Social media has revolutionized marketing and how organizations interact and reach out to their audience. The challenge is how to stand out for the right reasons and leverage this to build your business. Whether you’re familiar with social media outlets, or completely new to the game, this article will help you understand how to use Twitter effectively to grow your brand and improve your online presence.

Your Profile Should be Consistent with Your Brand

When you set up your account, make sure your username (@________) and the images you select for your profile & background pictures represent your organization. A general rule of thumb is to use a logo or other recognizable image for your profile picture with an eye- catching picture as your background picture (such as a product shot, photo from a special event, etc). Generally, don’t change your profile picture often (or at all) unless necessary; change your background picture to promote an upcoming event, seasonal promotions, etc. Make sure they are eye- catching and show up well. This basic step is important as it ensures your organization is recognizable on social media and its brand is represented consistently.

Follow Persons of interest in the Same and Similar Industries to your Organization

This is a great way to help build your Twitter audience and share content your followers will find interesting. Participating in conversations on Twitter that positively represent your organization and allow you to share your opinion (in an appropriate and professional manner) are a great way to establish and build an online presence and reputation. Being proactive and commenting on follower’s tweets can help attract new followers and build a loyal following of your own. This is a valuable foundation to build, as followers who you interact with can help boost your online presence in a positive way and reduce any negative attention you may receive.

Track Engagement & Hashtags

There are a variety of different tools available to help you manage and track your social media accounts and searches that include your hashtags. This is important as it can help you manage your account(s) and interactions effectively. Setting up a monitoring tool for Twitter such as TweetBeep that monitors conversations that mention your company, products, etc can help you respond and interact with others; this is a valuable time- saver when you have a strong following with plenty of interaction to manage. Further, you can search hashtags that you are using to find out what others are saying about the subject. This is similar to searching keywords that you include on your website.

Engage and Interact in a Positive & Timely Manner

Building on the previous two points, make sure you engage with your audience. This is especially important for ORM when someone makes a negative comment about your organization, a product, or experience. Responding to tweets and comments that present your organization negatively as quickly and positively as possible can help prevent the negative effects from spreading. By addressing a concern in a timely manner, you mitigate the negative effects it may have on your brand and can turn it into an opportunity to showcase your troubleshooting abilities. An organization that can effectively address and respond to negative reviews or comments will gain support and respect from its audience.

Twitter is a great platform to use when you want to bridge the gap between your brand and customers. The only problem is, you need to be able to break through the noise.

Chat with IMPACT to get a few more tips on how Twitter can be used to boost the reputation of your brand.