’s
aCenIon
–
then
use
their

TwiCer
handle
in
your
tweet

•  This
is
good
way
to
ask
a
quesIon
to

someone.
(They
receive
noIﬁcaIon)

•  Eg:
Hi
@TrudyRitsema
when
is
you
next

Instagram
course?


Demo: Lets Tweet!
Look
for
the
feather!


The hashtags
#


What is a # ?
•  Word
or
phrase
(no
spaces)
beginning
with
a
#

•  Used
to
organise
tweets
by
topic

•  Click
on
a
#
to
go
to
all
the
tweets
about
that

topic

•  You
oren
see
#
on
TV
programs,
news
arIcles,

local
events
eg:
#DWBGD
(conference)

•  They
are
a
clickable
link

•  Can
be
placed
anywhere
in
a
tweet

4


Add a link to a website
•  A
link
to
a
website
will
take
up
lots
of
characters.

So
use
a
tool
like
Bit.ly
to
create
a
shortened
link.

hCp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-‐35278479

bbc.in/1JEQNad

hCps://bitly.com/


Adding photos5


Where to get images
•  Use
your
own

•  pixabay.com/
(free)

•  Google
–
check
usage
rights

•  www.istockphoto.com/
(paid)


Demo: Adding a
photo
•  Change
the
ﬁlter
on
the

photo

•  Crop
–
go
widescreen!

•  Magic
wand!


Tweet the same thing multiple times
•  This
will
reach
diﬀerent
followers
as
not

everyone
is
on
TwiCer
at
the
same
Ime

•  When
they
do
go
on
TwiCer
they
will
have

many
Tweets
to
scroll
through
–
so
may
not

get

to
yours
you
did
that
morning!


Best times to
tweet...apparently
When
people
are

commuIng
-‐
morning
and

evening

Lunch
breaks
(12pm
to
3pm)

hCp://www.tweriod.com/

However…
when are your
followers
online?
6


Schedule a Tweet
•  Simple,
this
has
to
be
done
via
another
app

Eg:
Hootsuite

Get
the
app

or

hCps://hootsuite.com/

7


Join in with Twitter
networking #hours
•  Industry
relevant
(eg
weddinghour)

•  Local
#hours
(eg:
#dorsethour)

•  When
are
the
hours?

•  #Dorsethour
–
every
Monday
7:30pm
to
8:30pm

•  A
full
list
at:

hCp://www.spaceandIme.co.uk/all-‐uk-‐twiCer-‐hours-‐
hashtags-‐updated-‐regularly/#.Vguud7TBw5Q

8


Create Lists
•  To
categorise
your
followers

•  Can
be
private
or
public

•  Use
lists
to
group
people
you
follow
by
type

•  Eg:
CompeItors,
industry
experts,
customers,

local,
personal

9

Use
the
cog
to
add

people
to
lists


Ideas of lists
•  Suppliers
list

•  Event
organizaIon
and
management

•  CompeItors
List

•  Extraordinary
Customers

•  Users
who
Retweet
You

•  Your
Favourite
ConversaIonalists

•  Industry
Players

•  Prospects

•  Dorset
people


Do at home!
How to set up a list on Twitter
•  Log
onto
TwiCer
via
www.twiCer.com

•  Click
on
your
proﬁle
pic
and
choose
LISTS

•  Choose
CREATE
A
NEW
LIST

•  Name
the
list,
add
a
descripIon
and
choose
if
you
want
the
list
to
be
private
or
not

•  Search
for
people
you
wish
to
add
to
your
list

•  Click
on
the
COG
and
choose
ADD
TO
LIST

•  Choose
the
LIST
you
wish
to
add
them
(there
is
no
save
buCon
so
just
click
the
cross
to
close
the

window)

•  Repeat
the
above
to
add
more
people
to
your
list

To
view
all
the
Tweets
from
people
on
a
list
do
the
following:

•  Click
on
your
proﬁle
pic
and
choose
LISTS

•  Click
on
the
LIST
and
you
will
now
see
all
the
Tweets
from
people
in
that
list!

You
can
view
lists
on
you
mobile
devices
too
–
but
it
is
easier
to
create
them
via
a
browser.


Direct messages
•  You
can
use
TwiCer
to
directly
message

someone.
ConversaIon
between
that
person

will
be
private!

A
big
advantage
of
this
is
that
you
may
not
have
their
email
address

but
can
sIll
contact
them
directly!


Twitters Search Facility
hCps://twiCer.com/search-‐advanced

Top
Bp
–
this
is
best
done
on
a
computer

rather
than
smart
phone
or
tablet
as
you

get
full
funcIonality


Example:

Search
for
all
Tweeters

who
are
from

Dorchester.

Example:

Search
for
anyone

tweeIng
about
geEng

married
in
the

Dorchester
area

Example:

Search
for
anyone

asking
a
quesIon
about

weight
loss

11


How to use the search results
•  Follow
them

•  DM
them
–
eg:
I
can
help
with….

•  Reply
to
their
Tweet

•  Basically……..

ENGAGE
WITH
THEM!


Let people know you are using Twitter
•  All
markeIng
material

•  Use
the
logo

•  Business
cards

•  Put
it
on
Facebook,
Instagram
etc

hCps://about.twiCer.com/press/twiCer-‐brand-‐
policy

13


Get in contact
•  Email:
hello@itcoursesdorchester.co.uk

•  TwiCer:
@itcoursesdorch

•  Instagram:
@itcoursesdorchester

•  Facebook:

IT
Courses
Dorchester

Bitesize
Training

Carers
Connected

•  Mobile:
Trudy:
07581
458326
Jane:
07989

322718

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