Twitter remains among the world’s most popular social media platforms. Though its monthly active user growth has slowed in recent years, and by some counts is actually in decline, its influence outstrips raw numbers.
That’s because it’s the preferred short-form medium for the world’s entrepreneurs. There’s no better place to start authentic conversations with influencers, customers, and peers.
However, how you use Twitter matters just as much as that you use it. Let’s take a look at six Twitter habits shared by some of the world’s top entrepreneurs — and what you can do to emulate them.
1. Scheduling Tweets in Advance
As a busy entrepreneur, you don’t have much time to tweet spontaneously. Save time and effort with a tweet scheduling or an auto like solution that lets you plan out an entire week’s tweets during the course of a single half-hour block. Or, tap a trusted associate or service (such as a social media manager, if your company has one) to tweet from your personal account on your behalf.
2. Sharing Useful Content for Other Entrepreneurs
Spend some time seeking out useful content created by other entrepreneurs, then sharing it with your Twitter followers. Many of the tweets issued by Miami-based entrepreneur George Otte follow this pattern. Let your tweets be guided by a simple test: if you find it interesting, your followers probably will too.
3. Making It Clear Who’s Tweeting
If you have an employee or associate who tweets on your behalf, make it clear who’s tweeting and when. Many public figures, such as politicians and Fortune 500 business executives, add initials to the end of every tweet they personally compose. If your initials are “HD,” for instance, you’d add “- HD” to the end of your own tweets.
4. Staying Within Your Domain
Try to avoid tweeting about topics with which you’re not familiar. As a business owner, you’re an expert in plenty of domains, so there’s no shortage of topics about which you can opine. Staying within your core domains helps avoid misunderstandings with fellow Twitter users or erroneous tweets that require corrections — neither of which are good for your personal or corporate brand.
5. Engaging With Other Influencers
The most fruitful interactions on Twitter often occur between influencers: people with broad followings and deep expertise in specific domains. If you’re not yet a social media influencer, follow influencers in your industry, reply to their tweets, and retweet interesting content that they’ve shared. Over time, they’ll take notice, bringing exposure your way, thus growing your Twitter follower base.
6. Starting Edgy or Intriguing Conversations
If you’re confident it won’t interfere with your branding and positioning, consider using your Twitter handle to push edgy or controversial conversations about your industry (or business in general). Technology entrepreneur Elon Musk is noted for this — for instance, his latest endeavor, the Boring Company, began with a tweeted joke. His offbeat tweets are so prolific that they’ve spawned their own parody account, Bored Elon Musk, with more than 1 million followers.
Are You Making the Most of Your Twitter Account?
These aren’t the only six things you can do to make the most of your Twitter account — nor the only habits championed by successful, prolific entrepreneurs. As long as you remain faithful to your brand and true to your customers, the sky is the limit for your Twitter presence.
