Don’t Tweet From The Hip Create a Twitter Business Plan!

Don't tweet from the hip, instead create a twitter business plan.

Have you ever heard the expression, "Don't shoot from the hip" or, "I'm shooting from the hip"?  To shoot from the hip means, to act without first considering the outcome of your action.

There are often moments in our lives where we are forced to take immediate action without giving much, if any, forethought to the consequences.  For example, a friend needs a last minute favor, or you realize that you left your sunglasses on the kitchen counter when you're half way down the street.  However, social media and your business should not fall into this category.

How to create your Twitter Business Plan?

1.  Create an Editorial Calendar

It is imperative that you have an outline about what you will be tweeting about all year long.  When you create your business calendar for the year (with all of your product releases, holiday sales, and major events), schedule out when you will start tweeting about each upcoming event.

Likewise, look at the holidays and decide how you can link your business's mission to the message behind each one.  Then, set up the dates for when you will begin and end each holiday twitter campaign.

2.  Draft Your Tweets Now

Once you've set up the calendar, set-aside time each week or month to draft up your individual twitter posts.

My suggestion is to draft them in an excel spreadsheet, using a new page for each campaign.  Then, track each tweet.  First, note the date and time you used the tweet in your excel spreadsheet.  Second, with tweets that have external links visit Google analytics to see how many times your followers clicked through.

Tracking your tweets will give you a better idea of what worked and what didn't work.  You can use this info to improve your tweets going forward.

3.  Use an Automation Service

You are too busy to be on twitter all day tweeting. Utilize automated services such as Hootsuite to ease the tweeting process. This also offers you another way to track your embedded links.

Of course, when using any type of scheduling, be sure to set up your tweets so that they appear at various times throughout the day.

4.  Plan Real Time Engagement

It would be easy if you could "set it and forget it" when it comes to your twitter posts and campaigns. However, this philosophy is not going to win you buying prospects.

You need to schedule, at a bare minimum, 10 minutes of engagement time 3 times a week. Daily would be preferable! This means that you reply to other people's comments, that you re-tweet others tweet, share inspiring or funny quotes and simply enjoy being YOU!

Engaging with your followers on twitter is the key to turning prospects into customers. 

5.  Have a Special Twitter Landing Page

On your main twitter profile page, you are allowed to share a link to your website. Do NOT share the link to your homepage.  This is too vague and left to their own devices, your follower's will not take further action.

For example, think about going to the doctor's office.  Providing the link to your homepage is like telling the Doctor that you feel sick without giving him or her any information as to where or why.  The doctor can't help you unless you give him or her more details. 

Likewise, your prospects can't help themselves or receive assistance from you, if they don't know where to go on your website, or why they should do it.

Not to mention, we all LOVE to feel special, and clicking through to see a page that is there just for us (your twitter followers) makes us feel special. Now we associate you and your business with that warm, fuzzy feeling inside. (Yay!)

6.  Decide on 1 Clear Call to Action

When a twitter follower visits your landing page, you need to have 1 clear call to action.  This could be to sign up for a free gift, or your newsletter, or it could be a sales page designed specially for your twitter followers.

Whatever the call to action, keep it simple, clear and easy.

NOTE: This does not mean you have to keep the same call to action all year long.  Your single call to action can change alongside your calendar.  For example, if you have a product launch your call to action can be to purchase the new product.  Perhaps you even give twitter followers a special twitter-related bonus.

The point is that if you change your call to action then you change it, period.  You don't add a second call to action on top of the first.

7.  Follow-Up Post CTA

Be sure to say thank you! Once a twitter follower has become an official prospect or customer, thank them! Thank them in an email and thank them on Twitter.

Thanking them on Twitter serves both them and you.  It solidifies your connection with them and it shows them that you care.  You show them that you appreciate them enough to take the time to thank them on twitter.

Likewise, when you thank someone on twitter, all of your followers and all of their followers see the tweet. This may prompt others who were on the fence to take action.

So, the next time you start tweeting from the hip, remember these 7 steps and choose to take thoughtful action instead.

Have you ever considered creating a twitter business plan?

What does your plan include? How has it worked for you?

Please comment and share below…

About Author

Kim Garst

Kim Garst is a renowned marketing strategist and speaker who is trailblazing the use of artificial intelligence in digital marketing. With over 30 years of experience as an online entrepreneur, Kim helps entrepreneurs grow their business and authority online by using AI technology. She is leading the way with proven AI frameworks that help entrepreneurs build authority in their space.

She is keynote speaker and an international best-selling author of Will The Real You Please Stand Up, Show Up, Be Authentic and Prosper in Social Media.

Named by Forbes as a Top 10 Social Media Power Influencer, Kim is well-known for her skill to simplify complex technology and make the use of AI understandable for business growth. Her relatable, actionable advice helps guide new entrepreneurs to harness the power of AI to succeed in digital marketing. Kim is leading the way in combining human and technological skills to create a new model for AI-powered marketing.

See author's posts